Roman’s most critically acclaimed Rival

[ChitownKnight]

Who would it be? Cena had Edge/Punk, Hogan had Piper, Austin had the Rock, Bret had HBK. What about Roman? I know Brock is the guy they want in that position, but I think it will end up being Cody assuming he wins at mania 40

[Fake Jesus]

It's impossible to think of Roman without thinking of Brock and remembering all those turgid matches, all that dog-shit booking, how the entire show revolved around getting them to the next snoozefest, how many times they went to the well. It's not Cena/Edge, it's Alberto/Sheamus.

[asellus]

I think of Strowman and the intial feud they had, that one was fun. Pure Looney Tunes bull between the two.

Though, I wouldn't be surprised if Cody takes that slot pending on how that goes.

[The Foreigner™: PreSZN]

Jey Uso for now; Cody eventually

[Some Guy]

It probably should have been Seth Rollins, but they've kept them largely apart in terms of PPV matches outside of like two. He's had a lot of matches with KO on PPV, though I'm not sure they were ever anything other than stopgaps to bigger feuds and none of the matches or promos stand out all that much.

They tried to make it Triple H but their entire feud and Mania match fell completely flat. Same with Taker, really. So I guess it's just Brock despite them having 2 good matches book-ending their 500 year feud with about 30 crappy matches in between.

[Nosnorb]

He hasn't had a real feud on the level of those other dudes, mostly because as a face he was a bottle job and as a heel his matches end in almost always with an Uso helping him win. The closest as a heel would be Sami, one of the few dudes that looked better going out of a match with Roman than going in.

As a face, there was nobody he had a feud with that got to the level of Cena/Edge, Rock/Triple H or Triple H/Foley.

[KingPooper]

Lesnar.

Then a on a personal level Rollins.

[Mozenrath]

Probably Strowman. He was one of the few guys who as a heel properly got sympathy on Roman. Not blaming other heels necessarily, circumstances did not do them many favors, but Strowman was able to overcome that due to chemistry and the strength of the Giant vs Face formula that WWE has based much of their booking around for like 50 years, or in that range.

I do think Braun kind of failed to reach those heights with anyone else, even before he lost a step, or like... eight steps.

[Zombie Mod]

office chairs.

[Venti]

For better or worse, definitely Lesnar.

I know the thread says "critically acclaimed," but I mostly say it as I think it's the rivalry that will be remembered most with Roman.

Unless he does a lot more stuff with Cody.

[A Platypus Rave is Correct]

Yeah, Roman is going to be tied to Brock just due to how many times they made that match and basically killed the entire roster off for the two of them

[UN PLOMBIER NIGHTMARE #blm]

I guess Brock but it is absolutely by default

[Stu]

I've longed maintained Cena had multiple rivals for different reasons:

Edge in a traditional sense of "good vs evil."
Orton over the position of WWE poster boy.
Punk as far as "chosen one vs rebellious one."
Batista over what could have been.

Roman could be no different and have multiple rivals.

[Instant Classic]

If Strowman kept elevating after losing the universal title it would be him. Since not I’d say Brock.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

The Giant CGI version of himself

[Mozenrath]

Aug 23, 2023 21:27:53 GMT -5 Stu said:

I've longed maintained Cena had multiple rivals for different reasons:

Edge in a traditional sense of "good vs evil."
Orton over the position of WWE poster boy.
Punk as far as "chosen one vs rebellious one."
Batista over what could have been.

Roman could be no different and have multiple rivals.

Similarly, Rock obviously had a big history with Austin, but his rivalries with Mankind and Triple H were both enormously important to his career and legacy in a way that makes them more 1b and 1c than something that should be treated as an afterthought or something.

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

Aug 23, 2023 14:17:42 GMT -5 Fake Jesus said:

It's impossible to think of Roman without thinking of Brock and remembering all those turgid matches, all that dog-shit booking, how the entire show revolved around getting them to the next snoozefest, how many times they went to the well. It's not Cena/Edge, it's Alberto/Sheamus.

I think of it more as Cena/Orton. Two big names that didn’t really gel, but were pushed together because they’re big names. Over and over again.

[Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story]

Aug 23, 2023 14:17:42 GMT -5 Fake Jesus said:

It's impossible to think of Roman without thinking of Brock and remembering all those turgid matches, all that dog-shit booking, how the entire show revolved around getting them to the next snoozefest, how many times they went to the well. It's not Cena/Edge, it's Alberto/Sheamus.

It's kind of wild that those matches started good (Mania 31 was truly a great match, IMO), went sour, then by the end (SummerSlam 22) were fun again. I can't think of a lot of matches/rivalries that have that happen.

[schma]

Clean wins? That rival has been getting one over on him for a few years now.

[Instant Classic]

Also forgot Bray Wyatt could have been his biggest rival as well as Strowman.