A WWE veteran has lavished massive praise on Roman Reigns, crediting him for carrying the Stamford-based company on his shoulders. The person in question is D-Von Dudley, who thinks Reigns took the mantle of the promotion during fraught times.

The Tribal Chief’s 1316-day run as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion is regarded by many as one of the greatest title reigns in wrestling history. Not only did Reigns run through almost the entire current roster, but he also defeated countless legends during his time at the top. However, as all good things come to an end, The Bloodline leader finally lost his coveted title against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XL.

In a recent chat with Screen Rant, WWE legend D-Von Dudley explained how important Roman Reigns’ title reign was. The 51-year-old stated that The Tribal Chief carried the Stamford-based company when others proved to be incapable of doing so. Dudley then compared Reigns to legendary names such as Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, and The Rock.

“I rank him in the same rank as Stone Cold Steve Austin, as The Rock, as Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Bruno Sammartino. He carried the company when others couldn’t and he did it for a long period of time. Listen, at one point in time back in the 80s, you had people like Hogan, Bruno, Flair — they would have the titles for almost three, four, or five years. Then, that type of thing went away, you wouldn’t have that, you were a champion for maybe six months and that was it,” D-Von Dudley said. [H/T Fightful]

What the future has in store for The Head of the Table remains to be seen.

D-Von Dudley praised The Bloodline Saga in WWE

Elsewhere in the interview, D-Von Dudley also lavished praise on The Bloodline Saga which had the viewers captivated for years. Dudley said he was proud of the work put in by Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, Solo Sikoa, and Sami Zayn as part of the months-spanning narrative.

“Storyline wise, the things that he did with The Bloodline, tremendous. I can’t put over enough how proud I am of The Usos and him and Sikoa. It was a great ride. Even Sami Zayn when he was part of that. It was a great ride, it was a great watch to see those guys do their magic and I’m very proud of every one of those participants that participated in that,” D-Von Dudley said.

Roman Reigns has been away from WWE programming since WrestleMania XL, with Solo Sikoa assuming the leadership of The Bloodline in recent weeks.