Opinion: Why WWE have failed with Roman Reigns

Okay, so let me preface this by stating that this will NOT be an article of me saying Roman Reigns is rubbish, he can't wrestle, he's not good on the microphone or anything negative about the former WWE Champion's ability - because all of those things are simply not true.

Roman Reigns is a good wrestler. He's a great looking guy, he comes across as a really nice guy, he's very charitable, he's good with kids, he's very athletic, he turns up EVERY week, he does the house shows, and he's even vastly improved on the microphone from what we've seen on the past.

There's no questioning his ability, every single fellow professional wrestler who mentions Roman Reigns only has good things to say, and they're always heaping praise on The Big Dawg. He's good by the definition of the word, and he's meant to play the role of a 'good' guy too. So, why don't people like Roman Reigns?

Roman Reigns is no stranger to the big stage

Well, in this article, I'm going to detail precisely why I believe WWE has failed Roman Reigns.

So, first things first, The Shield. Roman Reigns got cheered as part of The Shield. The fans actually liked him when The Shield debuted, and the reunion, even if it only happened for a short while due to illnesses and injuries, subsided the booing when Reigns had Rollins and Ambrose by his side.

While the fans did give Reigns half a chance when The Shield split, WWE failed Reigns immediately here. Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose both got an image overhaul in the way of new attire, new music and essentially pretty new characters - with Rollins obviously turning heel and 'buying in', and Ambrose becoming a much more unique character after the faction disbanded - but Roman Reigns, well, he stayed the same.

Ambrose and Rollins changed, but Roman Reigns stayed the same

While I think his look is incredibly marketable, and that may have been why WWE decided to keep him as such, this didn't work for two very specific reasons. The first being that, well, it's just a bit boring. Dolph Ziggler is an incredible performer, and even his character went stale when nothing changed.

When you hamper everything else WWE has done with Reigns since, having him keep his seemingly bulletproof, and F-5 proof, vest and music almost identical to that of The Shield - well, it just seemed lazy and it did absolutely nothing to progress Reigns' character, which led to a large portion of the WWE Universe saying he doesn't really have a personality.

Roman Reigns is no stranger to criticism when it comes to mic work

The other reason, though, I think it damaging on two fronts. Having Reigns still essentially look like a member of The Shield, but Ambrose and Rollins move on, firmly established Reigns as the main member of the faction and essentially said, while the other two have gone, Reigns IS The Shield. WWE forced Reigns to take the brunt of everything that came with The Shield, and essentially set him up for failure with everything that followed. Not only this, but it meant that The Shield reunion was never really the hit it should have been. While the crowd still absolutely loved it, it somewhat dampened the pop of having the music hit and having all three guys go back to the same attire - because, well, we'd seen and heard a slight variation for the entire time in between.

Now, this obviously isn't the main reason why WWE couldn't get the WWE Universe behind Roman Reigns. The main reason is very simple. Bad booking. Roman Reigns is essentially suffering from the same condition that afflicted John Cena when the crowd started to turn on him - something I like to call Superman Syndrome.

WWE took it upon themselves to book both men using the Hulk Hogan template. Being the underdog of a match, yet there's no question they're losing. There's no battle. Their opponent beats them down for the entire match, they essentially 'Hulk up', hit their finisher and win the match, ahem, against all odds.

The booking of Roman Reigns is familiar, even if his look is very different

Which leads me on to another problem. Roman Reigns' finishers. You can't win out of nowhere with a Superman Punch or a Spear, typically. This is Reigns' 'Hulk up' moment and it essentially gives the WWE Universe a moment to think, ""Oh, no, not again" and jeer profusely. Another problem the WWE Universe has with Reigns is one that plagued Cena - his move set. Reigns can do so much more than we see - his Crucifix Powerbomb signature move we seen for a short spell was well received, but the Samoan Drop, Superman Punch and Spear do not showcase his abilities to their utmost.

So, if it doesn't work for Reigns, and it didn't really work for Cena, then why was Hogan any different? I mean, he also had a limited moveset and was booked in the same way.

Well, that worked for Hulk Hogan because, well, wrestling was different. There weren't so many 'smart marks' around then. The internet has made everyone wiser to the business, for better or worse - and well, the kids love Cena and Reigns, but who's complaining about them? Mainly guys 20+ years old who grew up cheering for Hulk Hogan. For exactly the same reason the kids today cheer for Roman Reigns.

Roman Reigns is a bit hit with the kids.

