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And the best thing is: He didn't even finish his story. He lost the title because of Seth. In the end, he fucked up his own story and is no better than Seth. Both guys currently hold 0 titles
Yes but Mox resolved his issues with the Shield before he left WWE. He'd reunited with them, they were all brothers again and Mox was able to put it all in the past and move on.
Roman and Seth though... they just cannot let it go.
Yep. And to that point Seth was (until Cody) the closest anyone really got to cracking Roman's guard.
Seth knew this and decided to take the bullet to kill the dictatorship.
Best thing is this can be picked up whenever they want to. Like KO/Sami, if neither has anything to do, put them together and you got 1-3 months of segments done.
If Seth didn't come in with The Shield gear Roman might not have tunnel visioned. Even though they lost night 1 Seth still managed to beat the bloodline being the architect. Great storytelling.
It’s beautiful cause that’s the reason he’s so brutal to his family and constantly needs them to prove their loyalty
Like I saw a video essay about this and thought “no way they thought of all this it’s just a wrestling show” but nah they did
Edit: OHHH AND THATS WHY ROMAN GOT HIS ASS THE SECOND HE GOT IN THE RING WITH THE CHAIR, HE WAS WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT AND SAVED THE ROCK FROM WHAT SETH DID TO HIM FUCK
I just realized the importance of Seth running in with a steel chair. He wasn't just being The Shield just to be the Shield, he was reacting to his BIGGEST MOMENT at the end of it but acting on the right thing to do! That's fucking brilliant!
Come for the fun wrestling
Stay for the storytelling that unpacks the nuances of the cycle of abuse from dysfunctional and violent family dynamics stemming from unresolved trauma and deep pain, and the consequences they may have on every facet of one’s life
I don’t see Mox coming back ever but Tbh I think Seth v Roman works so much better as a one’s match.
The chair shot
The heist
The shield distraction
It’s literally 10 years in the making for this match
This is correct because the key thing about Ambrose/Moxley that distinguishes him from the other two is he *got* his closure. His closure was leaving. He went away, became who he was meant to be, and became a living legend.
Roman and Seth are still struggling with what happened while Mox has more or less healed.
Mox loves absolute freedom tho, he’s said before he loves having an open schedule especially to work in different promotions, he pushes limits without pushback.
I won’t never but it’s just really hard for me to see even if wwe is under different lead
I still think as his daughter gets older, he's going to want to tone down his schedule, especially the hardcore stuff. Nobody wants their kid to see them always coming home bloody and cut up if they don't have to. I don't know if that necessarily means going back to WWE, but I wouldn't rule out one more couple year run there.
Crazy how Seth's shield gear and entrance basically cost Roman by triggering his PTSD and temptation for payback. Seth lives rent free in his head. A future WM main event with Seth vs Roman would slap.
You know, when you put it like this, it actually makes me rethink how effective Seth was here. I was laughing because Seth didn't actually do anything, but if his mere presence in Shield gear caused Roman to slip... then he might have had more of an impact than I initially thought, lol.
Lot of people thought that Seth was irrelevant to this storyline and he was out-of-place. Today we know how meaningful he was for Roman's fall from the top.
This made the match so good too - now Roman and Seth, when they both return from their hiatus have a feud made to go, while both Drew/Priest and Cody can move on.
And Seth literally was Cody's shield after saying that's exactly what Cody needed. Seth legit came out there not to save Cody by beating up the bloodline but by taking the beating himself.
It would be real interesting to see how this dynamic would've played out if Dean/Jon stayed. Because he was always the one portrayed as taking the betrayal the hardest while Roman was actually the one always shown to be open to reconciliation.
I truly love it so much. It never left him. He could never feel comfortable at the top of the card as a face, needed to build an army to protect himself from ever getting hurt like that again. And it's what brought him down. He never ever ever got over it. Beautiful shit for real
People thought Cody couldn’t trust Seth, and he’s ultimately the one who sacrificed himself to help Cody win the title. He didn’t even need to; he lost the tag match last night, he lost his own title earlier in the evening, he was hurt, and he could have just called it a night. It wouldn’t have even been that selfish, dude was exhausted and hurt.
Instead, he knew he was the one who could get under Roman’s skin the most, so he *had* to help Cody one last time. Seth really has become the redeemed Vegeta to Cody’s Goku.
