Roman Reigns def. WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H (Video)

Here’s the thing about change: It doesn’t happen without a fight.

For Roman Reigns to alter the landscape of WWE, he had to stand up to a mad king and his raging queen before the gathered mass of 101,763 screaming faces.

He had to overcome conspiracies and injuries, sledgehammers and subterfuge. He had to face sports-entertainment’s most elite gladiator on its grandest stage and prove that he was meant to be there.

And he did just that.

Roman Reigns defeated Triple H in the main event of WrestleMania 32 in Dallas to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, in a match that will long stand as a testament to The Powerhouse’s uncanny athleticism and unbreakable spirit.

Thrust in front of a scarily focused Cerebral Assassin who was competing in his 20th WrestleMania match, Reigns entered before a judgmental crowd and showed no indication that the gravity of this predicament had affected him.

Moments earlier, the WWE World Heavyweight Champion had been introduced to the WWE Universe by Stephanie McMahon, who stood on a stone pillar with a skull mask on her face and ordered each person in attendance to get on their knees and grovel at the feet of her chosen king.

Although he was flanked by an army of drones in skeleton hoods with WWE World Heavyweight Titles slung across their shoulders, The Game himself wore no elaborate costume, no facemask — just his trunks and boots. The message that simplicity sent was clear. He was here only to fight.

When Reigns entered, the reaction was undoubtedly mixed. Some cheered, some booed, but it was impossible not to watch with awe as the bombast of fireworks erupted across the entirety of AT&T Stadium. In small towns around Dallas, folks were suddenly aware that something important was happening.

The men met in the center of the ring, ready to fight, but they had to respect the ritual. Ring announcer Lilian Garcia introduced both combatants while the official threw himself between their hulking bodies, giving all he had to stop the fight before the bell rang proper.

Then it did — that simple clang of steel on metal signaling the beginning of war.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/JGSXqIbTG3s?t=8