Roman Reigns is set to go up against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40. They will face off in a rematch of their showdown at last year’s Mania. However, that is not the only time he will be in action at this year’s WrestleMania. While he will face Cody to defend his Universal title on night 2, Roman will team up with Dwayne Johnson to face Seth Rollins and Rhodes on night 1.
With just about 2 weeks to go before his much-anticipated title defense, Roman Reigns has passed a major personal milestone. “The Tribal Chief” has now been a champion in the company for over 1300 days! Such a title reign is unprecedented in modern days and the 38-year-old has managed to pull it off in style. His next aim is to beat Hulk Hogan’s reign of 1474 days.
Roman Reigns officially surpasses 1300 days as WWE Universal Champion 🎯 pic.twitter.com/DD4dRZEuo3
— WrestlingWorldCC (@WrestlingWCC) March 23, 2024
Although he is nowhere near beating Bob Backlund or Bruno Sammartino’s title runs which have both lasted over 2000 days, Roman believes in quality instead of quantity. Reigns recently appeared on the Pat McAfee show, where he made the case why he is time as the champion is the supreme one and he used John Cena as an example.
Roman Reigns makes his case for having a better championship legacy than John Cena
John Cena is a 16-time WWE world champion. While he has won the WWE title 13 times, the leader of Cenation has also had 3 world title runs as well. However, Cena did not have the same dominance over the championship that Roman has had so far. Cena’s longest WWE title reign lasted 380 days and his shortest run lasted for 3 minutes and 33 seconds. It proves that the 46-year-old has had a rocky title reign each time he held it.
During his interview with WWE commentator and former NFL star, Pat McAfee, Roman Reigns has made his thoughts clear. According to him, Cena’s 16 world title wins do not hold the same value as his one title reign which has lasted for nearly 4 years.
He added, “I don’t take anything away from anybody. What John has done, as far as generations come, that is GOAT level stuff but for me, it’s always been about quality, not quantity. John has a lot of title reigns, but he doesn’t have a title reign that can compare to what I’ve done in the last 4 years. This quality that I’ve put on display, it speaks for itself.”
“The business backs everything that has happened. It’s made this place more lucrative than it’s ever been, it’s made this place attractive. My reign has gone through the most crazy & turbulent time in WWE history. That says a lot. I will always take the quality of this run over going 14, 15, 16 times,” concluded Reigns. (h/t via Wrestle Ops)
It is definitely hard to argue with Roman’s logic. He has been a rock for WWE while the company has gone through some tumultuous times. From the merger with UFC to form the $21.4 billion TKO company to carrying WWE through the uncertain times of the pandemic, Reigns has done it all. Hence, one can argue that the Samoan may leave WWE with a bigger legacy than Cena.
Although he has achieved a lot, Roman Reigns is not done with wrestling quite yet. He will look to keep his insane run going and fans can catch him in action on April 6 and 7 at WrestleMania 40.