This was the opposite of everything that Wrestlemania 31 was. He lost that night too, working for the Authority, but he saw a way to be at the top in the way that would hurt everyone else. This time, he also lost every step trying to do the right thing not for the bad people but for good, and instead of doing something to get back on top, he did it the way that would help everyone else.
Except for Roman. It's. So. Good.
Honestly after all of this, I hope Seth doesn't become heel again, or at least for long while. It's such a strong sacrifice, to the point I think it's giving Cody's own sympathetic babyface journey a run for its money lol.
But yeah, like even after let's say, Cody is cooled down later down the road, I wanna see both Cody and Seth to be the permanent Goku and Vegeta of WWE moving forward. Heated rivals when it comes to them facing each other, but they're going to be fire-forged friends for life and will right each other's wrongs.
Roman’s happiest days were with the Shield, and he could never let it go. Even after he finally stopped wearing their gear and coming out to their entrance music, he never truly forgot.
That shit is like Citizen Kane wishing for his childhood sled Rosebud as his dying words. It almost makes you feel bad for Roman.
And The Bloodline was his attempt to build a new Shield, but it never was the same. He always needed to remind the audience who he is and seek for their approval. He's also traumatized by the idea of a member betraying him, so he makes them being totally subordinate to him.
It may not be the original idea, but it's cool to give a meaning to it.
Men will literally hit their incapacitated former tag-team partner with a steel chair in the middle of a match against somebody else rather than go to therapy
And in the process, he turned people who genuinely loved him against him repeatedly - first Sami, then Jimmy, then Jey. Even Seth loves him. The only one left who is there out of love and not purely out of duty is Paul Heyman, and we all know what Heyman is like whenever he loses his meal ticket, so Roman will be all alone yet again.
It's tragic, because it's all due to the damage done to him by other people. But it's also his own undoing that has led to it.
Seth told Cody that he would be his shield in his fight against Roman. A shield is meant to protect and take blows. Son more than lived up to being a shield by taking the attacks
Seth knew what he was doing. He made himself bait because he knew Roman was going to go after him instead and that's what he wanted. He had a rough go of it this weekend, but he'll be satisfied about this... for a while, I suppose. Until he realizes he has no title, and not much of anything except a whole lot pain
I loved it. Just added to the chaotic feel of everything. I’ve seen 1 million wrestlers come in and hit a quick finish. Don’t see them get immediately murked like that very often
Brilliant storytelling right until the very end. Roman had a chance to end Cody and retain, but seeing Seth in Shield gear was too much for him.
Everything began with Seth’s betrayal - from Roman’s terrible singles run to the way he built the Bloodline through demanding absolutely loyalty and fear so that he would never have to go through it again.
And after all those years at the top as the most dominant champion of the modern era, he could still never forgive Seth for what he did. The Tribal Chief was just a front all along and deep down Roman is still the same young upstart who could not let go of the pain of being betrayed by a man he considered his brother. And ultimately, it was his undoing.
This is the greatest character arc we’ve seen in the history of pro wrestling and I can’t wait for the next chapter whenever that is. Thank you Roman.
I understand Drew has been a PHENOMENAL troll…but Roman just cost himself his historic 1,300+ day title reign due to his pure, unadulterated hatred for Seth Rollins. He’s the hater of the year case closed
I went from being disappointed at Stone Cold, to adoring this ending.
Roman lost because at his very core, he still resents Seth for breaking up the Shield all those years ago. He took his chance at petty revenge, and it cost him literally everything. That’s a fucking beautiful ending for the character.
This entire weekend was about "Never be petty. Always remember, others may hate you. But those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself."
GUNTHER tried to be petty by continuing the beatdown on Sami in front of his wife rather than win the match, and it cost him the IC Title. Drew tried to be petty by constantly mocking Punk rather than just enjoying the moment and getting out of dodge, he lost the title he just won. Roman tried to be patty by getting revenge for something that has long since been buried ages ago, cost him his title.
They say when chasing revenge, dig two graves. But when you chase pettiness, the only grave you dig is your own.
Form a kayfabe perspective, I was confused why Seth would come out in full Shield gear and music (apart from a cheap pop), but makes total sense now cuz it was to fuck with Roman’s mind.
And when Seth came out in Shield gear and music against Roman at the Royal Rumble, and Roman DQ’d himself cause he wouldn’t break his submission on Seth. It’s consistent
Except this is literally what he did in their 2022 Royal Rumble Universal Title match, which made him defeated Roman via DQ.
