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After the dissolution of the Shield in June, Reigns began to work as a singles competitor.[63] On the June 16, 2014, episode of Raw , Reigns won abattle royal to gain a spot in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship ladder match at Money in the Bank ,[64] but failed to win the title at the event.[65] Reigns was unsuccessful to capture the title again on July 20, at Battleground in a fatal four-way match .[66] The following night on Raw, Reigns started a feud with Randy Orton , which led to a match between the two, on August 17, at SummerSlam , where Reigns defeated Orton.[67] After Rollins injured Ambrose, a match between Rollins and Reigns at Night of Champions was advertised. However, Reigns had a legitimate incarcerated hernia which required surgery days prior to the match and as a result, Rollins was declared the winner via forfeit, while Reigns was ruled out of action indefinitely.[68] [69]

"Reigns was a greener-than-grass wrestler who WWE identified as the Face of the Performance Center Machine – taking raw talent without the "bad habits" from the independents and trying to manufacture a WrestleMania Main-Eventer".

James Caldwell of the Professional Wrestling Torch Newsletter, in February 2015, on Reigns' background compared to that of his Shield teammates[70]

Reigns returned to WWE television on the December 8 episode of Raw, accepting the 2014 "Superstar of the Year" Slammy Award .[71] Six days later, at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs , when Big Show interfered in John Cena 's match against Seth Rollins, Reigns attacked both Big Show and Rollins, helping Cena win.[72] This started a feud between Reigns and Big Show,[73] in which Reigns defeated him multiple times by count-out[74] and disqualification.[75] On January 25, 2015, Reigns, entering at number 19, won the 2015 Royal Rumble match with lastly eliminating Rusev.[76] The following night on Raw , Reigns acknowledged being part of the Anoaʻi family for the first time on WWE television.[77] On the February 2, 2015 episode of Raw, Big Show defeated Reigns after interference from Rollins marking the first time Reigns was pinned in a singles match on the main roster.[78] [79] Reigns was then forced to defend his WrestleMania title shot against Daniel Bryan at Fastlane and succeeded in doing so after beating him via pinfall.[80] [81] Post-Fastlane, Bryan and Paul Heyman endorsed Reigns with "two shockingly transparent promos... attempting to illustrate Reigns' greatness".[82]
On March 29, at WrestleMania 31 , Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract while Reigns' match with Brock Lesnar was in progress, turning it into a triple threat . Rollins then pinned Reigns to win the match and the title.[83] In April, Reigns re-ignited his feud with Big Show, which culminated in a Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules , where Reigns defeated Show.[84] In May, at Payback , Reigns once again failed to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Rollins.[85]
On June 14, at Money in the Bank , Reigns competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match , which he failed to win after Bray Wyatt interfered and attacked Reigns while he was trying to retrieve the briefcase.[86] Month later, Wyatt defeated Reigns at Battleground , after former Wyatt Family member Luke Harper attacked Reigns.[87] [88] On the August 6 episode of SmackDown, Wyatt accepted Reigns' challenge to a tag team match at SummerSlam , with Reigns and Ambrose facing Wyatt and Harper.[89] Reigns and Ambrose defeated Wyatt and Harper at the event,[90] and the following night on Raw, in a rematch, the two would be attacked by the debuting Braun Strowman .[91] In September, at Night of Champions , Reigns and Ambrose teamed with Chris Jericho and were defeated by Wyatt and his teammates.[92] The feud between Reigns and Wyatt ended after their Hell in a Cell match at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, on October 25, where Reigns was victorious.[93] [94]
On the October 26 episode of Raw , Reigns won a fatal four-way match to become the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.[95] [96] However, on November 4, then-champion Seth Rollins legitimately injured his knee and vacated the title, which led to a tournament to crown a new champion.[97] Following this, Triple H attempted to persuade Reigns into joining The Authority by offering him to be enthroned the new Champion which Reigns declined. He then defeated Big Show in the first round,[98] Cesaro in the quarterfinals,[99] Alberto Del Rio in the semifinals[100] and Dean Ambrose in the finals at Survivor Series , to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the first time.[101] Triple H attempted to offer congratulations, but was speared by Reigns. Sheamus then cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and pinned Reigns, taking away the title.[102] [103] Sheamus then retained his title against Reigns in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at TLC , after being helped by his fellow League of Nations members Alberto Del Rio and Rusev . Subsequently, Reigns would attack the trio and also Triple H, who came out to stop him.[104]
The next night on the December 14 episode of Raw, Mr. McMahon granted Reigns a title rematch against Sheamus, with Reigns' career on the line. Reigns fought off McMahon, Del Rio and Rusev on his way to defeat Sheamus and regained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.[105] On the January 4, 2016 episiode of Raw, Reigns was able to retain his title against Sheamus, despite McMahon acting as the special guest referee .[106] Reigns was then slated to defend his title in the Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Reigns scored a total of five eliminations after entering first, heading backstage for much of the match after an attack by the League of Nations, and was eliminated upon his return by eventual winner Triple H.[107]

