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411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Should Roman Reigns Be Pulled From Battleground?

July 1, 2016 | Posted by Larry Csonka
Roman Reigns Image Credit: WWE

Welcome back to the latest edition of 411 Fact or Fiction, Wrestling Edition! Stuff happened, people loved/hated it and let everyone else know. I pick through the interesting/not so interesting tidbits and then make 411 staff members discuss them for your pleasure. Battling this week are 411’s Jack Stevenson and Greg DeMarco!

  • Questions were sent out Monday.
  • Participants were told to expect wrestling-related content, as well as possible statements on quantum physics, homemade pharmaceuticals, the Turtle Total Trip Theorem, pizza and hydroponics.

    1. WWE should pull Roman Reigns from the Battleground main event.

    Jack Stevenson: FICTION – It’s a little bit odd for the build to a PPV main event to be completely missing one of its competitors, but I’d still rather see Reigns included in the match than excluded from it. Partially this is because Dean Ambrose vs. Seth Rollins is a match we’ve seen many times before and which headlined two consecutive PPVs almost exactly a year ago- it would be unimaginative to run it yet again. Additionally, Roman Reigns is an absolutely super wrestler and delivers the goods every time he’s placed in a big match situation, with the notable exception of his Mania bout with Triple H. Roman fucked up immensely and may never be the heir to John Cena WWE were dreaming of as a result, but he remains a formidable main event presence. He will be absent for three more weeks of television and I’m sure he can be worked around, especially as they’ve been honest on screen as to why he isn’t around. People will be really excited for the Shield Triple Threat either way, and we should still get a great main event for Battleground.

    Greg DeMarco: FICTION – I need to provide a disclaimer… I only picked fiction because “hell to the fuck no” wasn’t an option. Listen, anyone who agrees with this statement deserves to spend Battleground Sunday in internet buffering hell because there is absolutely NO REASON to do this. It’s purely the thinking of an Internet Wrestling Community that simply doesn’t know shit about the business. Paige got arrested the night of Money In The Bank—and started a TV push the next day. Jack Swagger got popped for marijuana and STILL got his WrestleMania title match. Randy Orton has had at least four Wellness Policy violations and he was the man that unified the current (former) WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The point here is that there’s no precedent to support this claim. Roman Reigns is going to do the time, and he’ll be back in the Battleground main event. And it’ll be a glorious occasion for the WWE because they live on heat and emotion. Hell, I’d push him again! (More on that later.)

    2. If the WWE splits the women’s division as rumored, that will signal the return of both Nikki Bella and the Divas title.

    Jack Stevenson: FICTION – I think the WWE are quite embarrassed by the Divas’ brand, which they of course should be. Women’s wrestling took a major step forward at Wrestlemania when the purple winged monstrosity that was the Divas’ Championship belt was presumably hurled into a ravine and replaced with the much classier Women’s Championship. It would be a baffling step backward for WWE to retrieve in and plaster it all over television again. Nikki Bella’s return is rumored to be scheduled for the next month or so, and with her high public profile and competent in ring ability it seems entirely plausible that she’s appointed Alpha Female of one brand, but surely, surely WWE have enough sense to realize that the Divas’ Championship is a blight on its recent history and should be left well alone.

    Greg DeMarco: FACT – I should go with fiction only because of the word “will,” but I won’t play semantics here. Because damn this is a perfect scenario. You have enough talent on the main roster and NXT to support two brands and two titles, so not giving them that prop on one brand makes no sense. (Yes, I said prop.) Taking that one step further is bringing back Nikki Bella and the Divas Championship. Again, this is brilliant. Heat and emotion will be flowing when she makes that return and declares that RAW/Smackdown doesn’t need to hold a tournament, because “The Real Divas Champ Is Here.” It warms my heart just to type that. Not every title needs to be crowned via a tournament or even a match—sometimes it just takes a little creativity.

    3. At this time, you have no interest in a Kurt Angle return to WWE.

    Jack Stevenson: FACT – I’ve never been a massive Kurt Angle fan anyway, but even his most ardent supporters would have to concede that the guy appears broken down beyond repair. He has looked fragile and hesitant in his two independent appearances since leaving TNA, and it’s only going to get harder for him as he gets older- he’s 48 this year. It’s obvious that Angle would adore a WWE return and would put absolutely everything into it, and maybe through sheer willpower alone he could muster a few matches that vaguely resemble what he was doing at his peak, but this is one of the best rosters in WWE history, and I don’t see what Kurt possibly adds to it. If more depth is needed for the brand extension, why pick up a veteran who couldn’t possibly work a full time schedule? I can understand why people want Kurt back in WWE but I think it’s a desire based too heavily on nostalgia; in 2016, he’s just not a person WWE could do much with.

    Greg DeMarco: FACT – This “fact” comes with a caveat, albeit a small one. I have no interest in a Kurt Angle “in-ring” return to the WWE. That ship has sailed. Sting proved it with his WWE “run” that was mediocre at best. But I do have interest in seeing Kurt Angle return to the WWE to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame and play the same role as Booker T and Lita. He can make a good living and not have to break his body any more. We get to see him, we can even have his entrance from time to time. Kurt Angle can’t go like he used to—not even close. Retire, and come home to claim your rightful spot in the WWE Hall Of Fame and in the analyst chair.

    SWITCH!

