3 of Roman Reigns' opponents that are currently thriving in AEW

For 1177 days and counting, Roman Reigns has ruled as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, with the Tribal Chief taking on all comers.

During his time with the championship, Roman has faced some of the biggest names in the company, from Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens.

Roman's reign has lasted so long that some of his former challengers have switched to All Elite Wrestling. Join us as we take a look at 3 top performers who are currently making waves in AEW.

---

#3 - Roman Reigns' post-WrestleMania challenger

After being on the back burner for years in WWE, Claudio Castagnoli (a.k.a Cesaro) finally found a chance to shine in the main event scene as he became the number one contender for Roman Reigns' title.

The Swiss star would go on to WrestleMania Backlash, where he would come within inches of ending Reigns' already lengthy reign as champion. Despite his best efforts, he could not come away with the win. A year later, Claudio let his contract expire with WWE as he switched to AEW.

Since signing to All Elite Wrestling in 2022, Claudio has thrived as a top star, winning world title gold as he became the ROH World Champion. Speaking to Bleacher Report after signing for the company, Castagnoli spoke about the many goals he has for his time in AEW:

"I make sure I’m kind of always going against the grain. I just want to work with everybody. I just want to face whoever's ready at whatever point because that's the fun for people," Claudio added: "That's all I want, and even people who may have been forgotten or who want to prove themselves. I think fans have their own list of who they want me to face in AEW and Ring of Honor. And for every single person I’ve heard so far, I've said, 'Yes, please.'" (H/T Bleacher Report)

---

#2 - The Rated R contender

A performer whose wrestling resume arguably is greater than Roman Reigns' is the Rated-R Superstar Adam Copeland (a.k.a Edge). The Hall of Famer faced off against the Head of the Table on two separate occasions in 2021, first in a triple threat match at WrestleMania 37 and then later that summer at Money In The Bank.

In a 2021 interview on WWE's The Bump, Copeland broke character ahead of his match with Roman Reigns as he hailed him a future all-time great:

"Roman Reigns, who is clearly well on his way to being an all-time talent within the industry. Man, it's all just a gift. It really is. And that's how I'm attacking this whole thing. It's just awesome, I don't know how else to put it." (H/T Sportskeeda)

Despite the crowd willing him to win his first world title in 10 years, the power of The Tribal Chief was too much for him, resulting in another title defense for Reigns.

After having been a part of the WWE family for over 30 years, Copeland shocked the world this past summer as he chose to sign for AEW. Since then, he has begun an intense and highly entertaining feud with his lifelong best friend and former tag team partner, Chrisitan Cage.

---

#1 - Two GOATs collide

Arguably, Roman's most formidable and most durable challenger to date would be the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Bryan Danielson (a.k.a Daniel Bryan). Alongside Adam Copeland, Bryan was the other challenger for Roman Reigns' title in the main event triple threat match at Mania 37.

His final encounter with Roman and what would turn out to be his final match in WWE came a few weeks after the show of shows, where Danielson went one-on-one with The Tribal Chief for the title one last time. Like many, however, he would fall victim to the Head of the Table as he came away with a loss.

Speaking on My Mom's Basement with Robbie Fox, Bryan looked back on his final WWE match with Roman Reigns, stating that it was the perfect way for him to leave the company:

"The one unique experience at WrestleMania [37] where it was just like, 'Woah, this feels empty,'" Danielson said. "... Ironically, my last match in WWE with Roman, I was pumped for. I loved it, and it was in the Thunderdome. It was a bunch of screams and canned-down noises and stuff, and I was, 'This is great! I love this,' and like, I honestly thought that's a perfect way to go out. Because I also wasn't sure if I was even going sign with AEW." (H/T Wrestling Inc)

Despite not winning gold since signing for AEW in 2021, Bryan has had multiple career-defining performances against huge names like MJF, Kenny Omega, Jon Moxley, and Kazuchika Okada.