wrestling / Columns

Rebuilding The Roman Empire

April 26, 2015 | Posted by Daniel Wilcox

A mere month following one of the more eventful instalments of WrestleMania, the man who most believed was set to walk out of the 31st Showcase of the Immortals as WWE World Heavyweight Champion has become something of an afterthought, both in the minds of the fans and seemingly in the immediate plans of WWE’s creative brass.

For the majority of 2015, wrestling’s biggest talking point has been Roman Reigns. More specifically, fans speculated as to whether Reigns was ready to carry the sports entertainment brand on his back or whether his sudden emergence as “the man” was a case of “too much, too soon.” At best, some fans thought a WrestleMania main event against Brock Lesnar was being gifted to the New Superman a year or two earlier than he would be prepared for. At worst, fans were booing the man out of arenas across the country and allegedly boycotting WWE programming as a result of Reigns’ dominance.

The reasons for such a backlash are many. Some fans genuinely are not fans of Reigns. Some fans felt that other guys on the roster were more deserving of the spot. And others were likely just joining in for the sake of joining in. Regardless of motivation, the less-than-warm response to Reigns’ Rumble win and Road to WrestleMania had to have played a large part in Vince McMahon and co. opting to have Seth Rollins walk out of San Fransisco as WWE World Heavyweight Champion instead of Reigns. And while Rollins reigns as champion, Reigns rolls along without a direction and without much in the way of fan support.

The assumption, however, is that WWE still has big plans for Roman Reigns in the future. But the anti-Reigns movement hasn’t particularly subsided post-WrestleMania. And while this may partially be a result of hot post-Mania crowds in WWE hotbeds like New York, Chicago and London, the fact is that booing Roman Reigns is now the “in thing.” The quandary WWE now faces is how to not only build Reigns back up as a credible threat to the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, but also as someone that the fans can get behind. The alternative is allowing 18 months of hard work all count for nothing, as it’s been apparent that Reigns was the heir apparent since around Survivor Series 2013. And in a time when the unexpected should be expected from the WWE Universe, the road ahead is perhaps rockier than ever.

Perhaps the most convenient option then isn’t to attempt to make Reigns popular at all, but instead do the exact opposite by turning Reigns heel, with a view to the audience coming around on the guy in its own time. Reigns clearly has an aura of arrogance about him, and interviews he’s given off-screen would tend to suggest that he isn’t overly concerned about what the average fan thinks of him. In these same interviews, where presumably Reigns is more himself and thus more comfortable, the former Shield member exudes a charisma that isn’t always present on WWE’s television shows. If Reigns can make a good run as a heel, “smart” fans will appreciate him as a performer and not be so infuriated when he eventually does ascend to WWE’s top guy as a face.

This is a solution that brings about its own issues however. First and foremost, there’s an assumption that fans will react to a heel Roman Reigns the way McMahonagement would like them to – this evidently can’t be guaranteed. Furthermore, if Reigns flounders as a heel, he may reach a point where he cannot be salvaged as a top guy. And Roman would need to learn quickly how to lead a match if he was to play the heel role, as this isn’t something he has shown the ability to do in his time on WWE television.

So if the heel turn isn’t the best choice, or if it’s just not an option the company wishes to explore, then WWE must tread very carefully with how they use Roman in the coming months. At the time of right, WWE Extreme Rules is yet to take place, but I’m working on the assumption that Reigns will end his rivalry with the Big Show in victorious fashion in their Last Man Standing match. Stemming from the conclusion of WrestleMania, one has to assume Reigns is in for a title shot sooner rather than later. So the obvious course seems to be Rollins avoiding defending in a one-on-one situation against Reigns for as long as possible. Unfortunately, this is going to mean Reigns continuing to feud with the various members of the Authority until such a time when he can get his hands on Rollins. But Spearing Show, Kane and J&J Security on a weekly basis isn’t going to keep fans interested. Reigns’ saving grace comes in the form of a match that should have happened nearly a year ago.

Roman Reigns vs. Triple H should have been one of Summerslam’s marquee matches last year.

Even now, the set-up is simple, if you’ll allow me to indulge in a little bit of fantasy booking. When Reigns loses his one-on-one match with Seth Rollins via nefarious means, Reigns asks for one more match. Triple H points out that Reigns has been a thorn in his side for a whole year, and he’s had his chances. So Reigns lays down the challenge, with the stipulation being that if Reigns loses, he never challenges for the belt again. But a Reigns victory means he get his title rematch with Seth. You build the Money in the Bank pay-per-view around this match, as well a placeholder title defence for Rollins and the ladder match itself, and Reigns of course goes over. The next night on Raw, Reigns declares that he’s taking his rematch at Summerslam. Enter Brock Lesnar, fresh off of his suspension, who had the same idea. Build Summerslam around Rollins vs. Reigns vs. Lesnar II.

Here’s the key reason why this works. To have a successful babyface, you need to have good heels. And there is arguably no better heel in the world right now than Triple H. Even though a lot of fans now give him credit for things we believe he’s doing behind the scenes, we still loathe the on-air character, whether that’s for kayfabe reasons or not. And the casual fans feel the same way. If anyone can rally support for Roman Reigns, it is Triple H. And when we thought the match was going to happen last year, a lot of people weren’t enamoured with the prospect, and that will probably be the case again this time around. But I believe it’s a necessary evil and the best route to take if your aim is to cement Roman Reigns as the top dog.

The fact of the matter is, Roman Reigns is a guy that will likely be on the top of the card for a long time to come. And truthfully, there are a lot of worse choices out there. Reigns has a huge upside. He’s not perfect, but few are and time is on his side. He has the look, aura, and character of a top-tier star, and that’s exactly what he will be in time. His time may not have been WrestleMania 31, but his ascension will be realised in 2015.

At 23-years old, Daniel Wilcox is a lifelong fanatic of music, movies and professional wrestling and a writing enthusiast, both critically and creatively. Having contributed to 411Mania since 2006, Daniel is thankful for the platform 411 provides and for every reader who takes the time to indulge his opinions.

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article topics :

Roman Reigns, WWE, Daniel Wilcox