It is time to acknowledge Roman Reigns.

Some may say it's too early to debate his legacy among the greatest and most memorable names in WWE history but, as he prepares to main-event his eighth WrestleMania, it's time to examine if the second-generation star is trending toward becoming WWE's most unforgettable Superstar.

There will be those who grew up watching WWE in the 1980s for whom arguing anyone but Hulk Hogan or "Macho Man" Randy Savage is blasphemous. Products of the Attitude Era, meanwhile, will scoff at the idea of anyone not named "Stone Cold" Steve Austin or The Rock claiming the crown.

Others will construct the argument for The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart or John Cena. Setting aside the rose-colored glasses, though, there is at least a case to be made for Reigns.

High Tides Raise All Ships

There is no denying the incredible success of the Bloodline storyline, which Reigns and his on-screen special counsel, Paul Heyman, have constructed.

It's a story that has not only elevated The Head of the Table to levels above where everyone else in the company is narratively and from a star-power perspective, but it has also helped to enhance or elevate those around him.

Before he was the Tribal Chief, he was the top babyface in WWE, but one that was routinely rejected by fans who demanded different than the tired, one-dimensional hero. His return and assumption of that heel persona instantly improved his work as Reigns was able to remove the cuffs of monotonous creative and sink his teeth into something else.

He thrived, almost immediately, and so did those around him.

We got the first hint of the babyface potential of Jey Uso before he turned back to the dark side, realigned with his brother, Jimmy, and his cousin in The Bloodline. Together, that trio dominated SmackDown, and The Usos became bigger stars than they had ever been.

Fast-forward to Clash at the Castle in September 2022 and the arrival of Solo Sikoa, who made the jump from NXT and immediately saw his star rise as the new enforcer of the group.

Those members of the dynasty weren't the only Superstars to benefit from the epic narrative told by Reigns and Heyman, though. The Tribal Chief told BT Sport's Ariel Helwani Meets before WrestleMania 39 that "high tides raise all ships." He wasn't wrong.

Cody Rhodes, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre and LA Knight have all benefited from their involvement in the Bloodline story.

It took that match with Reigns at last year's 'Mania, and the loss that came from it, to make Rhodes the beloved babyface that he is today.

His involvement in The Bloodline as an Honorary Uce enhanced Zayn's character and elevated him to a spot on the card where fans wanted to see him unseat Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in Montreal last February at Elimination Chamber.

Owens had several championship clashes with Reigns and reunited with Zayn to defeat The Usos in the main event of Night 1 of last year's Showcase of the Immortals.

Then there is McIntyre, who is as hot creatively as he has ever been and every bit of the heel persona we see today traces back to his battle with Reigns in Cardiff, Wales, which saw him screwed out of the title by the debuting Sikoa.

The bitterness from that loss has fueled the Scot into becoming the trolling villain he is now.

Then there is Jey, who split from Reigns and embarked on a singles run on Raw that has positioned him to become the first man to pin Gunther on the main roster, thus relieving The Ring General of the Intercontinental Championship.

That's a creative choice made possible by the connection with the crowd and the moral dilemma that led to him breaking free of his gaslighting cousin's rule.

The Reigns character is one of a Superstar whose own insecurities and lack of confidence turned him into a manipulative, egotistical monster. Heyman, the master chess player, likely brought that out in him, but there is no denying it is an incredibly effective character that has long-reaching positive effects on everyone who approaches it.

Rhodes, Zayn, Owens, McIntyre, Jey...they were not merely opponents of the month who were built up for the biggest star in WWE to conquer, as had been the creative style of decades past. They were built up, nearly knocked off Reigns, and managed to be hotter and more over with fans on the other side, thanks to the effectiveness of both their own work and that of Reigns.

The current creative high of WWE and its top stars can be traced back to Reigns, and while that may be an inconvenient truth for those who still refuse to accept he is every bit the era-defining star he was expected to be, there is no denying he is directly responsible for some of the most engaging characters and their success.

Elevated to God Mode

None of that is to suggest Reigns has always been that guy. It would not only be false, but also irresponsible to suggest that. Initially, the second-generation star struggled to find himself as the face of the company.

He rose to fame as one-third of The Shield but when that group broke up and he, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose went their separate ways, it was The Big Dog who faced a battle to evolve.

Reigns wore the same gear, entered arenas to the same music and faced rejection from fans who wanted more than to be spoon-fed the successor to John Cena. He worked hard and turned in great performances against monster heels like Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar, but something was missing.

He felt too one-dimensional and forced. What we saw every week was not a reflection of the man behind the tactical gear.

It took the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the heel turn, the partnership with Heyman and the formulation of The Bloodline for Reigns to reach his potential and then eclipse it.

His mic work improved dramatically and his facial expressions told a story without him saying a word. His body language was that of a dominant presence, but it could change rapidly if his position at the head of the table was threatened.

The layers of the character became more apparent. Here was a guy who fought for what was right but was rejected by fans, his confidence shattered until Heyman wormed his way into his life. He listened to The Wise Man, rebuilt his confidence and embraced his role as the top star in the company and the head of his family's table.

But those insecurities continue to shine through. We saw it in his face when The Rock returned on the February 2 episode of SmackDown. We have seen it every time an opposing Superstar has hit him with a dose of the truth.

It is a complex character, one that commands the audience's attention and has them tuning in to see what comes next.

Add to that a grand entrance with epic theme music, and you have a presentation that catapults Reigns from the tired and mundane to his place among the elite and iconic WWE Superstars.

WWE's Most Unforgettable Superstar?

When you take into consideration the effect Reigns has had on WWE during its hottest period, and his ability to hold a world championship for nearly four years and still have fans invested in the story at play, it is becoming increasingly difficult to deny his place on pro wrestling's Mount Rushmore.

We have watched him grow and evolve from day one. He was not a product of another company that came in, benefited from the mass-marketing machine of WWE and evolved into the icon that he is.

Reigns succeeded almost despite the machine at first, withstanding mediocre creative and a lack of vision for his character beyond "generic good guy" and became this incredibly deep character, with the ability to build others and elevate them to the main event status.

This was not Hogan beating the villain of the month or Austin and Rock working with the same handful of Superstars on top. Reigns has worked with everyone from Bray Wyatt to Cesaro to Owens and Zayn to Knight and back again.

Few of those names have been left worse off for having worked with him, which is the true sign of an effective Superstar.

Those disheartened with his current reign because he isn't defending the title regularly will look back at what he has accomplished and realize that all of it meant more because it was never overexposed.

Is Reigns the greatest of all time? That's an argument for another time, but as he nears his next WrestleMania main event and a story poised to get even more dramatic alongside The Rock and Rollins, he is trending toward becoming the most unforgettable Superstar in WWE history.

And what Reigns has built, and continues to build, should not be taken for granted.