Believe it or not, even the worst fights in professional wrestling can turn into something gold. As WWE fans have unfortunately witnessed many horrible feuds over the past few years that no one would dream of seeing again in Peacock, one specific match that everyone hated with a passion became something that was critically acclaimed and one of The best angles in WWE history. That feud would be the rivalry between roman kingdoms and King Corbin in late 2019 and early 2020, leading to Roman Reigns turning around and becoming today’s tribal chief.
Roman Reigns vs. King Corbin was one of the worst fights in recent years
It’s no secret that there’s been a long list of horrible WWE fights in recent years that were so bad fans couldn’t believe they made it to television. And the worst thing about many of these terrible feuds is that most of these rivalries meant nothing in the long run. One might note that it has been a common occurrence in recent years when WWE has a terrible match, it is forgotten or nothing of importance comes out.
Speaking of terrible rivalries, in a feud that lasted for many months and drove everyone crazy, shortly after WWE had their second draft in mid-2019, Roman Reigns and King Corbin started a rivalry as they were among the top superstars on the SmackDown brand. . . Because of this, not long after Roman Reigns and King Corbin were drafted to SmackDown, for some reason, King Corbin had a problem with Roman Reigns when he recruited Dolph Ziggler and Dirty Dawgs’ Robert Roode for his help.
Although the feud surprisingly had its bright moments, including an entertaining Falls Count Anywhere match between Reigns and Corbin at Royal Rumble 2020, the entire feud was a total flop that didn’t make either Roman Reigns or King Corbin look good in the long run.
Perhaps one of the most memorable moments from that feud, not in a good way, was the infamous “dog food” incident where Corbin and the Dirty Dawgs doused a helpless Reigns with dog food on a December 2019 episode of Friday Night Smackdown. Unsurprisingly though, Roman Reigns got the better of King Corbin by defeating him in their Steel Cage match at Super ShowDown 2020 to end their horrible feud.
Roman Reigns turns heel and becomes the tribal chief
Although he was supposed to challenge Universal Champion Bill Goldberg for the title at WrestleMania 36, Roman Reigns took a long hiatus from WWE. After many months away from WWE TV, with COVID-19 affecting WWE TV, Reigns made a surprise return at SummerSlam 2020 during the aftermath of The Fiend vs. Braun Strowman for the Universal Championship.
Turning heel in the process and aligning himself with Paul Heyman, Roman Reigns became one of the most critically acclaimed professional wrestlers in business history. From the development of his on-screen persona, given the nickname “Tribal Chief” and leading The Bloodline faction, to the list of classic feuds he’s had with Brock Lesnar, Edge, and John Cena, Reigns has arguably solidified himself as one of the best performers of all time of the 21st century.
How The Roman Reigns and King Corbin Feud gave birth to the tribal chief
Some might wonder what Roman Reigns’ terrible feud with King Corbin in 2019 has to do with his current run as The Tribal Chief. It’s worth noting that unlike many rotten WWE feuds that come to nothing, the rivalry between Roman Reigns and King Corbin led to Roman Reigns turning heel and adopting the character of Tribal Chief, for the sake of it. awful it was.
According to Paul Heyman during an interview with Rick Rubin’s Tetragrammaton podcast, Roman Reigns grew tired of directing his babyface character in 2020, especially after having to engage in a horrible storyline with King Corbin. With COVID-19 taking over, Paul Heyman explained that Roman Reigns felt he peaked with horrible creativity about his on-screen persona, from the “dog food” incident to promoting “succotash suffering” in 2015 that people are still talking about. as one of the worst promos ever.
With all the flak Roman Reigns received for his babyface persona, even he had enough of what he was being given creatively. Due to his continued run as a heel, Roman Reigns could retire today and finally be considered a WWE success story.