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When Roman Reigns returned to the WWE after fighting off leukemia, he got a huge pop from the crowd. He got a hero’s welcome and finally got a reaction that suited a babyface that he has been.
Life is ironic. WWE tried their best to make Roman Reigns the face of the company and even gave him a win against Undertaker at WrestleMania. However, that turned out to be a terrible decision as he was booed into oblivion after that.
Tides may have changed now but WWE’s treatment of him after his arrival is putting him in the risk of being booed once again in the future. Since his return, WWE seem to not know what to do with him, especially after his match against McIntyre at WrestleMania (a feud which had a lot of potential but ended a bit too soon).
After that, things have been all over the place for the Big Dog, which makes me think that they might not know what to do with him right now – and here are 5 signs that show that…
#5 Punching Vince McMahon
This got a great reaction from the crowd – and why wouldn’t it? After all, Vince McMahon is playing a villainous chairman character and beating him would only bring a good reaction from the crowd.
But think about it: did it make much sense? McMahon announced Elias as the biggest acquisition in SmackDown Live’s history and then when Elias began performing, he came and Superman punched the Drifter before doing the same against McMahon.
Isn’t this something a bully would do rather than a babyface? For starters, Vince McMahon didn’t wrong him but even then, Reigns smacked him to begin the feud, which means it lacked a necessary backstory.
#4 Feud with Elias
Now don’t get me wrong here: I absolutely love Elias. In fact, I believe that WWE stands for Walk With Elias. He is one of the very few stars in the WWE who can control the crowd by always getting a reaction out of them.
The fact that he is still in the undercard/midcard is a testament that the Creative haven’t done so well with such an immense talent. However, pitting him up against Reigns without any backstory has made this rivalry stale even before it started.
Like mentioned earlier, Reigns was the one who interrupted Elias’ performance and then beat him up to kickstart the feud. No background, no nothing – just a random start to a story.
As a result, this story is doing nothing to enhance the charming character of Elias. In fact, it is making him look weaker as he can’t seem to get the better of Reigns even when the Big Dog was pitted against the B-Team with him as the special guest referee.
#3 Including Shane McMahon when he is in a feud with The Miz
This is another thing that has further weakened the character of Elias. Not only does he have the help of the WWE Chairman, he also has the assistance of the Chairman’s son.
And even then, with the two combined, they have a hard time dominating Reigns. The main thing to consider here, however, is that Shane McMahon is still embroiled in his feud with The Miz – which, I have to admit, is perhaps the most underrated storyline right now despite being one of the best things in the company.
As a result, pitting him up against Roman Reigns while being mixed with a great battle against the Miz just makes things more confusing. While Shane McMahon is doing a terrific job as a heel, his inclusion in this feud just diminishes the role of Elias.
#2 No character reinvention
The main problem with WWE’s use of Roman Reigns is how stilted he looks when with the mic. However, when given the freedom, he is actually quite good at cutting promos and interacting with the fans.
When Thor and Thor: The Dark World were released, not many fans were into the brooding Shakespearean character that Thor portrayed. However, the tables completely flipped when Chris Hemsworth was given the freedom in Thor: Ragnarok.
Since that movie, Thor has become arguably the most loved and popular character with the fans.
The same could have been done with Roman Reigns after his return – he should have had his Ragnarok moment to go more over with the fans. But WWE seem to have missed a trick here as it's the same old Roman Reigns.
#1 Pointless re-match with McIntyre
If giving a clean loss against Reigns wasn’t enough to put a dent on McIntyre’s image, putting him close to another clean loss on RAW last night should certainly have pulled the trigger.
Reigns is in a feud with both Shane McMahon and Elias, so adding McIntyre again to reignite the WrestleMania feud is something that makes little sense.
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