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Suddenly, Roman Reigns is a beloved, heroic babyface, having conquered an enemy far tougher than Brock Lesnar. When he announced that his leukemia was in remission and had returned to action, the response was thunderous. Finally, WWE has Roman Reigns in the role that the company has always wanted him to be in.
However, WWE reportedly expects fans to once again turn on Roman Reigns in the near future. That wouldn't be surprising, unfortunately, given the way that they routinely push people and their infamous inability to read a room.
Above all else, the company must avoid the perception that Roman Reigns is getting unfair opportunities at the expense of other fan favorites or up and coming superstars.
His recent cancer scare should also teach the company that it's an unwise decision to put all its eggs in one basket.
Nevertheless, WWE can book a triumphant, crowning moment for Roman Reigns with patience and some smart decisions, one which the company has always wanted him to have.
Here's how it could happen.
Step 1: Seth Rollins defeats Brock Lesnar
Roman Reigns' sudden, triumphant return shouldn't alter the course for WrestleMania 35. Seth Rollins needs to defeat Brock Lesnar and finally hit the much-needed reset button on the maligned Universal Championship.
There may be the real temptation to leave the title on Lesnar after WrestleMania now that Reigns is back, but this would be a catastrophic decision. The biggest problem (of many) on Raw is its lack of a top title, leaving the show drifting in a void that has sucked ratings dry. It cannot be tolerated any longer. Seth Rollins must hit the reset button at WrestleMania 35.
Frankly, the "Lesnar rub" has more than hit the point of diminishing returns. Most fans will just be relieved to see him permanently erased from the title picture. Seth Rollins winning the title would be a wise investment in another star aside from Reigns and Lesnar, helping to solve the main roster's chronic shortage of star power.
Above all, nobody wants to see a return to the Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns feud. That will guarantee the goodwill toward the latter sours, while Raw remains in a void as it plays out.
For the sake of himself, the show, and Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins must defeat Brock Lesnar on April 7th. This will be the first major test of the company as far as how Reigns will be treated by fans in the future.
Step 2: Fading to Black
Roman Reigns should congratulate and remain friends with the new champion, but the Shield shouldn't reunite. Both reunions in 2017 and 2018 were failures. Instead, Reigns should want a shot at his friend's title, but that doesn't mean he'd get it right away, especially with some formidable new faces around.
It remains unknown which brand the new NXT call ups will ultimately wind up on, but if they linger around on Raw, they'll definitely want a shot at the Universal Championship.
This could put Roman Reigns on a collision course with Aleister Black in April or May. WWE supposedly wants to build the four NXT standouts as big stars, so a match between one of them and Roman Reigns would seem on the cards.
It wouldn't take much - jostling for a title shot is all that's required. Thankfully, that would be possible now with the title out of the black hole it's currently in.
If WWE is serious about building the four of them up, Roman Reigns should put one of them over. Aleister Black defeating the Big Dog in April or May would be a huge win for him and instantly put him in the main event conversation. Equally as important, the perception that Roman Reigns is being unfairly pushed at the expense of other talent would remain dormant.
Step 3: Money in the Bank
In addition to not being pushed too hard, too fast, WWE should focus on Roman Reigns doing cool things for the time being. That's what got him over in the first place during the original Shield run.
Money in the Bank would be a good place to go back to those days. Roman Reigns could win a hard-hitting qualifying match against somebody like Randy Orton (should he move in the superstar shakeup as many expect him to). He could then go on to be the star of the match, being at the epicenter of all kinds of cool spots during the mayhem. Spears through tables, ladders, barricades, and so on are all fair game and would amp people up.
Roman Reigns could almost get the briefcase, only to be screwed over at the last minute by another of the four notable NXT call ups.
Step 4: The Greatest Sports Entertainer of All Time
Money in the Bank is an increasingly tiresome concept, but if it was made for anyone, it was made for Tommaso Ciampa. Having screwed Roman Reigns out of the briefcase, Ciampa could loudly proclaim his own greatness. He could talk about how terrible the Universal Championship's history is, how Seth Rollins has failed to revive it, and how it can only thrive when it's in the hands of the Greatest Sports Entertainer of All Time.
Naturally, Reigns would take exception.
The two could enter a heated feud. If WWE is serious about pushing the new NXT call ups, it would be the perfect position for Ciampa to be in. Allowing him to shine as the greatest heel in the business against Roman Reigns as Mr. Money in the Bank would be the best way to push him.
Plus, it would be real cool, too.
Roman Reigns can have Ciampa dead to rights at SummerSlam, only for Ciampa to survive, as he has so many times before. He would bloviate about how great he is and get the kind of heat that only he can get.
Next stop - Seth Rollins.
Step 5: Ciampa vs. Rollins
At some time, in some place, Tommaso Ciampa could cash in his Money in the Bank contract on Seth Rollins and become Universal Champion.
The next night, Ciampa could bloviate in ways that only he knows how about how he euthanized the Big Dog and then deconstructed the Architect. He and he alone shattered the Shield, something which even Brock Lesnar fell short of doing - because Brock Lesnar isn't the Greatest Sports Entertainer of All Time!
Seth Rollins, enraged, would obviously want his title back. A rematch would be appropriate this time around, so it would happen, and Ciampa would somehow, someway, survive, again.
Unsatisfied with mere victory, Ciampa could show his most vicious side and take Rollins out after the match in a brutal fashion. Roman Reigns could run to the rescue, but it would be too late. Ciampa would wave sadistically from a safe spot far away from the Big Dog's wrath.
Step 6: The Road to WrestleMania 36
As Ciampa brags for months about how he rescued the Universal Championship from the abyss and turned Raw into the A show, overcoming his challengers by hook or by crook, Roman Reigns would be looking for opportunities for revenge. As Seth Rollins beat Brock Lesnar last year for him, he would have to beat Ciampa for Seth Rollins. Both men would take revenge for the other.
Having Roman Reigns win the Royal Rumble would be tempting, but it would still risk the fans turning on him, even by that point. The ghost of the 2015 Royal Rumble is a strong one. WWE must ensure that Roman Reigns stays out of that frame, which he has only just now managed to escape with his triumph over cancer.
Instead, Roman Reigns should do what he did in 2017 and win the Elimination Chamber to punch his ticket to WrestleMania 36 and a rematch from last summer with Tommaso Ciampa.
Step 7: Born to reign
Everything has led to this - from the long road back from cancer to the wars and disappointments he had over the past year since his return. At WrestleMania 36, Roman Reigns would be focused and ready, unfazed by Tommaso Ciampa's mind games and the braggadocios rhetoric during the buildup.
The Big Dog would reclaim his yard by flattening Ciampa. The match would reveal the supposed "Greatest Sports Entertainer of All Time" for the bloviating blowhard of a coward that he really is. Tommaso Ciampa is the consummate heel that fans want to see get beat and that's precisely what Roman Reigns would do.
Raising the Universal Championship high once again, Roman Reigns would finally have the crowning, triumphant moment that WWE has always wanted him to have, and WrestleMania would finally close on a high note with him back on top of the WWE Universe.
