BROCK_LESNAR BRUCE_PRICHARD DOLPH_ZIGGLER EDGE FREDDIE_PRINZE_JR HULK_HOGAN JEY_USO JIMMY_USO JOHNNY_GARGANO JOHN_BRADSHAW_LAYFIELD JOHN_CENA KEVIN_OWENS MICHAEL_COLE PAT_MCAFEE PAUL_HEYMAN PRODUCER RENEE_PAQUETTE ROMAN_REIGNS SAM_ROBERTS SETH_ROLLINS SIKA UNDERTAKER ROMAN REIGNS It's the greatest combat athlete of all time versus the greatest sports entertainer of all time BRUCE PRICHARD One of the most physical and unpredictable rivalries in history JOHN CENA Those surprises are so cool I felt like a little kid BROCK LESNAR I'm not a superstar I'm an ass kicker, that's it ROMAN REIGNS After being in the ring with Brock, I don't fear any human physically PAUL HEYMAN Brock Lesnar does not know what it's like to be number two Neither does Roman Reigns and only one can be number one FREDDIE PRINZE JR When two legends collide, their rivalry stays pinned in our minds forever This is where we break down the legendary stories behind the greatest rivalries of all time I'm Freddie Prinze Jr and this is WWE Rivals FREDDIE PRINZE JR This rivalry is about the two alphas of the WWE and that's Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns JOHN BRADSHAW LAYFIELD Brock Lesnar's the biggest freak I've ever seen on any level in any sport JOHNNY GARGANO I remember when I was in high school, I saw this clip online of this freak athlete doing a shooting star press in OVW, and it was Brock Lesnar FREDDIE PRINZE JR This rivalry started right around Brock had already sort of been established as this monster from WWE FREDDIE PRINZE JR On the other side, we saw what the WWE hoped was their future JOHN BRADSHAW LAYFIELD Roman Reigns was the guy that we knew was going to be the man going forward And this to me is just the perfect match up You've got the ordained one You've got this freak of nature that has walked into our business I think it's just the perfect setup EDGE Clearly, you look at the dude and he's the Incredible Hulk, right? So, you know, the look is there You put him in any era and it's going to work If you put him in the eighties, yup Put him in the seventies, yeah Sixties, yeah Fifties, oh my god They'd run because King Kong is walking into the building SETH ROLLINS When you have someone as massive as Brock Lesnar, you see him just throwing Mark Henry You see him throwing The Big Show Being someone his size has its advantages, that's for sure PAUL HEYMAN The industry was looking for the next big thing Hogan's time was over and then it was The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin in the Attitude era and the Attitude era ran its course PAUL HEYMAN And the next big thing was Brock Lesnar BROCK LESNAR There's opportunities every day out there in life, but you've got to fight for them You got to take 'em because there might not be tomorrow BROCK LESNAR And that's exactly what I did I went in and beat The Rock and became the youngest WWE champion in history PAT MCAFEE If an alien was to come down to earth and say, hey, listen, I'm gonna ruin this whole thing you guys got going on unless one of your people can beat me up We're sending Brock Lesnar That dude's the alpha male of our species SAM ROBERTS Paul Heyman is one of the greatest managers, advocates, special counsels that wrestling has ever seen RENEE PAQUETTE To see Paul Heyman hitch his wagon to any superstar, you know that he's got dollar signs in his eyes He sees what that person's going to bring to the table Paul Heyman is the best PAUL HEYMAN The reason Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman made a perfect pairing was because Brock Lesnar was the greatest athlete on the face of the planet Brock Lesnar's ambitions and dreams were not limited to WWE EDGE You know, to be able to transition the way he did from amateur to pro wrestling, to MMA BROCK LESNAR I left the WWE because I wanted more and I went out and challenged myself PAT MCAFEE The guy just takes over the WWE and then he leaves out of nowhere When you're Brock Lesnar, you're going to go fight BROCK LESNAR I got into the UFC, became the UFC heavyweight champion, climbed that mountain and here I am Why did I come back to the WWE? I came back for one reason and one reason only And that's to be the top guy To be the same guy that I was eight years ago when I left To be the dominant wrecking machine that I am SAM ROBERTS Brock Lesnar, he had come back and immediately been in the position as one of the biggest stars in the WWE Roman Reigns, on the other hand, had to prove all that ROMAN REIGNS If you really want to know who Roman Reigns is, you have to understand who Joe Anoa'i is I was born and bred to be in that ring This is just what we come from SAM ROBERTS Roman Reigns is a part of the Anoa'i Samoan wrestling dynasty This dynasty is massive ROMAN REIGNS My family is always obviously super engrained in the business ROMAN