5 long world title reigns that weren't as good as Roman Reigns' current Universal Championship run

#4. Not as good as Roman Reigns' current run: Batista (2005)

Batista had his WrestleMania moment in 2005, more than 10 years before Roman Reigns

Batista and Roman Reigns crossed paths in 2014 when they were the two final men in the Royal Rumble match. Ironically, Roman Reigns was cheered over Batista, only to get booed out of the building a year later when he won the Royal Rumble match.

Batista's rise to superstardom in 2004-05 was incredible to witness. He was a part of the Evolution faction and his split and subsequent feud with Triple H remains an iconic moment from the WWE Ruthless Aggression Era.

At WrestleMania 21, Batista won the World Heavyweight Championship and held on to the title for the rest of the year - facing the likes of Triple H, JBL, Eddie Guerrero, etc. That was the run that also saw his incredible partnership with Eddie Guerrero.

While the list of opponents may not be as great as several other world title reigns, Batista was a key figure in WWE in 2005, similar to Roman Reigns in recent times. However, the push that Roman Reigns would get belonged to John Cena - a superstar who defied the odds to reach the top.

Batista's first World Heavyweight title reign proved that he was a top-tier star in WWE and he was extremely popular among the fans. The first part of the run took place on RAW while the second happened on Friday Night SmackDown. It ended with Batista vacating the World Heavyweight Championship due to a pectoral tear.

It was perhaps Batista's best world title reign in WWE, but Roman Reigns has had a more dominant and impressive run in 2020-2021.