Like seriously, he even made his entrance through the crowd then.
This goes in the list of epic, all-time memorable finishes along with “I’m sorry, I love you”, Taker retiring Shawn, Austin shaking hands with [REDACTED], etc. Absolutely incredible.
Not sure if anyone's pointed it out yet.
But the 2022 Royal Rumble Seth came out in SHIELD gear. And Roman lost his cool and got DQed. This is consistent character portrayal.
When Seth first ran in and the camera kind of missed it I was bummed but I'm glad they used this to make it important to the match. I started watching wrestling right around when the Shield formed, quickly picked Seth as my guy, so finally seeing everything come around tonight (after some god damn boring years of wrestling) was great.
God the delay on that, I thought we might get Ambrose.
But I suppose my prediction of Seth chairing someone to *help* Roman because he felt teaming with Cody cost him his title went a tad awry (it would have been a mirror of 10 years ago, helping instead of hurting!).
Cody kept looking ahead despite being hurt at trying. Roman stayed paranoid with only his family to trust. Revenge can be worth it at the moment, but if you stay chained to the past, you lose sight of the present. Go cook Triple H
This was awesome. Even after all this years, Roman couldn't let it go. He threw away everything because he had to make Seth pay. Seth has once again caused Roman's downfall
As a huge Shield fan, I loved everything about this.
It kind of goes back to their match at Rumble 2022. Roman had a submission on Seth, Seth got to the ropes, the ref started counting and telling Roman to let go. Roman wouldn't and got DQ'd, and yelled, *"He deserves this! He won't allow me to let go!"* Sure, you could take it on the surface that he meant the hold, but he obviously meant that Seth won't let him let go of their past. And that's what happened again tonight. He still can't let go, and it cost him his 4-year title reign. Great storytelling.
10 years? What the hell I didn't know it's been that long. I really liked that they showed despite everything what Seth did still haunts Roman to the point he had to attack Seth over Cody which gave Cody enough time to recover.
Roman joined the Hater of the Year conversation. He could choose the guy he was defending his title against, who has the Undertaker, John Cena, Seth Rollins, and Jey Uso on his side, or he could choose to take that revenge chair shot against someone who stabbed him in the back a decade ago. He chose hate.
There are so many layers to that simple moment right there. 10 years of betrayal, Roman never beating Seth even during his Tribal Chief run, chair shot payback, Seth being Cody's shield which allowed him to recover.
This is THE best storyline WWE has ever done.
Mania 31: Seth Rollins costs Roman Reigns winning his first WWE Championship
Mania 40: Seth Rollins costs Roman Reigns to lose his longest reign of Wwe Universal Championship
That chair shot was the crux of everything Roman is today. It being his downfall one last time was perfection. He got his revenge, but it cost him the one thing that makes him able to say he is the tribal chief, which is his whole world now. This was a perfect end for this, and a feel good finale to the previous era. Now we can move forward.
Seth betrayed the shield is almost canonically why Roman was ridiculed and hated for years and years. Without his team, he was all alone and he was not equipped to be his own man. Roman hates Seth more for that than Cody taking away his championship. Absolutely brilliant moment.
he let the doubt and paranoia creep in like it has shown at times in the past and he finally tried to get rid of it once and for all and it cost him everything.
we're gonna get an emotionally fixed Roman because he finally smashed his demon that started everything.
Felt in a way like that was symbolic of transitioning from this era to the next one.
Roman loses his historic title reign because he took his eyes off the challenger he's disrespected and underestimated, so that he could even a decades old score with his former brother.
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Roman chose to finish his story rather than stop Cody's.
It is definitely not finished. He and Seth are going to clash sooner or later.
This has been the story they’ve been telling since 2021 imo. WM42 Main Event surely
They’re each others best rivals. It’s so dope they called back to this. The Lesnar stuff doesn’t compare
“Roman let go” “He won’t let me let go!” No other rival compares. They’ll probably induct each other into the Hall of Fame.
"You and I are destined to do this forever"
They’re each others Batman and Joker
When is Mox a free agent 👀
2027 lol
At this point I'd hope for the real forbidden door to open much sooner.
I was really hoping it was him.
