How many matches did Roman Reigns have in 2023? Reflecting on The Tribal Chief's wrestling statistics of the year

Roman Reigns returned to WWE on the December 15, 2023 edition of Friday Night SmackDown. During his absence, SmackDown has gone through several changes, one of them being Randy Orton’s return.

The Tribal Chief was immediately challenged by The Viper for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship but was rejected by the champion. Roman Reigns asked him to earn the opportunity and go back to the end of the line. It’s understandable that The Tribal Chief is in no mood to have any fights for the rest of the year and wants to celebrate the holidays.

Interestingly, Reigns has had only 11 matches in 2023. It’s a huge drop from the 52 matches he worked in for 2022.

Out of the 11 matches, he’s worked in four House Shows. The remaining seven were premium live events. Here are the dates for all 11 matches for Roman Reigns in 2023:

1. 28/01: WWE Universal Title match against Kevin Owens at Royal Rumble 2023.
2. 18/02: WWE Universal Title match against Sami Zayn at Elimination Chamber 2023.
3. 04/03: WWE Universal Title match against Sami Zayn at House Show.
4. 02/04: WWE Universal Title match against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39.
5. 27/05: Undisputed Tag Team Title match against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens at Night of Champions 2023.
6. 17/06: WWE Universal Title match against Rey Mysterio at House Show.
7. 01/07: Tag Team match against The Usos at Money in the Bank 2023.
8. 22/07: WWE Universal Title match against Rey Mysterio at House Show.
9. 05/08: WWE Universal Title match (Tribal Combat) against Jey Uso at SummerSlam 2023.
10. 14/10: WWE Universal Title match against Sami Zayn at House Show.
11. 04/11: WWE Universal Title match against LA Knight at Crown Jewel 2023.

Out of the above, The Tribal Chief has won all singles matches. He lost all three tag team matches, with Money in the Bank becoming the first match where he lost via pinfall in 1,294 days.

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WWE Legend has reacted to Roman Reigns’ 2023 matches

The Tribal Chief’s limited representation of the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship has been a point of discussion for fans and superstars.

WWE Legend Kevin Nash was taken aback when he learned the actual number of matches Reigns had in WWE. He reacted to the number on his Kliq This podcast.

"Eleven all year? Pay-per-views, everything? (…) God bless him. And we sit here and I adamantly defend him that he should not lose the championship (…) I had no idea it was 11. I would have thought 50, 60."

Superstars such as Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch have taken shots at Roman Reigns for not being present on WWE TV, even though he holds one of the top championships in WWE.