Roman Reigns' Title Win Wraps Up Tumultuous Year for New Face of WWE

On December 14, 2015, Roman Reigns became the WWE world heavyweight champion, defeating Sheamus to capture the gold in the main event of Monday Night Raw, live from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

The win not only capped off a 24-hour period of tremendous booking that finally established him as the top babyface in the company, it served as the culmination of one of the most tumultuous years ever endured by a Superstar in Vince McMahon's company.

To understand everything that Reigns has endured over the last 11 months, one must rewind the clock back to January, in the same arena that he captured the title. The Royal Rumble pay-per-view was home to one of the most passionately negative responses for a babyface ever, as the fans in Philly rained down with a chorus of boos directed at Reigns as he won the 30-man over-the-top-rope match and earned himself a shot at the top prize in the sport at WrestleMania 31.

Even the seal of approval from The Rock, who made a surprise return to WWE television to be by the side of Reigns on his big night, could not alter the reception fans met the win with. As tears rolled down the new No. 1 contender's face, his destiny seemingly set in stone, it became clear that crowning Reigns as the new face of WWE would not be as easy as Vince McMahon and the company had hoped.

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Remember the @WWE fan revolt because @WWERomanReigns won the #RoyalRumble 11 months ago...in Philadelphia? #irony pic.twitter.com/flTxYVy8Ul

— Joey Styles (@JoeyStyles) December 15, 2015"

Plans for Reigns were altered, and a grand championship victory at WrestleMania was put on hold. Instead of standing tall on the grandest stage known to spots entertainment, he was forced to watch as Seth Rollins celebrated his unexpected WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory just moments after cashing in Money in the Bank.

Fast-forward three months, and Reigns had his opportunity to win the coveted briefcase dashed by Bray Wyatt, igniting a rivalry between the two of them that would dominate the summer months. While not the main event run most would have expected from Reigns, it kept him just below the top slot on the card so as to not overexpose him in that role.

While feuding with Wyatt, it became frighteningly apparent that Reigns was not as over as he should be, considering his status in the company. His promo work was a weakness, too, but one that the company felt perfectly fine with exploiting every week. Concerns about the booking of the future star began bubbling to the surface, and soon, the jeers of fans disenfranchised by the Superman-esque booking of Reigns began to rear their ugly heads.

By the time Survivor Series rolled around, the boo birds were in full force, voicing their frustrations and ruining what was WWE's great experiment to crown Reigns once againd. On that night, he would win the WWE title, only to have it stolen from him once more by Sheamus, who used the same briefcase that Rollins did months earlier to end Reigns' title run prematurely.

With television ratings tanking and Reigns the target of scrutiny, he arrived in WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs 2015 needing some sort of booking epiphany to rescue him from becoming the scapegoat of WWE's ratings downfall. He got it, courtesy of a defeat and subsequent beatdown of COO Triple H.

Monday night, with Vince McMahon returning to television and his daughter Stephanie slapping the unholy hell out of Reigns, the table was set for the biggest moment in the Samoan star's life.

With the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the line one last time, not to mention his career, he Superman Punched his way to the prize that had eluded him for the previous 11 months. Not only did he overcome the odds in the form of the interfering League of Nations, he also staved off a potential screwjob from the Chairman of the Board to become champion.

And where there were once intensely passionate boos greeting his climb up the ladder, fans erupted with joy, greeting his title victory with one of the loudest reactions in recent memory. Chants of "let's go Roman" provided a drastic alternative to the jeers that ruined his night back in January, while the classic "yes" chants were a seal of approval from fans that The Rock could not provide at the Royal Rumble.

And as Reigns stood atop the rope, championship gold in his hand and his eyes welling up with tears, one of the most unbelievable journeys in modern-day WWE history climaxed with a rare feel-good moment and the dawning of a new era in sports entertainment.