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Roman Reigns is the WWE locker room leader and the undisputed top star of the company. There is no full-time superstar that WWE has put more effort into. With the rise of AEW, many WWE stars made the jump, either after seeing out their full contracts or getting released.
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Either way, Roman Reigns has more friends in AEW than fans might realize. Here are some AEW stars who are friends with Roman Reigns in real life.
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#5. Bryan Danielson - A long-time association with Roman Reigns in WWE
Bryan Danielson fka Daniel Bryan is a good friend to Roman Reigns. Bryan has been associated with Roman Reigns for a long time, having feuded with him as a part of The Shield before being on the same side in 2014.
Even as singles stars, Roman Reigns, and Daniel Bryan have had highly important matches together. They've had two singles matches at Fastlane (in 2015 and 2021) that directly impacted the WrestleMania main event of that year.
It's only fitting that Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan had his last match in WWE against Roman Reigns. The match stipulated that if Daniel Bryan lost, he would have to leave SmackDown.
Bryan's contract expired shortly after that, and although WWE expected to re-sign him, he decided to jump ship to AEW. As a result, the Daniel Bryan character is now in the past.
However, more than half a decade ago, Roman Reigns was interviewed on Answer The Call and he was full of praise for Bryan Danielson/Daniel Bryan:
"[Daniel] Bryan is the best. If anybody says any different, they're an idiot. You can learn anything from him.” asserts Reigns. He has had a long association with Bryan starting from his days in The Shield, when he was feuding with Bryan, Kane and Ryback. Roman feels that he has come to realise the importance of putting in the hours in the ring and in the business as a whole from the journey of Daniel Bryan. “Bryan is a journeyman, and he's one of the few that we have, with Seth and Dean also in that category. He's just so smart. He has a great take on everything, and he doesn't just think about his product. He has so much knowledge on life. I feel very blessed to have made a friend with Daniel Bryan."
It's clear that Roman Reigns highly values the time he spent in and out of the ring with Bryan Danielson. It's no surprise since Roman Reigns was barely half a decade into his pro wrestling career when they faced off at Fastlane 2015. Bryan, on the other hand, already had a decade more of experience.
Few can do what Bryan Danielson does in the ring and Roman Reigns has surely learned a lot from him.
#4. Matt Hardy - Wants to face Roman Reigns before retirement
AEW's Matt Hardy still hasn't faced Roman Reigns and is unlikely to ever do so. However, a few years ago, Matt Hardy was on a promotional tour in India and was asked about Roman Reigns.
Matt Hardy was full of praise for Reigns and said that a match against him would be a dream. It's important to note that this was in 2018. Hardy said:
“I would say that one person that I would be dreaming before retirement because I haven’t got a chance to work with him. Now he’s gonna be gone for a little bit in future…it’ll be Roman Reigns. He is kind of a guy that WWE built around and I do I like him a lot as a person consider my friend. So I would love to have a Matt Hardy vs. Roman Reigns match before retirement.”
Unfortunately for Matt Hardy, he never got to have his match against Roman Reigns, and neither has his brother Jeff Hardy crossed paths with 'The Tribal Chief.'
#3. Miro - A former Roman Reigns opponent
Roman Reigns and Miro, fka Rusev, have a history together. Their main feud was in 2016 when Reigns eventually dethroned Rusev to become the United States Champion.
It was the summer of 2016 and Reigns was in his brief "downfall" period following a return from a Wellness Policy suspension. The suspension quickly led to his WWE title reign abruptly ending at Money in the Bank, and then a couple of more big losses.
Roman Reigns, who was rarely ever pinned, found himself losing to the likes of Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose (Jon Moxley) and Finn Balor. His US title feud against Rusev was meant to be the "recovery" phase.
While their SummerSlam bout ended before it even started, they met again at the following pay-per-view Clash of Champions. There, the former Shield member captured the US title from Rusev before beating him decisively inside Hell in a Cell.
Roman Reigns, speaking to Fox Sports' Ryan Satin, said that nobody knew how to sell his spear the way Rusev/Miro did:
"I will say though, Rusev was really good. We had good timing as far as in the ring, I always had good chemistry with him to where I could come off the ropes, take one step, launch and dart across the ring and he knew just the perfect height to lift up, open up for me. So, yeah, we did that thing all over the world. Those were good times."
Miro responded by saying that it was a pleasure to work with Reigns every single time, as they essentially faced each other across the world in the international live event circuit:
“People maybe don’t give him credit for that, but Roman Reigns is so good, and we’ve wrestled everywhere. I think we wrestled anywhere, from the States to India, to South America, to North America, to Central America, to Europe. We wrestled pretty much in every single continent, and every single match was just a pleasure.” (H/T Essentiallysports)
From the look of things, Roman Reigns and Miro formed a good friendship while working together.
#2. Jon Moxley - One of Roman Reigns' closest friends during his WWE run?
It's hard to doubt that Jon Moxley, fka Dean Ambrose, was among Roman Reigns' closest friends in WWE. The two made a splash on the main roster together as part of The Shield, and for a long time, Moxley and Reigns had been associated with one another.
Even when The Shield broke up and all three men went their own way, the two were aligned with each other. It only felt as though they had truly gone their own way in 2016 when they were eventually drafted to different brands.
The two spent years on the road together, although Roman Reigns admitted that he hasn't spoken to Moxley since WrestleMania 37:
“It’s been a while man,” Reigns said. “I think the last time was probably WrestleMania. It’s been a minute. I need to reach out to him and give him the congrats on the baby and everything. (H/T WrestlingInc)
Even then, Reigns and Moxley can be considered friends after the years they spent together in WWE. The current AEW star, a vocal critic of WWE, even praised Reigns' heel turn as the right move to make.
#1. Chris Jericho - Says Roman Reigns is on the top of his wishlist for a future AEW signing
Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns feuded with one another in late 2016-17. The WWE legend dethroned Roman Reigns to capture the US title during a feud that also involved then-Universal Champion Kevin Owens.
Jericho is at a different stage of his career. The WWE chapter of his career seems to be fully behind him, and he is the first AEW World Champion in history. Right around the summer of 2021, the Winnipeg native was a guest on Keepin' It 100 with Konnan and Disco Inferno, and he couldn't help but state his admiration for his friend Reigns in and out of the ring:
"I haven't (watched) but I've been reading about it and it's no surprise," Chris Jericho said. "When I was there in 2016 and worked with Roman Reigns, basically all around the world when I was a heel and he was a babyface, I was like, 'there's no brainer here.' I always said this, and he's doing it now, if you just drop the f**king script and let him be him, he's cool-hand luke. He's like the coolest cat, a f**king great guy. Just let him be him."
Jericho previously called Reigns the "biggest babyface" outside of the ring, and their real-life chemistry came across during the latter's Talk is Jericho appearance a few years ago.
All in all, the veteran Chris Jericho seems to hold a good relationship with 'The Tribal Chief.'
