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Since January of 2015, WWE's greatest challenge has been to get the fans to embrace Roman Reigns as the company's top guy, and with the exception of turning him heel, they've done just about everything you could think of to get him over.
Right now, WWE probably doesn't care whether or not you cheer Reigns. Of course, they'd probably be thrilled if he ended up getting a 100-percent positive reaction every week, but if you're asking me, they just don't want their fans to be indifferent to Reigns, or really anybody on their roster. As long as it's loud during Reigns' segments, he's doing his job.
But let's go with the idea that they're trying to get the majority of their audience to like him, and with that in mind, here are 5 ideas that could help the ex-WWE World Heavyweight Champion get a more positive reaction from the fans.
5 - Losing Streak
"We don't like that they're constantly pushing him down our throat," is typically the response you'll get if you ask a WWE fan why they dislike Roman Reigns, yet those same people will go nuts whenever Vince McMahon - the guy who is making the decision to "push him down your throat" - makes an appearance.
The reality probably is that most fans, at this point, don't really know why they're reacting so negatively to Reigns, as they're just booing him because it's the thing to do.
But I'll go with the "they're pushing him down our throat" idea, and what's the best way to make it appear that you're not pushing someone? Have them go on a losing streak and a significant one. They did accidentally strike gold with Daniel Bryan while they were actively trying to bury him, so perhaps if they did the same thing with Reigns, it'd work to his and the company's benefit.
It is worth noting that they've tried this idea with others on their roster, and it never works. But, if WWE can somehow convince the fans that they're actively trying to bury Reigns, then the fans who hate him might end up changing their tune.
4 - Leave Him Off WrestleMania and Royal Rumble Cards
Roman Reigns has been in the main event of each of the last four WrestleManias, and he was the challenger for the WWE/Universal Championship in three of those matches (Brock Lesnar at WM 31, Triple H at WM 32, and Brock Lesnar at WM 34). He's also been one of the favorites to win the Royal Rumble match during that time.
As we know, WWE's most hardcore fans attend the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania, and the hardcores haven't exactly been kind to Reigns dating back to the Royal Rumble in 2015.
The idea of WWE keeping Reigns off of their two biggest shows of the year sort of ties in with the previous entry, as it could give the fans, especially the hardcores, the idea that the company is actively burying the ex-WWE Champ. Obviously, there is a chance that the fans would love nothing more than for WWE to keep Reigns off of their two biggest shows of the year, and that they'll continue to hate him when he's prominently featured on other pay-per-views throughout the year.
3 - Three-Man Heel Faction With The Usos
Whenever the idea of putting Roman Reigns in a faction comes up, fans automatically start talking about ideas for a potential Shield reunion. Of course, prior to Dean Ambrose' injury, we got a small taste of how the fans would react to Reigns in the popular trio, and it was more of the same.
For whatever reason, at least as far as I know, nobody has ever brought up the idea of pairing Reigns with The Usos in a heel trio.
During his chat with Chris Jericho on Talk is Jericho last year, he talked about the natural chemistry and bond that he had with his twin cousins, so why not present that on television? Sure, they'll probably be hated at first, which is obviously the goal of a heel group, but I believe that, in the long run, it'll work out for them just like it did for The New Day - when they turned heel, everyone booed them, and now they're one of the most popular acts WWE has.
2 - New Authority w/ HHH, Stephanie, and John Cena
Rehashing old ideas with new people typically isn't the best way to get people excited about what you're doing, however, I believe that fans would make an exception in this case. Sure, they'd hate it at first, which would be the goal, but much like with the previous entry, they could end up loving Roman Reigns in the end.
Although it's been a while since I've heard this term, WWE has referred to the current era as the "Reality Era" despite the fact that two of The Authority's biggest foes were John Cena and Roman Reigns.
Pairing John Cena and Roman Reigns with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon would prove that this is, in fact, the "Reality Era," and when the time comes to have Roman spin out of the group, he'll have destroyed both Triple H and John Cena. Sure, he's already had matches with both men, but the new Authority storyline would put a new spin on it.
1 - Have Reigns Ruin The Next Shield Reunion
One would assume that whenever Dean Ambrose makes his return from injury, WWE will try to put together yet another Shield reunion, however, if you're asking me, it shouldn't happen.
Instead, make it look like the popular trio is going to reunite, and then have Reigns spoil it by taking out both Ambrose and Rollins. By doing that, they'd have Reigns ruin something that fans have been dying to see, thus he'll avoid being the heel who is cheered more than his opponents.
The long-term idea with this would be to turn Reigns back if/when the WWE fans get behind him, and then do a Shield reunion shortly thereafter. But if it doesn't work, and the fans continue to hate him, then, well, at least they've created a top heel who the fans legitimately dislike.