REIGNS My father Sika, my uncle Afa My cousins Yokozuna, Rikishi, Umaga, the Usos The Rock's grandfather Peter Maivia SIKA He's making his dream come true and he's making my dream and also his family proud PAUL HEYMAN The first time I ever saw Roman Reigns was in , in Panama City, Florida, when his father, Sika was wrestling for the Continental Wrestling Federation, and he brought Roman into the locker room, holding his little boy by the hand And you could just tell the charisma of this three year old HULK HOGAN First time I laid eyes on him, good looking kid Sika was so proud of him So proud of him JEY USO Joe's big cousin, man Came up from the sandbox for real, like, for real grew up together, like maybe three, four years old, met each other SIKA They're very close They help each other out They grew up together JIMMY USO That's big cousin right there Roman Reigns is the big dog, big cousin So I'm not surprised where he's at today ROMAN REIGNS That was always my thing, is imma play football D, that's the step, and then NFL It didn't go that way ROMAN REIGNS And I did go right into the family business, but the mindset was still the same Carve my own path within the path of our family FREDDIE PRINZE JR Roman Reigns, very early on was felt as if he had that chosen one light placed upon him HULK HOGAN When I talked to Triple H, you know, he was explaining to me Roman's background They had their eye on him to be the guy if he could step into that mold, you know, and find himself ROMAN REIGNS All I cared about was being the last man standing SAM ROBERTS In the Royal Rumble, every minutes or so, another superstar enters the match DOLPH ZIGGLER When it comes down to it, you have to eliminate everyone If you are the last surviving superstar in the ring, you win the Royal Rumble SAM ROBERTS The winner goes to WrestleMania to face the WWE champion ROMAN REIGNS The crowd wasn't digging me too much that night They booed me FREDDIE PRINZE JR There was tension in the room and it wasn't the good tension They did not want Roman to win KEVIN OWENS And the energy in the arena was just so, I don't know There's just something about that many people being angry at the same time It's just not what the crowd wanted JOHNNY GARGANO The lasting image of that Royal Rumble, though, is like the show ending with The Rock raising Roman's hand and the crowd just booing JOHN BRADSHAW LAYFIELD To hell with the crowd There was a bigger plan going forward ROMAN REIGNS It was a story about respect That's been my whole career SAM ROBERTS The same night that Roman Reigns wins the Royal Rumble, Brock Lesnar successfully defends the WWE Championship UNDERTAKER Brock has a, just a completely different aura to him With Brock, you're about to be in a really physical match HULK HOGAN It's like magic watching these two Roman believed in himself and he's solid as a rock, man HULK HOGAN Everyone knows how dangerous Brock is, but Roman steps right up to him and he's more than an equal He's more than an equal HULK HOGAN And, you know, they come at each other like two bulldozers, two pitbulls HULK HOGAN They both believe it HULK HOGAN So I believe it ROMAN REIGNS It's funny because it started back in And we were just completely different competitors at that point I was still so young I was still so fresh on the scene Trying to take, earn respect ROMAN REIGNS And if I couldn't get it from Brock that day, I knew I wasn't ever going to be able to get it from our audience PAUL HEYMAN We're always looking for a storied rivalry Hogan versus Macho Austin versus Rock Roman Reigns versus Brock Lesnar ROMAN REIGNS When you're in the ring with Brock, if there's any softness about you, it's going to be exposed real quick ROMAN REIGNS I think going into it, I think we could all agree and a lot of people paid a lot of money to see Brock kick the shit out of me ROMAN REIGNS That was one of the first times I could really feel the crowd turn But if you were out there in the middle of that storm, we could feel that energy change I could feel that respect coming through the performance FREDDIE PRINZE JR We have a little something called Money in the Bank, which allows the winner of that match to cash in for the world championship, whenever they'd like And in this instance, it was Seth Rollins running in and making the match a triple threat SETH ROLLINS I'm watching Brock Lesnar beat the hell out of Roman Reigns SETH ROLLINS I ran in and made their first encounter at WrestleMania a little bit better ROMAN REIGNS It was hard to think like, oh, we're about to do this for a few years I was just extremely grateful for the opportunity and then the outcome I think I saw Bret Hart like later that night and he was like, "Instant Classic" I didn't know if this was going to be what it has ended up becoming But I knew off of that, it was special It