One thing that's super important to get a babyface over, too, is sympathy. Who feels sorry for Reigns? Well, I do - but I feel sorry for the guy, not the character. Joseph Anoaʻi does not need my sympathy, and I'm sure he doesn't want it - he's incredibly successful - but I feel sorry for a guy who has made it to the top on several occasions as a babyface, but never been cheered by the entire crowd. Reigns' selling abilities aren't even bad, the dude can sell injuries and moves really well - but no-selling finishers is also something he does well to counter with his own.

We've seen a lot of Superman Punches over the past few years

No sympathy means no crowd investment - and essentially that means no emotional connection with a huge majority of the fans. Reigns is portrayed as a badass dude who doesn't care less about what people think of him. Now, that worked for Stone Cold, but the Rattlesnake is in the minority. Why do we love underdogs like Daniel Bryan and Johnny Gargano? It's simple - sympathy! The world was against them, yet they overcame it organically, while suffering along the way. You can't overcome an obstacle that was never there in the first place, and that's essentially Reigns' problem when it comes to connecting.

Now, that's just match booking, that's not even me speaking about the booking that seemingly sees Roman Reigns have a straight pass to the WrestleMania main event year on year. And again, it's no knock on Reigns. I think he's a phenomenal talent. The problem lies in the fact that WWE's booking of Reigns has possibly been the single most stubborn creative decision the company has ever undertaken.

When Roman Reigns loses a championship match at the Royal Rumble and the crowd isn't absolutely devastated, there is NO way he should enter the match at number 30 when the crowd expects to see a surprise. They've seen Reigns already tonight, give them something fresh. That word again, fresh. The booking became, like Reigns' character and look, arguably stale and boring to the older fans.

Fast forward to last year. While Undertaker has wrestled since, for all intents and purposes, WWE had us believe that Roman Reigns retired The Undertaker. Your biggest face, or who you'd hope to be your biggest face, seemingly retires potentially the greatest and most loved character in professional wrestling history.

Roman Reigns got the better of The Undertaker

That leads me on to my last point. Who wanted to see Roman Reigns face The Undertaker? Well, I'm sure a few people did, but not many. Yet he seemed to get the very last match of Undertaker's career, as we thought for almost an entire year.

No-one was clamouring for that match, just like no-one was clamouring for Reigns to headline WrestleMania for any of the years he has, nor did anyone clamour for Reigns to win the Royal Rumble.

But WWE didn't learn after the first time, and seemingly are just starting to slightly cool off on Reigns with him being unsuccessful in retrieving the Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar thus far.

Even the approval of The Rock didn't endear Reigns to the WWE Universe

It always seems like Roman Reigns, through no fault of his own, is in the place of someone else who the fans ARE behind and want to see get the push Roman Reigns does. The problem is, much of the WWE Universe put much more effort into booing Roman Reigns than they do cheering for their own favourites as an alternative - and, well, as we've heard so many times, any loud reaction is a good reaction in WWE.

Now, I'll finish this with a positive. WWE failing to get the crowd invested in Reigns has been monumental for two men. Seth Rollins being one. While a Money In The Bank cash in would ALWAYS be a huge moment, and absolutely monumental at WrestleMania - when Rollins cashed in, he essentially saved the crowd from choosing between two evils. A part timer they don't dislike, but are a bit sick of versus the dude who is always here, but we wish would just go away for a bit so other people can get a chance. Rollins cashing in essentially made him the saviour of WWE television there and then.

Seth Rollins' WWE Championship win had the fans instantly invested

One more man who severely benefited was Braun Strowman. While Strowman's success is definitely down to his improvement in the ring and his phenomenal comedic timing, as well as just being a beast, you can pinpoint Braun's face turn very easily.

Braun started getting majorly cheered when he started destroying Roman Reigns - and while he's vast became a babyface and a top Superstar in his own right, the Monster Among Men may just sway the powers that be to switch him into the major face role after Reigns left WrestleMania and the Greatest Royal Rumble without gold, and Braun exited both holding a belt.

Braun Strowman essentially got over at the expense of Roman Reigns

Now, he's not finished with Roman, if you remember those infamous words, so Braun could easily become the Champion whether Roman does or not if he gets a little nudge - and imagine the pop if WWE were to book this longer term, and Roman were to win the Universal Championship only to hear, "I'm not finished with you yet" and we got a Braun Strowman Money In The Bank cash-in.

Book it, WWE!

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