What If Roman Reigns Had Turned Heel?

Roman Reigns is an anomaly if you consider WWE history. Never before has a babyface been booed as vehemently and with as much passion as is the case with Roman Reigns. And yet, while a natural transition would be into heeldom, WWE refuses to turn him into a bad guy. But what if they would have?

Let's consider the perfect stage for such a turn. While Reigns getting booed is a weekly affair, I don't remember a negative reaction like the one he got on the night after he defeated The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33. On that night, Reigns should have told his fans off and tapped into his dark side, unleashing his heel persona.

For one, the boos would become more organic. The audience would not derail a storyline with their negative reactions, but would only enhance it. I do believe that Reigns can be a fantastic heel, as a cocky, brash, arrogant individual. And that's not where the benefits end.

Reigns would have been a fantastic antagonist for babyfaces on RAW who've suffered from a lack of quality opponents. Finn Balor springs to mind immediately. Balor has been in mid-card purgatory since his return. WWE never seems to have the right program for him. A long drawn out program with Reigns would have been ideal.

Fast forward a few months, and Reigns could have worked similar wonders with Bobby Roode. For a supremely gifted performer like him who shone during his time in TNA and NXT to be relegated to the back of the line is certainly rather criminal. He could have benefited from a program with Roman Reigns.

On the flip-side, we would probably not have gotten the fantastic John Cena vs. Roman Reigns feud that was the highlight of last year's WWE programming. Neither would we have been blessed with the drawn out program between Braun Strowman vs. Roman Reigns. Like him or not, Reigns always makes his opponents look good.

But here's one of the biggest drawbacks- there would probably not have been a Shield reunion, had Roman Reigns turned heel. While the Shield reunion did not set the world on fire last year because of Dean Ambrose's injury, it was still a significant part of last year's WWE programming.

This brings me to one of two important questions. We saw an important passing of the torch ceremony where John Cena effectively recognized Roman Reigns as 'the guy'. It is very unlikely that this honour would have been conferred upon a heel. Who would this distinction have gone to? I do feel that in such a case, Cena would have passed the torch to Drew McIntyre, who's obviously being groomed for the top spot.

Here's the second and possibly more important question that needs answering. Would the Universal Title picture have changed with Reigns as the heel? Would Lesnar have dropped the title to Reigns at WrestleMania then? As has been speculated many times, would Heyman have dumped Lesnar for Reigns?

Which current heels would have become babyfaces if Reigns was a heel? I think Kevin Owens could have, as he organically gets cheered by the WWE Universe. It would have been a natural transition for him.

They do say 'never say never' in the world of sports entertainment. There's always a chance that Reigns will go heel down the line. Until that happens, we can only speculate. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think would have happened had Reigns gone heel!

Would you have liked to see a heel Roman Reigns? Leave a comment below.

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