5 Times Roman Reigns could have turned heel in WWE

Roman Reigns is currently off WWE programming due to a high health risk as a result of his leukemia. And it seems like the company is taking him off everybody's minds as well, not even mentioning the Big Dog's name on RAW or SmackDown. Hopefully, that helps to boost Reigns' WWE return, whenever that may be.

He might slot right into the Universal Championship picture, as he was originally planned to walk out of WrestleMania with the title. And despite the increased crowd support since his return from fighting leukemia last year, there will likely be some negative reaction to a potential Universal Title victory for Roman Reigns.

WWE had the solution to all of the boos for The Big Dog at the palm of their hands, especially since they were hell-bent on making him the face of the company. They just needed to turn him heel.

Why should Roman Reigns have turned heel?

Now, a Roman Reigns heel turn wouldn't work anymore because he literally returned after fighting cancer. He will always remain a babyface for that reason. But WWE failed to make him an effective babyface before then, feeding him some bad promos and cringe-worthy jokes that turned the fans against him.

And due to the fans going against The Big Dog, they missed a huge opportunity by failing to turn him into a bad guy to rebuild his goodwill amongst the WWE Universe.

A temporary character change would have given Reigns more freedom to express himself and considering his solid promo skills, it would have brought the fans on his side. A spike in popularity as a heel would have helped him greatly as it did to The Rock and 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin.

Roman Reigns has had a couple of heelish moments in WWE, evidently enjoying himself while doing so. However, he hasn't turned heel completely since The Shield broke up in 2014. WWE should have countered the negative reaction to him by allowing him to be a villain.

They had several opportunities to do so as well, between his two WrestleMania matches against Brock Lesnar, in 2015 and 2018. Here are five times WWE could have turned Roman Reigns heel.

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#5 Right after WrestleMania 31

This could have broken him at that moment in time.

Fans have been clamoring for Roman Reigns to turn heel ever since WWE messed up on his rise to the main-event scene. Their biggest misstep came in the 2015 Royal Rumble match, as crowd favorite Daniel Bryan was dumped out early in an attempt to get the crowd behind The Big Dog.

It went terribly wrong, as the Philadelphia crowd booed the entire remainder of the Rumble match. Their boos were especially directed towards Roman Reigns. Even The Rock could not save the day, as he was booed out of the building when he raised his cousin's hand.

Reigns still had a WrestleMania match against Brock Lesnar and questionable build-up aside, it was a brilliant match. When it looked like he would manage to beat The Beast and win the WWE Championship, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and escaped 'Mania with the title.

The "heist of the century", along with the fans booing him so vigorously could have caused Roman Reigns to snap and turn heel. WWE would have been smart to do that as an attempt to cleanse his character from the horrible jokes and the Royal Rumble win he failed to recover from.

It would have made for a good redemption story for Reigns as well, with him finally earning the fans' support en route to beating Brock Lesnar at the next WrestleMania to win the WWE Title.

#4 Survivor Series 2015

What if he had shaken the Devil's hand?

After WrestleMania 31, Roman Reigns was around the top of the card. His main rivalry was against The Wyatt Family, with Dean Ambrose tagging with him. The two former Shield buddies ended up facing each other in a tournament final for the vacant WWE Championship after Seth Rollins suffered a terrible knee injury.

The Authority was lingering around this match, with Triple H courting Roman Reigns and guaranteeing him the title if he joined the group. The Big Dog rejected the Game's advances but got punished for it, with Sheamus cashing in his Money in the Bank contract just after Reigns defeated Ambrose for the belt.

But things could have been so much more different and intriguing. Reigns siding with The Authority to win his first WWE Title would have gotten nuclear heat, making Ambrose the biggest babyface in the company. It would have been a lovely surprise as well.

This would have avoided the overwhelmingly negative reaction to Roman Reigns' victory over Triple H in the main event of WrestleMania 32. The last WWE star to turn heel and side with the evil boss to win a tournament for the vacant Championship was The Rock, and we all know how that turned out.