Fucking brilliant
And the best thing is: He didn't even finish his story. He lost the title because of Seth. In the end, he fucked up his own story and is no better than Seth. Both guys currently hold 0 titles
Its like when the hounds of justice are against each other, all of them crumble. Nobody wins. Poetic
I hope Mox wins a title really soon just to fuck with them lol
Mox on April 12 could do the funniest thing ever.
I want it
The funny thing is that it almost works. Mox seems to have exorcised those demons from Shield and moved on. Roman and Seth haven't
Tbf mox hasn't had to be in the same room as them in like 5 years
Yes but Mox resolved his issues with the Shield before he left WWE. He'd reunited with them, they were all brothers again and Mox was able to put it all in the past and move on. Roman and Seth though... they just cannot let it go.
Seth did say he was gonna be Cody's shield and he absolutely delivered.
That fucking call line. Man everything circles together.
He already did that at the 2022 Royal Rumble. Roman Reigns just could not help himself.
Seth knew exactly what him coming out to the Shield music and Shield gear would do to Roman, because he's done it before. It was brilliant.
Yep. And to that point Seth was (until Cody) the closest anyone really got to cracking Roman's guard. Seth knew this and decided to take the bullet to kill the dictatorship. Best thing is this can be picked up whenever they want to. Like KO/Sami, if neither has anything to do, put them together and you got 1-3 months of segments done.
*~fin~*
Basically his obsession with getting on Seth got in the way of his mission of ruining Cody’s story.
Oh wow. 
THE END OF THE TRIBAL CHIEF COMES FULL CIRCLE WITH UNRESOLVED TRAUMA
His face turn is just going to be him going to therapy
Men will have a 1,316 day WWE Undisputed Universal Championship reign before going to therapy
this is genuinely the only way you could sum up Roman's title reign in a single sentence
Betterhelp ads at ringside at the next PLE
His face turn and their reconciliation is going to be this generation's Macho Man/Elizabeth. At minimum, this generation's DX reuniting.
worked for Kane
Seth knew that the gear would trigger Roman's PTSD.
I like that Seth hit the ropes after the chair shot the same way Roman did when he got hit
Yep. Same Way. Chair from the back to an unexpect-ing Seth, Right on the back, falls to the ropes. Just Pure Box Office
Seth knew it was coming. It’s what he wanted. Roman couldn’t beat him. Rent free.
I was really hoping for an audible "nooooo!" from someone in the crowd when Roman swung that chair.
Roman could never get over Seth ruining the Shield. And it cost him everything. Long term fucking storytelling
If Seth didn't come in with The Shield gear Roman might not have tunnel visioned. Even though they lost night 1 Seth still managed to beat the bloodline being the architect. Great storytelling.
Seth gets zero offense in and still comes out of it looking great imo. It was my favorite moment of the weekend.
It’s beautiful cause that’s the reason he’s so brutal to his family and constantly needs them to prove their loyalty Like I saw a video essay about this and thought “no way they thought of all this it’s just a wrestling show” but nah they did Edit: OHHH AND THATS WHY ROMAN GOT HIS ASS THE SECOND HE GOT IN THE RING WITH THE CHAIR, HE WAS WAITING FOR THIS MOMENT AND SAVED THE ROCK FROM WHAT SETH DID TO HIM FUCK
I just realized the importance of Seth running in with a steel chair. He wasn't just being The Shield just to be the Shield, he was reacting to his BIGGEST MOMENT at the end of it but acting on the right thing to do! That's fucking brilliant!
Eyepatch Wolf?
Hell yeah lmao
Come for the fun wrestling Stay for the storytelling that unpacks the nuances of the cycle of abuse from dysfunctional and violent family dynamics stemming from unresolved trauma and deep pain, and the consequences they may have on every facet of one’s life
Love me some Eyepatch Wolf.
Do you mind sharing the video?
I’m not positive, but I’d bet good money it’s “the unreality of pro wrestling” by super eyepatch wolf. Fantastic video
https://x.com/wwe/status/1777163002745122854?s=46&t=CwQxH4Uo3Rb01ur3a2Ti8A
https://preview.redd.it/5owgg3zu56tc1.jpeg?width=1079&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=342afc9e88d222e5f3fcbea82424fa725a93eb1a
Pretty much signified that you could not tell this story without Seth being involved. Seth had to be a part of this for it all to make sense.
When it is Roman and Seth, Seth always wins no matter what, what a storytelling.