Description

After the dissolution of the Shield in June, Reigns began to work as a singles competitor.[63] On the June 16, 2014, episode of Raw , Reigns won abattle royal to gain a spot in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship ladder match at Money in the Bank ,[64] but failed to win the title at the event.[65] Reigns was unsuccessful to capture the title again on July 20, at Battleground in a fatal four-way match .[66] The following night on Raw, Reigns started a feud with Randy Orton , which led to a match between the two, on August 17, at SummerSlam , where Reigns defeated Orton.[67] After Rollins injured Ambrose, a match between Rollins and Reigns at Night of Champions was advertised. However, Reigns had a legitimate incarcerated hernia which required surgery days prior to the match and as a result, Rollins was declared the winner via forfeit, while Reigns was ruled out of action indefinitely.[68] [69]

"Reigns was a greener-than-grass wrestler who WWE identified as the Face of the Performance Center Machine – taking raw talent without the "bad habits" from the independents and trying to manufacture a WrestleMania Main-Eventer".

James Caldwell of the Professional Wrestling Torch Newsletter, in February 2015, on Reigns' background compared to that of his Shield teammates[70]

Reigns returned to WWE television on the December 8 episode of Raw, accepting the 2014 "Superstar of the Year" Slammy Award .[71] Six days later, at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs , when Big Show interfered in John Cena 's match against Seth Rollins, Reigns attacked both Big Show and Rollins, helping Cena win.[72] This started a feud between Reigns and Big Show,[73] in which Reigns defeated him multiple times by count-out[74] and disqualification.[75] On January 25, 2015, Reigns, entering at number 19, won the 2015 Royal Rumble match with lastly eliminating Rusev.[76] The following night on Raw , Reigns acknowledged being part of the Anoaʻi family for the first time on WWE television.[77] On the February 2, 2015 episode of Raw, Big Show defeated Reigns after interference from Rollins marking the first time Reigns was pinned in a singles match on the main roster.[78] [79] Reigns was then forced to defend his WrestleMania title shot against Daniel Bryan at Fastlane and succeeded in doing so after beating him via pinfall.[80] [81] Post-Fastlane, Bryan and Paul Heyman endorsed Reigns with "two shockingly transparent promos... attempting to illustrate Reigns' greatness".[82]
On March 29, at WrestleMania 31 , Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract while Reigns' match with Brock Lesnar was in progress, turning it into a triple threat . Rollins then pinned Reigns to win the match and the title.[83] In April, Reigns re-ignited his feud with Big Show, which culminated in a Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules , where Reigns defeated Show.[84] In May, at Payback , Reigns once again failed to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship from Rollins.[85]
On June 14, at Money in the Bank , Reigns competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match , which he failed to win after Bray Wyatt interfered and attacked Reigns while he was trying to retrieve the briefcase.[86] Month later, Wyatt defeated Reigns at Battleground , after former Wyatt Family member Luke Harper attacked Reigns.[87] [88] On the August 6 episode of SmackDown, Wyatt accepted Reigns' challenge to a tag team match at SummerSlam , with Reigns and Ambrose facing Wyatt and Harper.[89] Reigns and Ambrose defeated Wyatt and Harper at the event,[90] and the following night on Raw, in a rematch, the two would be attacked by the debuting Braun Strowman .[91] In September, at Night of Champions , Reigns and Ambrose teamed with Chris Jericho and were defeated by Wyatt and his teammates.[92] The feud between Reigns and Wyatt ended after their Hell in a Cell match at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, on October 25, where Reigns was victorious.[93] [94]
On the October 26 episode of Raw , Reigns won a fatal four-way match to become the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.[95] [96] However, on November 4, then-champion Seth Rollins legitimately injured his knee and vacated the title, which led to a tournament to crown a new champion.[97] Following this, Triple H attempted to persuade Reigns into joining The Authority by offering him to be enthroned the new Champion which Reigns declined. He then defeated Big Show in the first round,[98] Cesaro in the quarterfinals,[99] Alberto Del Rio in the semifinals[100] and Dean Ambrose in the finals at Survivor Series , to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the first time.[101] Triple H attempted to offer congratulations, but was speared by Reigns. Sheamus then cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and pinned Reigns, taking away the title.[102] [103] Sheamus then retained his title against Reigns in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at TLC , after being helped by his fellow League of Nations members Alberto Del Rio and Rusev . Subsequently, Reigns would attack the trio and also Triple H, who came out to stop him.[104]
The next night on the December 14 episode of Raw, Mr. McMahon granted Reigns a title rematch against Sheamus, with Reigns' career on the line. Reigns fought off McMahon, Del Rio and Rusev on his way to defeat Sheamus and regained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.[105] On the January 4, 2016 episiode of Raw, Reigns was able to retain his title against Sheamus, despite McMahon acting as the special guest referee .[106] Reigns was then slated to defend his title in the Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Reigns scored a total of five eliminations after entering first, heading backstage for much of the match after an attack by the League of Nations, and was eliminated upon his return by eventual winner Triple H.[107]