#3 Great Balls Of Fire

Not very babyface-like.

This is the most recent moment on this list, but that's all it was. This was just a singular moment where Roman Reigns felt like a heel. He and Braun Strowman had been going at it for months, with both Superstars taking some time off due to injuries, kayfabe, or otherwise.

It all came to a head in an Ambulance Match at the first and only Great Balls Of Fire event in July 2017, which was headlined by Brock Lesnar and Samoa Joe. Right before that match, Strowman had outsmarted The Big Dog, ducking a Spear to send him into the back of the ambulance and win the match. However, a salty Roman Reigns attacked the Monster Among Men after the match.

He put his larger opponent in the ambulance and drove it backstage. Reigns eventually rammed it full speed into a truck, attempting to "murder" Strowman. This felt like a proper heel turn, with Reigns taking drastic measures to avenge a defeat. Strowman even came out of the wreckage alive, heroically walking away.

The most glaring thing is how comfortable Roman Reigns felt while committing this act. It isn't something a heroic babyface would do, even for character development. Even a short-lived double turn with him and Strowman would have helped everyone out long-term.

#2 WrestleMania 33

"This is my yard now".

It is unbelievable that WWE decided to book Roman Reigns to defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania, thinking that he would get cheered. But if their goal was to get The Big Dog as much heat as possible, they succeeded. Unfortunately, they didn't follow up on that heat.

Roman Reigns entered the 2017 Royal Rumble Match at number 30, despite having already wrestled earlier in the night. That would have been the perfect catalyst for his heel turn, with the feud with The Undertaker turning him into a bad guy.

The Big Dog was getting heavily booed while being responsible for "retiring" The Deadman at the time. The RAW after WrestleMania was possibly Roman Reigns' finest moment as a "heel". He was getting drowned by boos, unable to say a word. Eventually, Reigns was able to say those five magic words.

"This is my yard now."

Cue even more nuclear heat from the rabid post-WrestleMania crowd. This was as perfect a heel turn as there ever was. It is a shame that Roman Reigns went back to being the same babyface a week later, even if his rivalry with Braun Strowman turned out superbly.

#1 Returning from suspension

WWE's biggest missed opportunity with Roman Reigns.

Before "retiring" The Undertaker and trying to "kill" Braun Strowman, WWE was presented with the perfect opportunity to turn Roman Reigns heel. The Big Dog enjoyed his best world title run in 2016, after winning it from Triple H at WrestleMania. He had two epic clashes with AJ Styles, before his classic against a returning Seth Rollins at Money in the Bank.

In that match, Reigns seemed way more aggressive than normal. He was using his power to keep Rollins down, even talking trash at times. He was still the babyface while Rollins was the heel, but something felt different about that match. Ultimately, The Architect defeated The Big Dog to win the WWE Championship.

Dean Ambrose cashed in his Money in the Bank contract on Rollins immediately afterward, as all three former members of The Shield held the WWE Title within five minutes of each other. However, Roman Reigns was suspended for violating WWE's wellness policy, explaining his shockingly clean loss to Rollins.

WWE should have made a bold decision and turned The Big Dog full heel for his return, which saw him sport a lovely beard. They had already planted the seeds during the Money in the Bank match and with Seth Rollins gaining more and more support, a double turn seemed like the obvious route.

Had Reigns immediately turned heel on his return in The Shield triple threat match at Battleground, the heat would have been nuclear and productive. It would have helped him grow as a performer, in a way even the most hardcore of fans could get behind. It would have helped get the entire WWE Universe on his side in the long run.

It was an opportunity wasted. It was a necessity after their initial mistakes with Roman Reigns in early 2015. But he is long beyond that point. And while he could pull off being a villain even now, The Big Dog will never turn heel anymore, nor should he.

Roman Reigns is a babyface for life.

After all that he went through, professionally and personally, Roman Reigns is WWE's biggest superhero. A turn would have helped his character years ago but since October 2018, his character has permanently blended with his real self. And in real life, Joe Anoa'i will always remain a babyface.