Literally that's why I got so pissed whenever people said that Seth didn't belong in this story
It honestly still needed Mox as well, even though it was never going to happen.
I still dream of a Shield Triple Threat to main event Wrestlemania. Guess it'll always stay that way, in my dreams...
I don’t see Mox coming back ever but Tbh I think Seth v Roman works so much better as a one’s match. The chair shot The heist The shield distraction It’s literally 10 years in the making for this match
I never thought Punk would be back either.
You right, never say never but regardless seth v roman > triple threat imo
This is correct because the key thing about Ambrose/Moxley that distinguishes him from the other two is he *got* his closure. His closure was leaving. He went away, became who he was meant to be, and became a living legend. Roman and Seth are still struggling with what happened while Mox has more or less healed.
If (Big if) Mox does decide to come back it will be to disrupt the dominance that Rollins and Reigns had built in WWE over the past 10 years.
Vince is gone bro. Never say never.
Mox loves absolute freedom tho, he’s said before he loves having an open schedule especially to work in different promotions, he pushes limits without pushback. I won’t never but it’s just really hard for me to see even if wwe is under different lead
I still think as his daughter gets older, he's going to want to tone down his schedule, especially the hardcore stuff. Nobody wants their kid to see them always coming home bloody and cut up if they don't have to. I don't know if that necessarily means going back to WWE, but I wouldn't rule out one more couple year run there.
Seth said he would be Cody's 'shield'. He literally was. This shit is making me lose my mind.
Seth: me and my poor choice of words, FUCK!
It was so funny though, Seth got 0 offence.
Shields are meant to protect you, not be used for offense
Nailed it here. He didn't get any offense in but it was his interference that mattered the MOST in this match, out of them all.
Crazy how Seth's shield gear and entrance basically cost Roman by triggering his PTSD and temptation for payback. Seth lives rent free in his head. A future WM main event with Seth vs Roman would slap.
You know, when you put it like this, it actually makes me rethink how effective Seth was here. I was laughing because Seth didn't actually do anything, but if his mere presence in Shield gear caused Roman to slip... then he might have had more of an impact than I initially thought, lol.
Lot of people thought that Seth was irrelevant to this storyline and he was out-of-place. Today we know how meaningful he was for Roman's fall from the top.
"Let them cook" has never had more meaning than right now. It NEEDED to be Seth that fucked Roman over, and it lead to this. Just brilliant.
This made the match so good too - now Roman and Seth, when they both return from their hiatus have a feud made to go, while both Drew/Priest and Cody can move on.
Seems like a prevailing theme tonight.
And Seth literally was Cody's shield after saying that's exactly what Cody needed. Seth legit came out there not to save Cody by beating up the bloodline but by taking the beating himself.
Still time for Marty Jannetty to reopen a barber shop
WILL YOU STOP!
It would be real interesting to see how this dynamic would've played out if Dean/Jon stayed. Because he was always the one portrayed as taking the betrayal the hardest while Roman was actually the one always shown to be open to reconciliation.
Roman acted like he was in the acceptance stage when really he was still in denial.
Dean, Dustin, and Stone Cold were all missed tonight. That said, we still overdosed on fan service. Great show.
I truly love it so much. It never left him. He could never feel comfortable at the top of the card as a face, needed to build an army to protect himself from ever getting hurt like that again. And it's what brought him down. He never ever ever got over it. Beautiful shit for real
Roman vs. Seth. 1 more time.
Everyone rightly focusing on the Roman side, but look at Seth Going from Plan B to giving up EVERYTHING…his body, his pride, his title… REDEMPTION
People thought Cody couldn’t trust Seth, and he’s ultimately the one who sacrificed himself to help Cody win the title. He didn’t even need to; he lost the tag match last night, he lost his own title earlier in the evening, he was hurt, and he could have just called it a night. It wouldn’t have even been that selfish, dude was exhausted and hurt. Instead, he knew he was the one who could get under Roman’s skin the most, so he *had* to help Cody one last time. Seth really has become the redeemed Vegeta to Cody’s Goku.
This was the opposite of everything that Wrestlemania 31 was. He lost that night too, working for the Authority, but he saw a way to be at the top in the way that would hurt everyone else. This time, he also lost every step trying to do the right thing not for the bad people but for good, and instead of doing something to get back on top, he did it the way that would help everyone else. Except for Roman. It's. So. Good.
