Roman Reigns on His Rivalry With Brock Lesnar, Why "Cowboy Brock" Was So Important

By Connor Casey

Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar have been battling or years in the WWE, though many will argue 2022 wound up being the best year for their feud. After their New Year's Day match was scrapped due to COVID-19, the two clashed at WrestleMania 38 to unify the WWE and Universal Championships then turned around and had a Last Man Standing rematch at SummerSlam. While many initially rolled their eyes at seeing Reigns vs. Lesnar yet again in Nashville, the match was incredibly well-received thanks to Lesnar's more jovial "Cowboy Brock" persona and his usage of a tractor late in the match to uproot the ring.

Reigns recently sat down with The Ringer to discuss his success as "The Tribal Chief" when the subject of Lesnar was brought up. He explained that Lesnar changing up his presentation was vital for these past two matches.

"To me, if he doesn't level up and showcase the Cowboy Brock character, then don't nobody give a shit about Brock next to the Tribal Chief," Reigns said. "I was able to push my level up, which he knew, OK, 'this guy's creating different levels and layers to this, let me step my game up.' And he did that.

"That was just a perfect recipe of two performers who want to be the best, and both have pretty legitimate claims to that territory," he added. "And when you get two guys who compete, it's not backstabbing. We're looking each other in the eyes and we're telling each other, 'I'm better than you and if you don't show me, then this is the end of the road for you.' People probably said, 'Oh God, not Brock-Roman again.' And then we go out there and deliver a classic. Got better on that last one. And I think that's the key to the kingdom. How do we continually get better? How do we upgrade? How do we push ourselves to the next level? How do we continue to move these goal posts?"

WWE Survivor Series WarGames 2022 Card

  • Men's WarGames Match: Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa & Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre, Kevin Owens and The Brawling Brutes 
  • Women's WarGames Match: Bianca Belair, Asuka, Alexa Bliss, Michin & TBD vs. Bayley, Dakota Kai, Iyo Sky, Nikki Cross & Rhea Ripley
  • United States Championship: Seth Rollins vs. Bobby Lashley vs. Austin Theory
  • SmackDown Women's Championship: Ronda Rousey vs. Shotzi
  • AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor
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