    4. You will be perfectly fine if WWE never inducts Chris Benoit into the WWE Hall of Fame.

    Greg DeMarco: FACT – 100%. 1000%. 100,000%. Get the picture? Many wrestlers perform under a stage name, like Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. Others get to keep their real name like John Cena, Brock Lesnar and Randy Orton. I find it very appropriate that Chris Benoit performed under his given name… …because in no way can I ever separate the man and the wrestler. They are one in the same, and “one in the same” murdered his wife and child. As a man with a wife and two kids, I can never find a way to forgive such a thing, not even a little bit. There is no way Chris Benoit should ever be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame unless it’s proven he didn’t commit the double murder/suicide. Thankfully I can rest easy because I know the WWE would never induct him.

    Jack Stevenson: FACT – Show me the person that’s genuinely bothered that Chris Benoit isn’t in the WWE Hall of Fame, and I’ll show you the dirt fucking worst kind of wrestling fan. I mean, I’m fairly relaxed about Benoit considering he murdered two people, I don’t feel uncomfortable watching his matches and believe WWE’s attempt to erase him from their history is misguided, but I’m also capable of recognizing that Benoit did hideous things in his final days and that it would be inappropriate for WWE to devote ten minutes of Wrestlemania weekend to talking about what a commendable pro wrestler he was. Who even cares that much about the Hall of Fame in the first place? It’s a fun debate to have every year about who might get in, but entry will never represent what WWE wants it to, since so many inductions have so obviously been for commercial reasons or just cynical publicity stunts. With that in mind, it wouldn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things if Ric Flair himself had never garnered access, because it’s not a legitimate form of recognition for sports entertainment greatness- and Ric Flair, for all his faults, has never murdered his wife and his child, to the best of my knowledge. The Benoit/Hall of Fame debate is the most irrelevant and tasteless discussion about pro wrestling on the internet, and think about how much ground that covers. Anyone who really, really wants him to be inducted probably needs to get a much-improved sense of perspective on basically the whole world.

    5. Even if he is WWE Champion at the time of the draft, Dean Ambrose will not be the #1 pick.

    Greg DeMarco: FACT – This was actually the toughest call out of this week’s six statements. On one hand you have a WWE that hasn’t really given the ball to Dean Ambrose—including recent reports that he won’t even hold onto the belt for very long. For all we know (and we really don’t) his championship win is only the product of a Roman Reigns Wellness Policy violation. In no way have they crowned Dean as “the guy” or even “the face of the company.” On the other hand it’s the WWE (World Heavyweight) Championship, a title the company has spent over two years building up into something important again. It only makes sense that a brand’s COO would want that championship on their show, and that means taking the man who holds it. So I’m torn. But in the end it’s a numbers game to me. You have to figure Seth Rollins will go wherever Triple H (and Stephanie McMahon) end up—and he’ll be their number 1 pick. That likely leaves Dean Ambrose to be Shane McMahon’s pick, unless Shane decides to be Shane and go with a wildcard like Roman Reigns, a returning Randy Orton, AJ Styles, John Cena or someone like Kevin Owens or Cesaro. You simply have too many variables, and the numbers aren’t in the favor or Dean Ambrose…championship or not.

    Jack Stevenson: FICTION – This is a tough one, because while Dean Ambrose may be WWE Champion he is obviously seen as only the third most important fan favorite on the roster, and so it seems plausible that John Cena or Roman Reigns would get drafted ahead of him. But, I don’t know, it also seems plausible that WWE will get together and say “well obviously the WWE Champion has to be drafted first because he is the WWE Champion.” Basically, it would only be surprising if Ambrose was shunted out of the top 6 picks, and as such I’m going to just take a guess on this one. I’ll say fiction because if I was booking the draft I’d have the WWE Champion go first, but I am not a member of WWE creative, as I continue to find out to my cost when I am ejected from their meetings.

    6. Roman Reigns will not only compete at Battleground, but he will turn heel to win the title and join the Authority.

    Greg DeMarco: FACT – Sure, I’ll bite. I mentioned in an above statement that Roman Reigns will stay in the Battleground main event because it will generate both heat and emotion. Much like the Nikki Bella/Divas Championship return, this is THE ABSOLUTE BEST way to use Roman Reigns upon his return. In a world of grey, he can stand out as a heel for The Authority. He can be The Guy—The Chosen Guy. Err…that’s a little too Jeff Jarrett for the WWE. Let’s call him The Handpicked Guy. You can finally change his gear. Dress him in a suit. Turn him into everything he refused to become when the Triple H feud was ignited en route to WrestleMania 32. I can’t think of a better way to return, as I said I’ll bite. Count me in. Affirmative. Fact-a-Johnny-Mundo. Book it, Vince.

    Jack Stevenson: FICTION – Eek, I’m not a huge fan of making bold predictions like that. Huge booking decisions are only huge because they happen relatively infrequent, and the total abortion of the Roman Reigns project as soon as Battleground strikes me as a huuuuuge booking decision. It’s not out of the question that a Reigns’ heel turn is in the pipeline, as his wellness policy violation may taint him as the next top fan favorite in WWE’s eyes, but I don’t think they’re going to pull the trigger on that right away. The Triple Threat at Battleground is hugely unpredictable, but I don’t think something quite as massive as a Reigns heel turn will occur.