As he continues his record breaking run as the Unified WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns continues to impress as the “Head of the Table”. The leader of the Bloodline has held the World Championship for two years at this point and shows no signs of letting up, and could hold the title until Wrestlemania and beyond.
He has gone by many names over his legendary run in the WWE. He was known as “The Powerhouse” as part of the Shield, then gained a number of nicknames as he ran roughshod over the WWE for a number of years. The Tribal Chief, the Juggernaut and The Guy are just a few of the names he has been known as over the years.
However, the one he is most known as is the Big Dog. This is the name he first had after breaking up from Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins and has followed him all this time, 8 years later. Hearing Michael Cole yelling it every match as he got beat down only to hit a spear and win the fight every night was maddening and it has been burned into everyone’s memory – not always as a good thing.
But why is Roman Reigns called The Big Dog?
Why is Roman Reigns called The Big Dog?
Roman Reigns started being called “The Big Dog” in early 2014, with the earliest documented occurrence of the name coming at Money in the Bank 2014. He was called The Big Dog during his first singles run in the company after his split from the Shield, after Battleground 2014.
The name could be a reference to his time in The Shield. One nickname the trio had was “The Hounds of Justice”, with him being the biggest dog implying he is the best of the three. The term “Big Dog” is used to indicate the toughest person in a group, so it’s also likely a reference to that.
As he was being built up as the biggest star in the WWE, Vince McMahon wanted him to be seen as “the biggest dog in the yard”. This would be why he attributed the nickname to him, alongside others that emphasised his power like “the Juggernaut” and “The Powerhouse”.
His nickname became important during his feud with Baron Corbin, where the loser of their match was forced to eat dog food.