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Pro Wrestling Illustrated recently released their annual list of the best pro wrestlers in the industry. Kenny Omega, Roman Reigns, Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, and Kota Ibushi made it to the top five of the PWI 500 list.
To the surprise of WWE fans, Roman Reigns did not top the list this year. Instead, AEW's Kenny Omega made it to the top for the second time since 2018.
PWI chooses wrestlers based on their performances starting from mid-June; anything a wrestler accomplished before or after that period is not considered. The criteria includes a win-loss record, championship wins, quality of competition, major feuds, prominence within a wrestler's individual promotion(s), and overall wrestling ability.
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Omega is arguably one of the best in-ring workers in the wrestling industry today. However, Roman Reigns has been better than Omega in many aspects over the past year.
His performances have shown that he is at the top of the industry in his current reign. Take a look at the five reasons why PWI should have ranked Roman Reigns at the top of its list.
#5. Roman Reigns increased WWE SmackDown’s ratings
For years, RAW was considered WWE’s flagship show. The brand drew the highest ratings, and SmackDown came second. However, the tables have turned over the last several months.
Roman Reigns returned from his sabbatical at WWE SummerSlam 2020, and SmackDown's ratings started increasing. For example, The RAW before WWE Payback 2020 had a viewership of more than 2 million.
At Payback, Reigns won the Universal Championship from “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman. Since then, SmackDown has had ratings of over two million whenever Roman Reigns has shown up.
Most of the time, 'The Head of the Table' simply comes out to cut a promo to build towards his next match. Reigns occasionally fights in the main events as well.
Meanwhile, RAW ratings have been far below the two million marks for months. Many legends showed up but failed to help the brand's situation. This shows that Reigns has had a great impact on SmackDown ratings.
In contrast, AEW is nowhere near SmackDown's ratings with Roman Reigns at the top. Statistics show that The Tribal Chief has been one of the biggest draws in the industry.
#4. Roman Reigns left his comfort zone and carved a niche
In the past, WWE fans couldn’t help but compare Roman Reigns to John Cena. Both men played perfect babyface characters while the creative team kept putting them over.
Cena remained a babyface for nearly his entire career, but Roman Reigns decided for a change upon his return. The Tribal Chief asked Vince McMahon for a heel turn.
The gimmick change has established Reigns as one of the best heels in the entire industry.The Tribal Chief has a complete opposite character to the one he had before.
Not even Kenny Omega can match Reigns’ flawless heel work. Roman Reigns' decision to move out of his comfort zone shows that the WWE Superstar wants to be memorable to the fans.
#3. Roman Reigns is the biggest heel in the industry
WWE has some of the best heels in the pro wrestling industry, and Roman Reigns stands out from the lot. As mentioned earlier, Reigns took the risk and turned heel to do something different in his career.
While most wrestlers would prefer to play by the company's rules, Reigns wanted to do more. With his heel turn, we can say that his efforts have borne fruit.
Roman Reigns’ ability to cut a promo has gotten much better. This improvement has also been acknowledged by nearly everyone in the wrestling community.
The Tribal Chief has played his heel character both on the mic and in the ring. He has managed to cheat his way to victory several times without anyone’s help and remained dominant.
Playing a villainous character can be more challenging than playing a face. Roman Reigns deserves a lot more recognition for playing his formidable character flawlessly.
#2. Roman Reigns has put many superstars over in WWE
At WWE Payback 2020, Roman Reigns won the Universal Championship for the second time in his career. His second reign has proven to be a work of wonder for many.
During his current reign, Roman Reigns built up many more superstars. First, Reigns got into a rivalry with his cousin Jey Uso, and they both had an epic fight at WWE Hell in a Cell 2020.
Since then, Reigns’ cousin has become "Main Event" Jey Uso. Second, Kevin Owens also had a fantastic rivalry with The Tribal Chief. Following Owens, Edge and Daniel Bryan tried their best to take the Universal Championship from Roman Reigns but failed.
Then, Cesaro got his golden opportunity against Roman Reigns. The Superstar has never had a world title opportunity in WWE before.
The Head of the Table has built many superstars around him on SmackDown since last year. This shows that he’s grown as a superstar and as a team player.
#1. Roman Reigns restored the WWE Universal Championship's prestige
From competing in ‘Loser eats dogfood’ matches to becoming the WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns has come a long way. But the Universal Championship does not have as much history as Reigns.
Finn Balor won the title in 2016 but was forced to relinquish it. Brock Lesnar held the title for the longest time, but his two reigns have not been memorable.
Roman Reigns initially won the title from Lesnar but had to relinquish it. His current reign has been phenomenal and recently crossed the one-year mark.
Reigns regularly shows up on WWE SmackDown to build his future rivalries. Last year, he established himself as the top World Champion after defeating RAW's WWE Champion at Survivor Series.
Roman Reigns has truly managed to take the Universal Championship to new heights by making it the most valuable title in the wrestling industry today. Even Hall of Famers and legends showed up in the hopes to win it.
All these reasons prove that Roman is a more valuable asset than the current AEW World Champion. 'The Head of the Table' definitely deserves his seat at the top of the PWI 500 list.
