411’s WWE Evil Episode Eight Report: Roman Reigns

-We close season one of this series with the longest episode of the series. I guess it was their way of acknowledging our Tribal Chief. Let’s get to it!

-Run Time: 52:06

-As a reminder John Cena is the narrator for this series.

-Roman says there is no smoke and mirrors with him. “All respect to him, but Hulk Hogan doesn’t work in 2022.” Shoemaker talks about how authentic Roman is and how isn’t purely evil but is being purely himself. Heyman calls him the most ruthless and violent while also wanting to be the best who has ever done it. “I am not playing a character. I am the character.”

-Show opening!

-Cena tells us Roman is one of the most accomplished Superstars of all time, but he hasn’t always been embraced by the fans. We get a sweet montage of “Roman Sucks,” “You Suck,” and “Go Away” chants. Roman says he has always known he was supposed to be somebody. It has been a day in day out year after year journey to take on the responsibility of the family business.

-The Samoan Dynasty: We get some explaining of the Family Tree: Sika is Roman’s dad. Afa is Roman’s Uncle and they were the Wild Samoans. Rikishi is Roman’s cousin and the father of Jimmy and Jey Uso, so that makes them Roman’s cousins as well. Yokozuna is a cousin through marriage. Tamina is a cousin, and The Rock is a cousin through marriage among others. Roman says his family relationship with wrestling runs deep and we see a photos of Roman as a kid with Hogan, Liz and Savage. Sweet and man was Liz beautiful! “It’s all we have ever know and it’s who we are.”

-Jimmy says Roman always tried to one up him and his brother their entire lives. They competed in sports and even for women. Roman’s first passion was football and he was a beast in high school. We get some high school highlights and he was good enough to go DI to Georgia Tech. He went to rookie camp with The Minnesota Vikings and the physical found that he had leukemia. His NFL dream was over and he returned home to Pensacola.

-He learned that he would likely be able to live a normal life, but the NFL dream was finished. He talked to Jimmy and Jey who had already started working on the Indy scene and then in FCW. They recruited Roman and explained it’s what the family was supposed to do.

-FCW: For Roman he fell in love with it and wanted as many reps as possible. We get FCW footage as the talking heads discuss the pressure he was under due to his family legacy. Ed Koskey says that if Vince could create a star in a lab it would be Roman Reigns. Kazeem compares him to a Game of Thrones character with his look. I mean, the Momoa comparison has always been there for both men.

-Roman was a heel in FCW and sounded confident on the mic. Rikishi mentions Joe was great at it and got the fans to hate him. He was a natural athlete with swagger that could talk shit.

-Survivor Series 2012: The Shield debuts and it changes the course of WWE history. They destroy Ryback and Cena which lets CM Punk get the win and retain the WWE Championship. Thankfully, the ditched the turtleneck gear. Jack Farmer calls The Shield one of the coolest mysteries while Evan Mack calls them enforcers. Jey Uso says The Shield was hungry and Roman says it was the vehicle out of the warehouse. “It was simple. Come in and smash people.” The Shield were booked like stars from day one and it’s no wonder every one of them hit. They give a description of each as Dean Ambrose was seen as the ruthless guy. Rollins was the brains and Reigns was the power guy. Rikishi says all three were good workers but Joe had the it factor and was going to be the top guy. “It’s what we call asses in seats.”

-We learn about being the top face of the company: Hogan and Cena are mentioned. Koskey says they all believed Roman could be that guy. The next Hogan or Cena. They put the wheels in motion with the Shield splitting in 2014 thanks to Rollins turning on is brothers to join The Authority.

-The WWE Universe began to resent this Roman Reigns and they made it known. They talk about how he went from being the big dog in The Shield to a white meat babyface that is doing commercials and kissing babies. Jey says Joe is a heel in real life. The fans could see through the babyface act. “This guy never loses so why I am cheering for him?”

-Roman got a major push and won the WWE Title in short order and to the fans it felt like entitlement. They have a montage of fans complaining about Reigns being shoved down their throats. Roman says nobody can understand the position he’s been put in. The resentment from the fans continued to grow and they made sure their voice was heard.

-We jump back to Royal Rumble 2015: It was Philly and everyone knew Roman was winning that thing and then they booked it in horrible fashion with all the fan favorites getting tossed early so Roman could be the conquering hero. Rosenberg says that Roman was always getting cheered and now was getting booed. I don’t recall much cheering for Reigns other than the Rumble in 2014 when the crowd was basically picking him by default over Batista in the end. Roman was so hated that it even got the fans to boo The Rock who was there to raise Roman’s hand. Our Rumble in Pittsburgh the previous year hijacked the show better than Philly did in 2015. Roman: “It hurt my feelings because at the end of the day we are all humans.” Shoemaker says the fans believed Roman was being shoved down their throats even if it wasn’t true. No, it was true!

-WrestleMania 33: Roman closes the show with Taker in a really bad match where Taker didn’t look good at all. Roman gets the clean win and the fans are pissed! Roman says people don’t like change, but he was the change for the business. Koskey says they knew there would be boos and had seen it before with John Cena. Vince was determined to ride it out with Cena and in the end it worked and he felt he could do the same with Roman.

