wrestling / Columns

The Fall of the Roman Empire

June 23, 2016 | Posted by Mike Hammerlock
Roman Reigns Image Credit: WWE

In the wake of Roman Reigns’ wellness violation suspension there’s been a lot of speculation about how much trouble this buys him with the WWE, but what isn’t up for debate is that Reigns had floundered as the would-be face of the company before this ever happened. At some point during this 30-day suspension, the WWE is going to have to be honest with itself and recognize its plan for Reigns never worked. If it does that, this suspension could be the reset button Reigns’ character desperately needs. In fact, with the upcoming brand split, it could be the best thing that’s happened to Reigns and the WWE in a long time. A repackaged Reigns would make it feel like maybe we are in a new era, one where Vince McMahon isn’t trying to shove someone fans don’t want down their throats. What remains to be seen is whether the WWE will seize this golden opportunity.

Lots of stuff to unpack here, probably makes sense to start with the Battleground main event. Current reports indicate Reigns failed his test before the Money in the Bank event and Monday’s Raw, which set the stage for a Shield three-way to headline Battleground on July 24. Technically his suspension ends a few days before the event, so he would be available for it. So he gets a month off and it’s back to business as usual, right?

This is where I point out that the first stage of grief is denial. Hell no things don’t go back to normal. Fans know he’s been suspended for a wellness violation. You can’t kayfabe your way out of this one. Chances are we’re going to know soon enough what exact substance he took. You don’t think that’s going to turn into a chant? I’ve got news for you, it is. “You can’t wrestle” is going to be the nicest thing crowds chant at him. On top of that, how does the WWE turn to its locker room and pretend it takes its own wellness policy seriously if Reigns gets a summer vacation followed by a main event payday? Consequences are required here or your corporate line about the importance of drug- and PED-free wrestlers is bullshit. This is where many of you are no doubt thinking “Randy Orton” and you’re not wrong, but the WWE is about to embark on a major brand split and it needs its talent working at Mojo Rawley levels of psyched.

Combine what the fans know and the need to keep the soldiers in line and Reigns cannot be headlining Battleground. I’ll add that Shane McMahon is pushing this whole new era, meritocracy schtick. In that context how does Mr. Wellness Violation make sense in a main event? Storywise it’s just the company looking in the other direction if Reigns is in that match. The WWE needs to cycle through denial, anger, bargaining and depression before it gets to acceptance, but the on-air authority figures need to step up on the next Raw, say what Reigns did is not all right and reinforce it by yanking him out of the Battleground three-way.

Then they need to take the acceptance one step further and admit two years of putting the WWE star-making machine fully behind Reigns has failed to launch him into orbit. On Monday he was getting buried in Phoenix. Apparently Reigns has the power to turn every city into a smark town. At MITB the fans in Vegas greeted Seth Rollins’ clean win over Reigns with something close to ecstasy. Reigns has won everything and fans hate him. He’s Duke basketball, the New York Yankees and the New England Patriots rolled into one. Yes there’s a contingent of Reigns fans out there (sure to diminish in the wake of this wellness violation), but for the vast majority of WWE fans Reigns is the guy they love to hate. In fact, the WWE hasn’t had a heel this unpopular in ages. Why squander that?

His drug/PED screw up serves as an ideal vehicle to segue him into being an outright heel. They don’t have to change his booking one iota. They can still hand him a zillion chances. Just leverage this violation into the thing that send Reigns over the edge. It makes all the sense in the world he’d be angry over the shabby treatment he’s gotten from the fans. And it would set fans off if, after experiencing a deserved setback, Reigns started demanding opportunities based on him being Vince’s pet favorite. “Well that’s not what your dad says and last I looked he still runs the WWE, so …” Fans know Reigns has been Vince’s hand-picked corporate poster boy. It’s the major reason they boo their guts out when Reigns appears. Use that.

As for storyline, Reigns could spoil the main event at Battleground after being kicked out of it. Lay waste to Rollins and Ambrose and end the night insisting he’s the true champion while the crowds boos him with everything it’s got. It’s Battleground for crying out. Chances of us getting an epic match with a conclusive finish were somewhere close to nil. This way there would be a reason for a Shield three-way at SummerSlam, which was where that should have been happening. If they need to incorporate the brand split with it they could make it like the Angle-Jericho-Benoit match at WrestleMania 2000. Three guys, two falls. Winner of the first fall gets the WWE title. Winner of the second fall gets the new World Heavyweight Championship (or whatever they plan on calling it). Then Reigns can do the double job, which would send the unmistakable message that the Roman Empire is over.

After that Reigns can get on with what is hopefully a long and fruitful career and the WWE can treat actual fan favorites like the babyfaces rather than try to manufacture babyfaces fans don’t want. I know it’s a lot to expect, but we might just have a perfect storm here with Reigns’ wellness violation, his unrelenting unpopularity and the big brand split. If ever there was a time to chuck failed experiments to the side and go in a new direction, this is it. Reigns’ failure to get over as a megaface already should have him in the ejector seat for the top spot. The wellness violation simply pushes the button.

The upside is this can liberate the company and Reigns from the terrible storytelling it’s been doing in a futile effort to prop up its paper champion. The WWE tried to create Cena 2.0 and wound up with Diesel 2.0. Kevin Nash went on to do great (and terrible) things in the industry after his uninspired WWE title run. This is not the end of Roman Reigns, but it should be the end of trying to make Roman Reigns something he’s never going to be.

article topics :

Roman Reigns, WWE, Mike Hammerlock