was very special FREDDIE PRINZE JR This match doesn't give you an end to their rivalry In fact, it's the very beginning JOHNNY GARGANO I think they kind of knew that there's legs to this This isn't going to be the end of the story This is going to be the beginning of, these are our two guys, right? We've got Brock, we got Roman We're probably going to have a ten year story here that we're going to go after SAM ROBERTS In the years that followed their match at WrestleMania , both Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns continued to grow Roman Reigns, beating some of the top superstars in the WWE Brock Lesnar becoming the Universal Champion Beating guys like Goldberg But even with all of this going on, you knew in the back of your head, that these two were bound to meet again ROMAN REIGNS You take a guy like Brock, who had done it all He brought so much knowledge and experience with him You put me with somebody like that Give it to me Give me it all, I'm going to take a lot of it ROMAN REIGNS At the end of the day, I knew This is my time You know what I mean? I've done everything the right way This is my time FREDDIE PRINZE JR The rivalry gets halted for a few years, then comes back full speed at the biggest stage, WrestleMania Where yet again, Roman Reigns is able to get to the top of the mountain, but there's one guy there and there's only room for one PAUL HEYMAN Oh, there was a lot of tension going into WrestleMania Brock, with UFC calling, beckoning for his return Roman Reigns, with the entire WWE Universe watching him DOLPH ZIGGLER It comes down to that in the locker room as well Like, is Brock going to win the title and then just disappear for six months? Is he going to be a part-time guy that wants to go do UFC fights? DOLPH ZIGGLER But when it comes to Roman, the anticipation is there with, can this kid deliver against one of the best? ROMAN REIGNS That might have been one of the most critical days of my career, to be able to handle that adversity JOHNNY GARGANO I've always found in every Brock match, there's just a different feeling I don't know what it is There's just a certain element of danger that he brings to the show and a match in general because you just don't know what can happen SAM ROBERTS Brock Lesnar used his elbow and cut the head open of Roman Reigns ROMAN REIGNS It happens out there with Brock He's a big old boy Sometimes you get split open MICHAEL COLE Everyone thought Roman Reigns was finally going to slay the beast, that he's finally going to win the Universal championship and it didn't happen ROMAN REIGNS That was one of those really tough days Every inch of you physically Every fiber of you mentally That's the only way to get to the top and stay on top And that's why I do what I do And I'm not going to stop I'm not going to stop until I've earned that respect FREDDIE PRINZE JR For Roman, he sacrificed enough blood, enough sweat, enough tears on that canvas And it's time for him to get with the championship over the man he's never beaten PAUL HEYMAN How do you achieve the impossible? How do you beat the beast? How do you take what belongs to Brock Lesnar? RENEE PAQUETTE This really was that career defining moment I think it was that culmination of the fans finally getting on board with Roman Reigns and really having that full circle moment ROMAN REIGNS Those times where is why? Why did I do that? Why did I put my body through that? Why do I continue to abuse myself? This is why This as crazy as it sounds, man, outside of my health, my family, this is this is the biggest thing in my world I mean, just that moment highest of highs, to none of this crap really matters anymore Real life is happening now JOHNNY GARGANO At that time, he is essentially the guy, right? And no idea anything was wrong And then just in a blink of an eye, just shows how quickly things can change FREDDIE PRINZE JR This story gets halted in the most brutal way possible as on national TV, Roman comes out and he has that infamous promo where he says, I'm just a guy named Joe, and he tells the world that he has leukemia This was brutal for whether you loved Roman or not You You loved what he brought to the table and anyone you have a love for when they get sick, it hurts, It feels personal And it takes him away from us for quite some time while he's dealing with that ROMAN REIGNS Whether I'm the face of the company or integral part of this business side that wasn't necessarily concerned It was literally just, can I do my job again? Can I be what I was or who I was? And most importantly, can I continue to grow from this huge chunk of adversity that's in my way? Any time you have to relinquish the biggest title in our business, you're going to want that back % I wanted my stuff back ROMAN REIGNS When I came back, I was just floating You know, still the big