It was announced on Monday Night Raw that Roman Reigns will once again have to overcome the odds to remain at the top of the WWE, this time being challenged with his trickiest task to date.
The current World Heavyweight champion continues to pay for his challenge to The Authority and will now have to win the Royal Rumble in order to retain his title.
Having won last year’s Rumble, Reigns must repeat his 2014 feat if his enthralling defiance were to continue.
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Not since 1992 has the WWE’s top title been up for grabs in the Rumble, that year seeing Ric Flair claim the crown after entering third.
And while Reigns will be up against it in the WWE’s most entertaining brawl on the calendar, he is certainly not unfamiliar with having the odds stacked firmly against him.
His recent career has been defined by the WWE’s authoritative power rallying against him and his destruction of Triple H after being screwed over at TLC sparked new life into his cause within the WWE Universe and led to his current title run.
Here, Sport360 looks at the five biggest challenges of Reigns’ career so far. 1. Monday Night Raw – Seth Rollins turns on The Shield
At the time, The Shield were the most dominant force in the WWE, dismantling everyone before them as the most exciting stable the company has seen in recent years.
Having feuded with Evolution, they came out on top of two showdowns at Xtreme Rules and Payback and nothing looked like stopping them.
However, Triple H had Rollins turn on his comrades and began his determined effort to deny Reigns’ progression. 2. WrestleMania 31 – Rollins cashes in
A Royal Rumble win led Reigns to the grandest stage of them all and a WrestleMania showdown with all conquering Brock Lesnar.
He was battered initially as Lesnar coined the phrase “Supplex City”, but Reigns began to get back into it and cause the champion some problems before Rollins once again spoiled the party.
Mr. Money in the Bank cashed in his title shot and went on to claim the World Heavyweight title as Triple H’s pedigree protégé. 3. Money in the Bank 2015 – Bray Wyatt interferes
Reigns has gotten used to nuisance interferences at key moments and as he looked set to scale the ladder and claim a Money in the Bank contract of his own until the lights went out in the arena.
Wyatt appeared and, without any sign of a feud, brought Reigns down to size with a Sister Abigail that cost him his shot.
Sheamus went on to win the match and, although unknown to him at the time, he would prove to be Reigns’ next party pooper. 4. Survivor Series 2015 – Sheamus cashes in
Furthering that belief was this year’s Survivor Series which saw Reigns take on old friend Dean Ambrose in the final of the World Heavyweight title tournament.
It was a perfect moment for Reigns as he valiantly beat Ambrose and finally claimed the title he so desperately craved.
It was all too good to be true, Sheamus coming to the ring to deliver a Brogue Kick, cash in his Money in the Bank contract and win the title just five minutes and 15 seconds after he claimed gold for the first time. 5. TLC 2015 – League of Nations unite
Reigns got his shot at reclaiming the title at the next pay-per-view but by this time Sheamus had aligned himself with Triple H and formed the League of Nations.
Rusev, Alberto del Rio and Wade Barrett would all traipse down to the ring to assist their leader at TLC as their influence helped deny Reigns once again.
This proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back as Reigns went on a rampage, destroying all in his path much to the delight of the WWE Universe.
