5 Times Roman Reigns was universally cheered by the fans

Disclaimer: This list will not include Roman Reigns' promos announcing the return of his leukaemia or his subsequent remission.

After an absence of over four months, Roman Reigns is back in WWE. He appeared at the end of SummerSlam, beating down both 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman at the end of their Universal Championship match. The Big Dog has adopted a new approach, "Wreck everyone and leave".

This is a popular move, one that might finally result in Reigns being cheered much more than he has been beforehand. WWE has tried for years to make him the top babyface in the company. However, their way of booking Reigns caused some resentment within the fans and the former Shield member got overwhelmingly jeered because of it.

WWE has had ample opportunities to turn the Big Dog heel, but it never happened. And there have been times when the company felt vindicated in standing their ground. Despite his consistently polarizing reactions, Roman Reigns has had the entire audience behind him quite a few times.

These moments have been quite few and far between, but the hearing his name echo around the arena, without any boos to accompany it, must feel great for the Big Dog. As mentioned above, this list will not include his promos about his leukaemia as those were not part of a storyline. Anything that The Shield did as a unit will also not be considered.

Here are five times Roman Reigns was universally cheered by the fans.

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#5 Roman Reigns defeats The Miz to win the Intercontinental Championship (RAW 2017)

Yes, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose were eventually present as Roman Reigns won the Intercontinental Championship. However, they did not directly influence the outcome of the match. They simply evened the odds at ringside. Right in the middle of The Shield's 2017 reunion, Reigns challenged The Miz to an IC Title match.

This match was proof of how good the 'A-Lister' was around this time, being the perfect heel for Reigns to bounce off and get the desired reactions. After Rollins and Ambrose prevented Sheamus and Cesaro from interfering, The Big Dog speared Miz to win his first Intercontinental Title.

The fans in Houston were loud and passionate for Reigns, who celebrated with his Shield buddies. But it was all his doing. The rest of Roman Reigns' run as Intercontinental Champion remained popular, with solid victories over the likes of Elias and Samoa Joe on RAW.

The Shield reunion may have helped Reigns get a better reaction, but he was still universally cheered on his own against The Miz. It's almost as if less talking and more fighting is a formula that works.

#4 Roman Reigns and Batista are the final two of the 2014 Royal Rumble Match

A year before Roman Reigns was booed out of the building for winning the Royal Rumble Match, everybody wanted him to win. It looked like Batista would dominate his way towards victory at the Rumble in 2014, especially since Daniel Bryan was not in the match. But a spirited performance from Reigns gave the fans some hope.

Still a member of The Shield at this point, The Big Dog put on one of the greatest performances in Royal Rumble history. He eliminated 12 Superstars and reached the final two, facing off against Batista. The entire Pittsburgh crowd was behind Roman Reigns and desperately wanted him to win, even if it was only so that The Animal would lose.

Reigns looked like an absolute star, setting the table for future starring roles at the Royal Rumble. Every fan was on their feet when the Big Dog speared Batista and gained the upper hand. However, the six-time WWE World Champion ended up winning and was heavily booed in the process.

This was one of the very first glimpses of Roman Reigns at the top of the card. An encouraging sign for sure, but the next few years were a lot more turbulent than WWE would have expected at the time.

#3 Roman Reigns defeats King Corbin at Royal Rumble 2020

Roman Reigns soaks in the cheers at Minute Maid Park.

While the rivalry between Roman Reigns and King Corbin on Friday Night SmackDown was seemingly never-ending, it did have some bright moments. The high point of the nearly four-month long program came at Royal Rumble 2020. Reigns and Corbin opened the show with an entertaining Falls Count Anywhere Match.

The two big men fought all around Minute Maid Park, utilizing some creative offense. The Big Dog even locked the 2019 King of the Ring inside a portable restroom, before tossing it over. That moment got a loud pop from the stadium.

Roman Reigns eventually scored the victory over King Corbin, with a Spear on top of the dugout. It was a great scene, with the Big Dog celebrating his victory amongst a sea of WWE fans. All of them were satisfied with this fun contest. The unique setting and the hard-hitting action, along with a truly detestable opponent, helped Reigns get over at Minute Maid Park.

This rivalry may have gone on too long, but Royal Rumble 2020 was a successful night for Reigns and Corbin. The Big Dog was part of another huge pop that night, as he was a part of the show-closing Royal Rumble Match. Drew McIntyre earned a monstrous reaction when he threw Roman Reigns out to win the match.

#2 Roman Reigns attacks Triple H after the TLC 2015 main event

WWE had a breakthrough in solving the "Roman Reigns problem" at the end of 2015. They were trying to garner a more positive reaction to him, following his extremely bumpy road to WrestleMania 31. That came after a TLC Match between Reigns and Sheamus, for the WWE Championship, at the namesake pay-per-view.

The build to this match was not the best, which saw Sheamus cashing in his Money in the Bank contract to win the WWE Title from Reigns. Their match was not well-received, despite the efforts of both Sheamus and Reigns. But what happened after the match will go down as one of the Samoan's most explosive moments ever.

Roman Reigns instantly attacked Rusev and Alberto Del Rio, who helped Sheamus retain the title. He proceeded to destroy all three members of the League of Nations, before turning his attention to the leader of the Authority, Triple H. Reigns hit the Game with multiple chair shots, put him through the announce table, and finished him off with an emphatic Spear.

This sequence of moves caused the TD Garden to erupt. Roman Reigns was the most popular man in the world at the time, causing nothing but destruction. Chants of "Thank you Roman" were heard, as the Big Dog seemed to have turned a corner with the WWE fans that mercilessly booed him throughout the year.

#1 Roman Reigns defeats Sheamus to win the WWE Championship (RAW 2015)

One night after his explosive beatdown of the COO of WWE, Roman Reigns was confronted by Vince McMahon. The chairman gave The Big Dog a WWE Championship match against Sheamus, with his career on the line. What followed was one of the most memorable matches on RAW in the entirety of 2015.

Every fan in attendance was behind Reigns in this match, as he challenged the Celtic Warrior in a Career vs. Title match. There was interference from McMahon, as well as Rusev and Alberto Del Rio. But The Big Dog overcame all odds and speared his way towards Championship gold.

And the pop he received upon winning the WWE Title was incredible. Roman Reigns was as much of a hero as he ever was in WWE, at least up until that point. All he had to do was keep his words to a minimum while destroying everyone in his path.

What made it sweeter was that this victory was in Philadelphia, in front of the same fans that viciously booed Reigns as he won the Royal Rumble earlier in the year. They were now chanting his name. A proper full-circle moment for the Big Dog. Unfortunately, they could not be sustained as WWE took his title victory in a pretty obvious direction.

And by the time Reigns won his next WWE Championship, against Triple H in the main event of WrestleMania 32, everybody was back to booing him again. Hopefully, WWE ensures that the reaction to Roman Reigns remains largely positive following his return. There are ways to ensure that is the case.