Let’s not get it twisted, Roman Reigns is a guy with a great build, fantastic lineage and, believe it or not, can actually cut a decent promo when not scripted (as we know, his promos are, putting it nicely, hit or miss.) So the man himself is not the main problem. The leech that is sucking away any potential is WWE creative. This means you, Road Dogg. You really should give your spot up for someone more… outside the box.
First off, reforming The Shield while the crowd still loathed him was a huge mistake. Having a team of two faces with proper reactions and one face who gets the crowd reaction of a major heel is interesting on paper. However, trying to force Roman’s face status among The Shield as opposed to on his own just feels awful. It’s like not having the square fit in the circle so you try to cram it in the bloody triangle. Odds on Kevin Dunn constantly blowing smoke up Vinny Mac’s ass, especially when it comes to keeping on the face Reigns track anyone? If we still had the Kiss My Ass Club, there would undoubtedly be visible proof.
Being part of the group again somewhat helps the face status. Simultaneously, Vince and company continue to pry our mouths open and shove him down our throats which in turn takes a massive shit all over any face credibility The Shield should give him. When the crowd cheers louder for two-thirds of the group being accompanied by Kurt Angle, instead of when Reigns is in there, perhaps that should set off an alarm or two.
For the last two to three years, Reigns has been John Cena lite, just twice as forced. There are only two memorable (and for good reason) things that I’ve seen Reigns in over the past couple years. One being his ambulance match with Braun Strowman at Great Balls of Fire 2017. You know, where the “face” attempted to murder Braun by way of backing an ambulance into a semi. Very face and PG, Vince… The other being the following month in his back and forth promo with Cena on August 28th.
Most booking snafus result in talent falling through the cracks, but in this instance it’s going in the reverse. Fortunately, as of writing this, Reigns seems to be less invincible after losing his Intercontinental title to The Miz on Raw. That aside, Roman has been pushed on a round trip to the moon and back. Meanwhile the damage to his reputation amongst the fans from the forced pushes is irreparable.
Creative at WWE has completely ruined any chance Reigns had of successfully being a face and more importantly, being accepted as one. I’m not going to waste my time waiting for a good Reigns heel turn. Look at all the time we wasted, hoping and waiting with bated breath for a Cena heel turn. Vince, Road Dogg, fellow rat bastards involved in the face/heel turns… I tip my hat to your spectacularly awful decisions and wasted opportunities.
How would you have booked the Big Dawg in a perfect world? Let us know down below or on Twitter!
Nathan Pulham
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