-RAW after Mania: One of the coldest opens ever as Roman stood in the middle of the ring and just let the boos and chants roll off his back as he stood in silence. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand and it was glorious! Farmer says the booing was nearly 10 minutes long and Rikishi says for his family that pisses them off. They mention you could seen an edge to Roman as he waited out the boos and delivered “This is my yard now,” before throwing down the mic.

-We jump ahead to Roman winning The Universal Title for the first time from Lesnar at SummerSlam. Roman continued to be hated until real life stepped in.

-Roman announces on RAW that his name is Joe and his leukemia has returned. That was just heartbreaking and surreal. In the moment the crowd looked past the character and saw a man fighting for his life. Roman talks about being hyper focused and controlling what he can, but Leukemia doesn’t care about that. Six months later he comes back to let us know he is in remission and everyone cheered for him because damn right you cheer that man.

-WrestleMania 35: The fans were still cheering but you could tell some wanted to boo, but didn’t really want to boo the man that beat cancer. The talking heads bring up that point as how can you boo a man that beat cancer. Well, the crowd at Mania didn’t have a problem doing it. “Roman Reigns beat leukemia and he is still getting booed?” Jimmy Smith says that fans were able to slide back into their old feelings. Other talking heads are a little more stunned that the booing resumed. Reigns pins McIntyre clean and yep, there are definitely some boos from the crowd in Jersey. Reigns says it was a tough pill to swallow. He says all the negativity has been balled up and used. Rikishi says it is heart breaking, but he knew Joe would use it one day. Uso: “Damn, they legit don’t like Joe.” Roman told Jey that he was thinking of turning heel and before it happens COVID happens.

-Roman takes a leave due to being a cancer survivor we are told. Roman says he spent his days quarantined in his gym and had time to think about what he wanted to do. If he was going to carry the burden of leading the WWE he needed to do it his way.

-SummerSlam 2020: Roman Reigns returns at SummerSlam and this wasn’t the same man. The Usos knew we were about to see the Roman they knew and the one the fans had never seen. The trash talk was there from the first night as he tells The Fiend, “I run this bitch. This has always been mine and you’re just a freak in a mask. You can’t handle the responsibility.”

-WOOO: Roman quotes Paul Heyman backstage and the camera reveals Heyman is sitting next to him. Roman is finally a bad guy because we know Heyman isn’t a good guy. Kazeem calls Heyman slimy and he also gets compared to a sleazy car salesman. Paul Heyman says that everyone knew he and Roman would end up side by side at some point.

-Paul tells his origin story as he bullshitted his way into MSG when it was run by Vince Sr. He was looked after by Afa and Sika. He was the family before Roman was even part of the family. Heel Roman is unleashed upon the world and he is now the mega superstar he has always been position to be. Roman talks says he said what he wanted to do and then did it because he has his finger on the trigger. He left and gave the entire company a chance to step up and take the lead and nobody could so it showed why he was needed.

-The Tribal Chief and Head of The Table: I mean Roman turned Jey Uso in a PPV Main Event star on back to back shows. This feud and story was just so awesome and they delivered in both matches. That Hell in A Cell match is a master class in storytelling and emotion. This new Roman is compared to a mob boss and he is offended by the idea that Jey would even dare challenge him. Jey was beat down until he and Jimmy both acknowledged Roman. The Bloodline is born as The Usos fall in line.

-Heyman says that Roman feeds his family and they survive off what he does in the WWE. He is there to protect and move into the future the legacy of a dynasty. Rikishi puts Roman over as the leader and it is out of respect for their culture. Rosenberg goes over how Roman gaslights everyone.

-SummerSlam 2021: Cena narrates that there was no passing of the torch as Roman was there to seize it. Credit to Cena for coming back for that run and doing house show to boost business and then busting his ass to put Roman over as the man. Roman talks about making sold out crowds doing what he wants them to do and that is the key. Jimmy Smith says what makes Roman work is you hate him, but you kind of want to be him. Heyman calls Roman the guy everyone loves to hate. He is the guy that steals your girlfriend and there is nothing you can about it. He views Roman as righteous man that was driven to being a villain. The trash talk in the Cena match is fantastic! The win over Cena officially made him the face of the company. Roman talks about removing the legends that paved the way before him. He thinks in 20 years the next face of the company will be closer to him than the link that Hogan and Cena shared that was catered towards kids. “Doing the same old schtick, but on a different dude.” He continues nobody has done it like him and perhaps in twenty years someone will get close.

-They discuss the shadow of The Rock that is cast over Roman. Oh man, they have to deliver this as some point and I know they want it for Mania in LA next year. Roman says his legacy will be being the best of all time and doing it his way. “Now I have the power.”

-We end season one of this series on a high note as this was well put together and it’s easy to see why the Roman heel persona works and really the hatred towards the fans is justified as they the booed the man within months of coming back from beating cancer. Fickle as a wise man once said. Reigns was great in this episode as he just comes off so natural and smooth now. My final rankings for this season: 1) Hogan 2) Flair 3) Reigns 4) Orton 50 Banks 6) Miz 7) Stephanie McMahon 8) BOD.

-I really hope we get a season two as the comments section has noted there isn’t a shortage of Evil wrestlers to cover: Piper, Roberts (though being in AEW hurts that), Wyatt, Dibiase, HHH, and Vince are just of the names I’ve seen tossed around. Thanks for joining me on this 8 part journey and I will be back with Main Event and whatever else there is the rest of WrestleMania week. Thanks for reading!