dog still doing my thing It was almost like a honeymoon phase of like yea we can't go hard on this guy And I was just not satisfied creatively FREDDIE PRINZE JR When he's able to come back, we then have the pandemic And because of a compromised immune system, he now has to step away again ROMAN REIGNS I went into the hole I went back to the lab You're going to sit here and be one of the boys or you're going to be a megastar Let's do something that's never been done before SAM ROBERTS There's this moment after Roman Reigns returns that the camera pans out and we see the truth PAUL HEYMAN Believe that SAM ROBERTS Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman had been aligned for something like two decades at this point But Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns are now working together PAUL HEYMAN He went from the big dog to the tribal chief He went from being the best of this generation to the greatest of all time Just like that PAUL HEYMAN He doesn't want affirmation or love or respect He wants it all JIMMY USO Man, it's like putting a wild dog in a damn kennel Came back a different Roman, and you can see it so you can feel it FREDDIE PRINZE JR When he comes back, he's not the same Roman Reigns And he's not a Roman reigns that wants you to cheer for him He's a Roman Reigns that demands your respect The person that helped bring this together was Paul Heyman SAM ROBERTS As we had seen this union between Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar was nowhere in sight ROMAN REIGNS Having Paul Heyman in my corner It was a % advantage for me I'm tough enough to deal with by myself You put us There ain't nobody back here that has a chance JOHN CENA At SummerSlam after Roman Reigns defeated me I'm sitting there and I hear Brock's music play like He's not supposed to be here And you can hear it in the audience too PAT MCAFEE That was awesome I mean, what a moment that I'll never, ever forget But I had no idea that was happening Almost passed out in that moment when it happened Like, I'm so, I'm so oh, my, like losing my mind ROMAN REIGNS That stare down was a different one than I had ever experienced with him before It was finally like, respect I know exactly who you are, what you've done, and where you come from But like, I'm the man now SAM ROBERTS This rivalry was back on and bigger than it had ever been It somehow got even grander when Brock Lesnar went to the Day One event SAM ROBERTS And captured the WWE championship FREDDIE PRINZE JR Brock gets the WWE championship Roman Reigns is in possession of the Universal Championship and now we have two champions and it sets up the perfect match, which is a unification match BROCK LESNAR Why don't we give everybody what they want? Title versus title FREDDIE PRINZE JR During that time, Brock comes out and he loves the people He loves that they're screaming his name He's got the samurai knot, he's got the cowboy hat, he's smiling, he's feeling good JOHN BRADSHAW LAYFIELD For years he was just this mute beast that Heyman would bring out, and because Heyman then switched sides, we got to see what Brock was really like and it gave him new life PAUL HEYMAN At this point in his career, Brock felt it appropriate to let people in on what he's like at home And it's a whole lot different than the beast that we've all come to know in the past years BRUCE PRICHARD The real life Brock Lesnar is just a flannel wearing jeans, wear and cowboy boot wearing guy that loves go out and farm and be with his family That's it BROCK LESNAR I'm fucking grizzled I've been through wars It builds confidence and character So that's who I am now I'm confident with who I am and what I've accomplished ROMAN REIGNS I've been in these situations many times, but this one has a little more gravity to it This match is billed as the greatest WrestleMania match of all time It's a title versus a title unification match Everything that I've done, it's not there if I don't go out there and showcase why I'm the greatest of all time, showcase why I'm the very best in this industry FREDDIE PRINZE JR WrestleMania gives Roman an opportunity to have the kind of match that Brock would normally have It was his time to shine BRUCE PRICHARD It's time It was the last one And it was going for all the marbles BRUCE PRICHARD So you wanted to see All right This rivalry has been through many years and many machinations BRUCE PRICHARD Now one of them is going to come out as the man, an undisputed unified champion PAT MCAFEE Roman, what he was able to accomplish and what he was able to do and how dominant he has been, it immediately puts him in the conversation of greatest of all time Roman, spear! We're lucky to be able to experience watching him catapult to the top PAT MCAFEE And then there's been this two decade enigma almost that is Brock Lesnar