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In the main event of SummerSlam, "The Friend" Bray Wyatt defeated his former protege, Braun Strowman, to become the new Universal Champion. While the match between the two wasn't necessarily the highlight of the night, the events that followed the match are what grabbed all of the headlines. Following his win over Strowman, a returning Roman Reigns hit Wyatt with his patented spear.
Then, Reigns turned his attention to Wyatt's opponent, Strowman, and hit with a spear. Afterward, he hit repeatedly struck "The Monster Among Men" with a chair
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Roman Reigns ended the show lifting the Universal Championship over his shoulder. Later, WWE revealed that Bray Wyatt will defend the Universal Championship against Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns in a No Holds Barred Triple Threat Match at Payback.
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As expected, the Roman Reigns' return received mixed reactions. While a large part of the audience was happy to see "The Big Dog" back inside the squared circle, a small vocal minority of fans have questioned the company's decision to put Roman Reigns straight into the title picture.
Roman Reigns is one of the most polarising figures in the wrestling world today. The Florida-native has been the backbone of WWE programming since his debut in 2013. The general fan consensus around Roman Reigns has gone through a change over the years. However, the company has always seen Roman Reigns for what he is, a main-event player.
Roman Reigns has consistently been at the top of merchandise sales and his segments are the most-viewed on social media platforms. The Pensacola-native has one of the largest fanbases among the current generation of Superstars on social media.
The cold hard fact is that Roman Reigns is one of the biggest draws in the company. He is beloved by a large part of the WWE fanbase and that is something the hardcore fans are yet to come to terms with.
Roman Reigns' return to SmackDown is going to be one of the highlights of the show. If "The Big Dog" is able to cause a sizeable spike in ratings, it would go a long way in silencing his doubters.
One of the biggest complaints regarding Reigns' has been the lack of a character arc. "The Big Dog" has been a babyface for the last six years with little to no character building.
What makes the Reigns' return at Summerslam so special is the fact that "The Big Dog" seemed to have gone through a slight makeover. While he had beefed up physically and sported a beard, he was trash-talking to both The Fiend and Braun Strowman.
While this might not be a full heel turn, this change in Reigns' attitude is a positive sign. "The Big Dog" looked like an absolute badass during his beatdown in the closing moments of SummerSlam.
There have been several fan theories on social media that speculate that Reigns could be the leader of the newest faction in WWE, RETRIBUTION. Now, this could be something completely out of the blue.
Reigns as the leader of RETRIBUTION would be a game-changer for WWE programming. It would be quite a sight to Reigns lead a faction after being a part of one of the most beloved groups in WWE history, The Shield.
Regardless if Roman Reigns walks out with the Universal Championship this Sunday, one thing is for sure. "The Big Dog" is here and he will always be at the top, no matter what the naysayers say.
