5 major consequences of heel Roman Reigns as Universal Champion

At Payback 2020, Roman Reigns won his second Universal Championship and his fifth World Championship overall. Hopefully, this marks the start of a lengthy run for Roman Reigns, who has never had a World Championship run that's touched 100 days.

Roman Reigns' involvement at Payback 2020 was a bit odd, as he returned at SummerSlam to set up a Universal title Triple Threat match, after which he didn't even show up to the Payback main event. He appeared towards the end, signing the contract while the match was in progress and appearing late enough to beat 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman to capture the Universal Championship.

Not only is Roman Reigns the Universal Champion again after nearly two years, but he's now a heel - something that fans have wanted him to be for over five years now. While his popularity soared after his return from a battle with leukemia, WWE decided that the COVID-era would be a good time to finally turn the former golden boy heel.

Here are five major consequences of Roman Reigns' heel turn, Universal Championship reign, and alliance with Paul Heyman.

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#5. Roman Reigns' heel turn could lead to rise of babyfaces such as Matt Riddle and Big E

Matt Riddle

One big opportunity that the Roman Reigns heel turn presents is the fact that there's a clear opportunity for more babyfaces to rise to the occasion on SmackDown. When looking at the Blue brand, Braun Strowman was the top babyface until SummerSlam, but even after Extreme Rules, his character became too vague to label as a babyface.

Roman Reigns is not on that side anymore, and it gives space for Superstars such as Matt Riddle and Big E to take the opportunity. The timing might work out well for Big E, who is enjoying his first singles run in years.

Matt Riddle appears to be a name that WWE wants to take their time in pushing and it makes sense since not everyone can become a main event star right away. Ultimately, it's going to take time, but if WWE is planning to have Roman Reigns as a top heel long-term, then this opens the door in a big way.

#4. AJ Styles possibly moving back to RAW due to Roman Reigns' new spot

AJ Styles could move back to RAW due to Roman Reigns' newest advocate, Paul Heyman

AJ Styles was quite vocal about his dislike for Paul Heyman and his experience with him on RAW. It's not often that you see someone being so vocal about it, but AJ Styles also blamed Roman Reigns' "advocate" as the reason for his best friends Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows getting released from WWE.

On his Twitch stream, AJ Styles expressed his dislike for Heyman multiple times, even saying on one instance:

I talked to a lot of guys about this situation, and you wouldn't believe how many people that I worked with despises this guy because of his lies. It was almost kinda hard to find someone who liked him.

AJ Styles continued his role as a heel on Friday Night SmackDown, but despite having been the face of SmackDown from 2016-2019, it doesn't appear to be the spot he's going to take again. With a potential clash with Paul Heyman, AJ Styles might just move to RAW in the Draft that's expected to happen in a month or two.

#3. A potential face turn for Bray Wyatt as a result of Roman Reigns or even an Alexa Bliss alliance

Bray Wyatt

There were rumors from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer that the plan going forward is not only to cement Roman Reigns as SmackDown's top heel, but to also establish 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt as a babyface character.

It's going to be a bit difficult to imagine 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt in a babyface role, especially given the nature of his character, but there's no denying the aura he has and his overall popularity.

Bray Wyatt always finds a way to make it work and the alliance with Alexa Bliss that they're teasing could further lead to something more interesting. Of course, WWE could always go with Braun Strowman as the top babyface, and in all probability, they might just do that.

However, there's no denying the possibility of WWE turning Bray Wyatt face due to Roman Reigns' new role as a heel. The question is as to whether Bray Wyatt can replace Roman Reigns in that top babyface spot.

#2. Roman Reigns bringing in better matches and possibly better storylines

And again!

One thing that can't be denied about Roman Reigns is the intensity he brings to the ring. Roman Reigns has been the subject of criticism for so many years, with fans slaughtering his promo skills and even his in-ring ability.

The reality is that the latter was never valid criticism. Roman Reigns has always been a solid in-ring worker and his moveset suits his physicality and style perfectly. It's only now that fans are going to truly understand what Roman Reigns brings to the table - especially in a time like this.

While Bray Wyatt vs. Braun Strowman has been the primary feud on SmackDown for a good part of four months, it hasn't delivered as it should have - both in the ring and out of it.

Roman Reigns being spearheaded into the main event scene means that there are going to be far more refreshing feuds and we're going to start witnessing some incredible main event matches, since Roman Reigns will likely be headlining most PPVs going forward.

#1. A lack of defined characters - Roman Reigns and the return of 'edginess'

Wreck everyone and leave.

Roman Reigns' heel turn means that we can finally get to witness the edgier side of him that fans have been craving to see for years. When WWE tried to push him as a white-meat babyface in 2015, it was clear that it didn't suit him and that Vince McMahon was trying to push his idea of what Roman Reigns should be.

Fans, critics, and even legends of the past had a simple message: "Let Roman Reigns be himself". WWE might finally be letting him do that and as a result of that, SmackDown may not have a clear-cut and well-defined babyface for a while going forward.

Since Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, and Braun Strowman are the three primary characters on the show, WWE may not try to have a defined babyface. While it normally helps to have one, it's a good time to experiment with having more edgy characters on-screen. For all we know, it could lead to something incredible.