ROMAN REIGNS It didn't feel maxed yet It was almost one of those deals where like, man, do we have one more? ROMAN REIGNS I knew there was still meat on the bone JOHN BRADSHAW LAYFIELD You know, every generation you have a few guys when they come out, it's different from everybody else on the card Roman's like that, Brock's like that, it feels different when they walk out It feels like a prizefight PAT MCAFEE The peanut butter needs jelly It feels like Roman and Brock are the two that just have been running concurrently against each other Lucky to be a fan of this era ROMAN REIGNS And cowboy Brock, Tribal chief I mean, we're completely locked into who we are to be able to do it this many times on that many stadium shows To me, this is where me and Brock show we're so much better than everybody else BROCK LESNAR This isn't my first fucking rodeo You know, I wear a cowboy hat because I'm a fucking cowboy I farm, I ranch This is fucking Brock Lesnar ROMAN REIGNS We showcase what a sports entertainer looks like To be able to take that level of physicality, that level of brutality and violence, and then to entertain and have showmanship There's just so many elements to it that just showcase greatness, in my opinion KEVIN OWENS To me, it was by far their best match they've ever had They found a way to make all the chaos work, to really make it seem like Brock overcame a lot and ultimately couldn't overcome anymore FREDDIE PRINZE JR The ring is a mess It's still propped up from the bulldozer and Brock does something that I've never seen He climbs to the top of this broken ring up where the bucket of the tractor is, and he thanks the fans Puts on the cowboy hat and lets them know, like yo this was for you BRUCE PRICHARD I think that that was Brocks way of saying this chapter may be closed for right now, and I'll see you on down the road RENEE PAQUETTE I don't think that there was anybody really, except for Brock Lesnar to make Roman Reigns the star that he is I can't think of anybody else really that could have been in that spot to get Roman Reigns to catapult him to this superstardom PAUL HEYMAN When this all first started with Roman, he was a young man You just know when somebody has "it" and I think he's a special talent UNDERTAKER I'm really proud of Roman for the work that he's put in Obviously, the struggles that he's had personally with his health is really a testament to his, his passion for this business HULK HOGAN I think it's really cool to see somebody become great Look at how Brock stepped up and figured this business out and so does Roman They both look dangerous and I love watching If one of these guys are gonna wrestle, I make sure I watch that match ROMAN REIGNS No one will ever do what Brock has done And then you have someone like me who is just so focused and locked in on this world The WWE World, Pro Wrestling, sports entertainment Two elite level, once in a lifetime, once in a generation performers that have completely different backgrounds and upbringings and different journeys But we are able to get to the same peak on the same mountain, you know, just from different sides That's our legacy PRODUCER Define superstar for me BROCK LESNAR Superstar? BROCK LESNAR I'm not a superstar, I'm an ass kicker That's it BROCK LESNAR I am-- BROCK LESNAR That's just the way it is PAUL HEYMAN Oh I was a huge admirer of Brock Lesnar's skills when he was a college athlete I mean, you're talking about an NCAA Division one heavyweight wrestling champion that conquered the entire division HULK HOGAN I mean, I got Brock right out of the chute when he came in they gave him to me, I got him right away HULK HOGAN Brock and I were friends but in the ring, those eyes would roll back and you'd go oh, no Here he comes You know, bad dog here he comes PAUL HEYMAN We can move through the entire chessboard but it's hardest to checkmate the king PAUL HEYMAN Roman Reigns wants to be the best in the world The greatest of all time PAUL HEYMAN That's an uphill battle Even for Roman reigns RENEE PAQUETTE Back stage, everybody really coming together for Roman That's really that like brother and sisterhood that happens backstage A very humanizing moment for him going, behind the curtain at like who this man, Joe, is We see this larger than life Roman Reigns, but now we're just seeing a man that unfortunately has this, this illness that now he's got to step away and go tend to FREDDIE PRINZE JR It's a very sobering, humbling moment And you feel like it's the end of something KEVIN OWENS He tried, it's almost like he tried to do it in a comforting way so that the fans wouldn't be that worried and that everything's going to be okay But I think that shows a real special kind of strength when you're more worried about what other people might be going through but when you're the one experiencing