The Avengers had Thanos. World of Warcraft had C’Thun. WWE has Roman Reigns.
On April 2nd at WrestleMania 39, the reigning and defending Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns shockingly defeated Cody Rhodes to ensure that his record-breaking title reign will continue. At the time of writing, The Tribal Chief’s current title reign stands at 945 days and counting, and an unfathomable 1,000 days as champion is now a very real probability. Heading into the blockbuster bout against the American Nightmare, online bookmakers made the reigning champion a huge underdog, with many punters believing that WWE would finally pull the trigger and end the Head of the Table’s record-breaking reign.
However, as players of WWE 2K23 will tell you, dethroning Roman Reigns is no easy feat. The current champ has a perfect 99 out of 99 rating in the newest installment in 2K Sports’ money-spinning video game franchises, and he is nigh-on impossible to defeat. The aforementioned Rhodes found that out firsthand inside Los Angeles’ 80,000-capacity SoFi Stadium.
It looked like the fan-favorite title challenger was about to seal the victory in California. But to steal one of the most famous poker terms, WWE decided to go all-in on their unstoppable champion. With Rhodes about to seal the victory, interference from Reigns’ cousin and Bloodline stablemate member Solo Sikoa halted the challenger’s attack, and the champion would hit his opponent with the spear to seal a shocking victory.
WWE now has all its chips on the table, and they are fully backing Roman Reigns. Rhodes has failed in his attempt to finish his story and now Roman’s title reign has no end in sight, just like the aforementioned C’Thun on World of Warcraft. But can you end his title reign in WWE 2K23?
The Contenders
If you look at the current WWE 2K23 roster, you will notice that Roman Reigns has defeated the very best wrestlers that both professional wrestling and 2K Sports video game have to offer. Brock Lesnar (97 overall rating), John Cena (94), Edge (93), Cody Rhodes (91), Drew McIntyre (91), Jey Uso (90), Braun Strowman (89), and many, many others have fallen throughout the last three years. The Undisputed WWE Universal Champion has put down a murderer’s row of opponents in recent years and there are very few contenders left to dethrone the champion.
This is where you come in. Will you attempt to usurp the current king with someone whom he has already defeated in a rags-to-riches comeback story? The likes of Rhodes, McIntyre, and Sami Zayn all put up heroic performances in their losing efforts, can you lead them to redemption?
Then, there is Seth Rollins. The Visionary is the only man that Reigns has been unable to defeat in a championship bout throughout his almost three-year-long reign of terror. The pair squared off at the 2022 Royal Rumble and Rollins went on to win the bout via disqualification, meaning that the champion retains his title, as the defending champion became enraged at his inability to put away his former Shield stablemate.
Does Rollins deserve another shot at the crown?
If you feel like none of them are the men to dethrone the 99-rated Reigns, then perhaps it is time to delve into the legends on the WWE 2K23 roster. The likes of ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin (96) and The Undertaker (95) are playable in the game. Reigns already holds a victory over the latter, which came before his championship reign beginning in 2020, but he has never faced off against the former – could either of them two be the man to defeat the current champion?
Also, The Rock (96) is playable in WWE 2K23. The Fast & Furious star is a real-life ‘cousin’ of Roman Reigns and there are plenty of stories available between the pair. Could The Great One be the one to end his cousin’s reign of terror, and thus cement himself as the Head of the Table within the iconic Samoan family?
Creating Your Own Story
Okay, so you’ve decided on the man to defeat Roman Reigns (good luck with that), but how are they going to do it? WWE 2K23 and its My Universe mode allow you to craft a storyline from beginning to end, and the story of dethroning the greatest champion of the modern era has to be impeccable. Are you up to the task?
It seemed that in real life, WWE and their Head of Creative Triple H had crafted the perfect story heading into WrestleMania 39. Surely that would end with the culmination of Roman’s reign and the coronation of Cody Rhodes as the biggest babyface in the company, right? Wrong, and now it’s your turn.
How much does The Bloodline feature in the story? Do they turn on their Tribal Chief? Is it one of them who faces off with and defeats the Head of the Table for both the gold and the top spot within the family? My Universe mode has hundreds of different options available. So, the pressure is truly on you as the player, to end Roman’s reign of terror. And you need to do it with style.