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Roman Reigns has become a household name since his start at WWE. The Tribal Chief has worked hard to be acknowledged as a WWE star. With Paul Heyman by his side, he has achieved numerous impressive feats such as becoming the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. The champion has taken on many foes by himself with the help of his moves.

The impact of the star has grown so much that it has transcended through sports now with one of his signature moves being used by Francis Ngannou.

Roman Reigns gets acknowledged at Riyadh

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Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury faced off against each other at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The world of boxing and MMA collided with each other as these two champions exchanged some punches. In the 10th round of the bout, Ngannou showed his dominance by pulling off the fabled ‘Superman Punch’ against Fury. The commentators were left in shock as they saw an exhausted Ngannou pull off the move. They even said “And somewhere Roman Reigns is smiling” as he might have witnessed his special move making its way to mixed martial arts.

Unfortunately, even after pulling off the impressive move, he could not secure the victory against Tyson Fury. Vince McMahon was present with The Undertaker in the crowd. With the upcoming Crown Jewel on the horizon, chances are they were present there to check on the arrangements for one of the biggest PLE after WrestleMania. But both of them might have received a surprise when they got to see Ngannou’s tribute to the Tribal Chief in the octagon. 

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Ngannou’s coach, Mike Tyson, later said that he was the one who advised him to pull the Superman Punch. But as fans saw this punch make its way to boxing there are some doubts whether the move is legal in the game.

Is the Superman Punch legal in boxing?

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Superman Punch is a tricky move. In this, the athlete fakes a low kick by bringing his rear leg forward. Then immediately the athlete snaps the same leg back producing momentum to throw a cross punch at the opponent. Roman Reigns has popularized this move as it is one of his signature moves in WWE. The move is fairly legal in boxing as long as the punches don’t land below the waist and all other rules are being followed.

The punch was said to have been first used on television in 1999 by Bass Ruten against the late Kevin Randleman at UFC 20. Since then, it has seen a surge in appeal and popularity. However, it was first brought to WWE a year before UFC 20. James Harrison used it when he used the move on Triple H on WrestleMania 14. Since Roman Reigns started using it, it has become synonymous with his name. With his name being referenced in different sports, do you think the Tribal Chief has now become an icon?

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