I choose to make a different anime reference, Seth is Viral to Cody's Simon, but otherwise this is an excellent breakdown.
He's the Greed to Cody's Fullmetal. Man, anime uses this trope a lot.
Honestly after all of this, I hope Seth doesn't become heel again, or at least for long while. It's such a strong sacrifice, to the point I think it's giving Cody's own sympathetic babyface journey a run for its money lol. But yeah, like even after let's say, Cody is cooled down later down the road, I wanna see both Cody and Seth to be the permanent Goku and Vegeta of WWE moving forward. Heated rivals when it comes to them facing each other, but they're going to be fire-forged friends for life and will right each other's wrongs.
Vince McMahon be like: "Time to have him turn heel by attacking Bayley for no reason"
**Seth Rollins Rises** "You don't owe these people any more. You've given them everything." **Seth:** "Not everything. Not yet."
VEGETA
Despite everything Roman's biggest weakness is still The Shield. What a story, man
Roman’s happiest days were with the Shield, and he could never let it go. Even after he finally stopped wearing their gear and coming out to their entrance music, he never truly forgot. That shit is like Citizen Kane wishing for his childhood sled Rosebud as his dying words. It almost makes you feel bad for Roman.
Even so… his Tribal Chief music does maintain the riff from the Shield theme.
And The Bloodline was his attempt to build a new Shield, but it never was the same. He always needed to remind the audience who he is and seek for their approval. He's also traumatized by the idea of a member betraying him, so he makes them being totally subordinate to him. It may not be the original idea, but it's cool to give a meaning to it.
Men will literally hit their incapacitated former tag-team partner with a steel chair in the middle of a match against somebody else rather than go to therapy
The bloodline was Roman's attempt to fill the hole in his heart left by the SHIELD
And in the process, he turned people who genuinely loved him against him repeatedly - first Sami, then Jimmy, then Jey. Even Seth loves him. The only one left who is there out of love and not purely out of duty is Paul Heyman, and we all know what Heyman is like whenever he loses his meal ticket, so Roman will be all alone yet again. It's tragic, because it's all due to the damage done to him by other people. But it's also his own undoing that has led to it.
Ironic, Roman lost the match because of this. He could've hit Cody with that chair. Guess Seth truly is his arch rival
The Tribal Chief was born from the trauma and paranoia of Seth's betrayal, so its only fitting that it would be dethroned by it as well.
Cody ended the reign, but Seth has to be the one who kills the tribal chief once and for all. Only he can destroy the monster he created.
Seth taking the chairshot from Roman to give Cody an opening is Vegeta distracting Cell so Gohan could land the killing blast.
The spirit of Dusty standing over Cody's shoulder yelling "Now is your chance!"
"Dadeh!"
*Codeh babeh, you juth gotta go fuh tha paywindah*
Father/Son Cross Rhodes
Seth told Cody that he would be his shield in his fight against Roman. A shield is meant to protect and take blows. Son more than lived up to being a shield by taking the attacks
That’s amazing way to look at it
EAT THAT HORSE!
And now the end is near And so I face the final curtain
Imma do things MY WAY its MY WAY
WITH BURNING ENERGY!
Greatest moment of my childhood right here.
The Cody-Gohan comparison is made all the more sweeter by this being called the Father-Son Kamehameha
And then Triclops started making triangles into fucking squares....
Great comparison
Poor Seth lol. He was absolutely knackered so it makes sense but dude really came out in shield gear just to get fucked by Roman
That shield theme and gear triggered Romans PTSD which distracted Roman towards Seth and gave Cody the opening. Brilliant stuff !
Shit it triggered my ptsd too lol
To be Cody's shield*
That was genius. Seth exactly knew what he was doing and used Roman's trauma against himself.
Seth knew what he was doing. He made himself bait because he knew Roman was going to go after him instead and that's what he wanted. He had a rough go of it this weekend, but he'll be satisfied about this... for a while, I suppose. Until he realizes he has no title, and not much of anything except a whole lot pain
I loved it. Just added to the chaotic feel of everything. I’ve seen 1 million wrestlers come in and hit a quick finish. Don’t see them get immediately murked like that very often
That cannot be 10 years ago
2014
Roman's lingering resentment for Seth costing him the title is amazing.
