Roman Reigns has accomplished quite a bit in his 400+ day reign as WWE Universal Champion. And, according to WrestlingNews.co, he’s even managed to defy one of the oldest theories about the pro wrestling business — that heels don’t sell merchandise. Despite portraying the heelish “Tribal Chief” persona since his comeback in August 2020, Reigns is reportedly the company’s top merchandise seller and his sales numbers are on the same level as John Cena. Reigns and Cena clashed in the main event of SummerSlam in August and wound up setting a few records there too.
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Reigns is scheduled to face Lesnar at the Crown Jewel pay-per-view later this month. It was noted the Wrestling Observer last week that the feud between the two is set to continue after that show, meaning Reigns likely isn’t dropping out of the Universal title picture anytime soon.
“I think he wanted to get the best look possible at what’s going on here, the most dominant Universal Champion to ever do this thing,” Reigns said while on The Bump after Lesnar crashed his victory over Cena at SummerSlam. “I think he sees the Island of Relevancy just like John Cena did. He’s just coming with like a farmer/butcher outlook as opposed to being the Hollywood guy. But yeah it just goes to show all this work, this foundation of greatness that I’ve been laying down, what the Bloodline’s been doing, continually showing everybody that we’re number one.
“It’s really just to put themselves in the conversation with me, to amplify everything, but there ain’t really anybody out there that can compete with what we’re doing,” he added. “Between me and my cousins, the wise man, we come together and we’re putting together greatness right now. We’re raising the bar and lifting the standard, and I think Brock Lesnar, like everybody else, in this industry, they want to be a part of that.”
How long do you think Reigns’ title reign will last? Has his run as WWE’s top heel been more entertaining than John Cena’s prime years as a babyface? Let us know in the comments below!