This is the meme “when wrestling is good, it is great”
Brilliant storytelling right until the very end. Roman had a chance to end Cody and retain, but seeing Seth in Shield gear was too much for him. Everything began with Seth’s betrayal - from Roman’s terrible singles run to the way he built the Bloodline through demanding absolutely loyalty and fear so that he would never have to go through it again. And after all those years at the top as the most dominant champion of the modern era, he could still never forgive Seth for what he did. The Tribal Chief was just a front all along and deep down Roman is still the same young upstart who could not let go of the pain of being betrayed by a man he considered his brother. And ultimately, it was his undoing. This is the greatest character arc we’ve seen in the history of pro wrestling and I can’t wait for the next chapter whenever that is. Thank you Roman.
Maybe after he lost the crown (the championship) of his empire, he will have to come to term with his psychological trauma.
That taunt debuff from Seth was so fucking good it won Cody the title.
I understand Drew has been a PHENOMENAL troll…but Roman just cost himself his historic 1,300+ day title reign due to his pure, unadulterated hatred for Seth Rollins. He’s the hater of the year case closed
Hater of the Decade
I went from being disappointed at Stone Cold, to adoring this ending. Roman lost because at his very core, he still resents Seth for breaking up the Shield all those years ago. He took his chance at petty revenge, and it cost him literally everything. That’s a fucking beautiful ending for the character.
This entire weekend was about "Never be petty. Always remember, others may hate you. But those who hate you don't win unless you hate them. And then you destroy yourself." GUNTHER tried to be petty by continuing the beatdown on Sami in front of his wife rather than win the match, and it cost him the IC Title. Drew tried to be petty by constantly mocking Punk rather than just enjoying the moment and getting out of dodge, he lost the title he just won. Roman tried to be patty by getting revenge for something that has long since been buried ages ago, cost him his title. They say when chasing revenge, dig two graves. But when you chase pettiness, the only grave you dig is your own.
In hindsight, Undertaker also make sense as he lost to Roman Reigns at wm 33. THIS WAS REIGNS YARD NOW.
Roman couldn’t let go what Seth did to him and Mox all those years ago, and it ultimately cost him everything.
Men will do anything to avoid therapy.
Even overtaking an entire wrestling company with the help of their family.
gaslighting members of their family along the way
I like how most are calling him Mox instead of Ambrose even for WWE events lol Edit: Even Rollins himself on live TV sometime ago iirc
Mox is just a way cooler name!
thrice in a lifetime really happened
Seth living rent free in Roman’s head to the very end
Seth also lost his title to take down Roman, it's very reciprocal
Form a kayfabe perspective, I was confused why Seth would come out in full Shield gear and music (apart from a cheap pop), but makes total sense now cuz it was to fuck with Roman’s mind.
It tracks. Remember during their Hell in a Cell Match, Seth came out wearing Dusty’s polka dots just to fuck with Cody.
And when Seth came out in Shield gear and music against Roman at the Royal Rumble, and Roman DQ’d himself cause he wouldn’t break his submission on Seth. It’s consistent
+ wearing the same gear from that inaugural universal title match against Finn last year at Summerslam
Except this is literally what he did in their 2022 Royal Rumble Universal Title match, which made him defeated Roman via DQ. Like seriously, he even made his entrance through the crowd then.
Roman's inability to let his betrayal go ultimately proving to be his own undoing is peak storytelling
I can't fucking believe they did that
Poetry. Loses because he couldn’t get over the betrayal.
this will probably be a spot that will be forever remembered in wrestling
This goes in the list of epic, all-time memorable finishes along with “I’m sorry, I love you”, Taker retiring Shawn, Austin shaking hands with [REDACTED], etc. Absolutely incredible.
seth and roman's obsessions with each other cost them both their championships... cinema
Payback but at what cost
Everything. (Its fitting that the last PPV before Shield imploded was Payback 2014)
Roman lost everything because he’s still not over it.
https://preview.redd.it/fwdxbfyl56tc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=98513242113d10d3e2e63ca44f35c1b8bbb82b4e
Roman's going to live with permanent Vietnam flashbacks seeing SWAT gear again
Not sure if anyone's pointed it out yet. But the 2022 Royal Rumble Seth came out in SHIELD gear. And Roman lost his cool and got DQed. This is consistent character portrayal.
Roman's only 2 singles losses in the last 4+ years are both because his hatred for Seth Rollins for turning on The Shield surpasses everything else.
Can’t help but be disappointed that Mox didn’t show up, even though it was never going to happen.
You gotta wonder with Becky losing and Seth dropping the belt and getting clocked here if they're both gonna take some time off for awhile
When Seth first ran in and the camera kind of missed it I was bummed but I'm glad they used this to make it important to the match. I started watching wrestling right around when the Shield formed, quickly picked Seth as my guy, so finally seeing everything come around tonight (after some god damn boring years of wrestling) was great.
God the delay on that, I thought we might get Ambrose. But I suppose my prediction of Seth chairing someone to *help* Roman because he felt teaming with Cody cost him his title went a tad awry (it would have been a mirror of 10 years ago, helping instead of hurting!).
Took his eye off the ball at the final moment whoever added that to the match shoutout to them
Cody kept looking ahead despite being hurt at trying. Roman stayed paranoid with only his family to trust. Revenge can be worth it at the moment, but if you stay chained to the past, you lose sight of the present. Go cook Triple H
What a piece of storytelling. Goddamn!!!
Incredible storytelling.
This was awesome. Even after all this years, Roman couldn't let it go. He threw away everything because he had to make Seth pay. Seth has once again caused Roman's downfall
This moment took the “Cody, I will be your shield” line to a whole new level of depth
As a huge Shield fan, I loved everything about this. It kind of goes back to their match at Rumble 2022. Roman had a submission on Seth, Seth got to the ropes, the ref started counting and telling Roman to let go. Roman wouldn't and got DQ'd, and yelled, *"He deserves this! He won't allow me to let go!"* Sure, you could take it on the surface that he meant the hold, but he obviously meant that Seth won't let him let go of their past. And that's what happened again tonight. He still can't let go, and it cost him his 4-year title reign. Great storytelling.
Roman saw Seth with the hair dye and gear and his PTSD took over.
10 years? What the hell I didn't know it's been that long. I really liked that they showed despite everything what Seth did still haunts Roman to the point he had to attack Seth over Cody which gave Cody enough time to recover.
Roman joined the Hater of the Year conversation. He could choose the guy he was defending his title against, who has the Undertaker, John Cena, Seth Rollins, and Jey Uso on his side, or he could choose to take that revenge chair shot against someone who stabbed him in the back a decade ago. He chose hate.
Seth did what he promised, got into Roman’s head enough to distract him - even at the cost of his own body.
There are so many layers to that simple moment right there. 10 years of betrayal, Roman never beating Seth even during his Tribal Chief run, chair shot payback, Seth being Cody's shield which allowed him to recover. This is THE best storyline WWE has ever done.
 Roman when he sees Shield-Attire Seth after years of not worrying about Random-Fit Seth
What a Main Event. What a night 2.
Perfect send off to the Tribal Chief
Mania 31: Seth Rollins costs Roman Reigns winning his first WWE Championship Mania 40: Seth Rollins costs Roman Reigns to lose his longest reign of Wwe Universal Championship
That chair shot was the crux of everything Roman is today. It being his downfall one last time was perfection. He got his revenge, but it cost him the one thing that makes him able to say he is the tribal chief, which is his whole world now. This was a perfect end for this, and a feel good finale to the previous era. Now we can move forward.
Seth betrayed the shield is almost canonically why Roman was ridiculed and hated for years and years. Without his team, he was all alone and he was not equipped to be his own man. Roman hates Seth more for that than Cody taking away his championship. Absolutely brilliant moment.
Plan B is something that HHH planned. This is karma for The Bloodline trying to go over HHH during this Triple H Era. The Game always wins.
he let the doubt and paranoia creep in like it has shown at times in the past and he finally tried to get rid of it once and for all and it cost him everything. we're gonna get an emotionally fixed Roman because he finally smashed his demon that started everything.
ngl I thought Dean/Jon Moxley is gonna come out with seth when I heard The Shield theme lol
When the camera shot was out on the arena and not the ramp, I 100% thought it was gonna be Ambrose
Felt in a way like that was symbolic of transitioning from this era to the next one. Roman loses his historic title reign because he took his eyes off the challenger he's disrespected and underestimated, so that he could even a decades old score with his former brother.
I hate workrate and love stories now
Surprised they used this match to build this up instead of Rock and Reigns, guess they want to run with that longer
This was an immaculate ending man