'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Roman Reigns' heel turn was something that several WWE fans had wanted to see happen for years - 2015 to be exact. He has been the most pushed superstar in the promotion since 2015. For nearly four years, he never turned heel due to reluctance from Vince McMahon - who took the John Cena approach.
Roman Reigns finally turned heel in August 2020 when he returned at SummerSlam. He would go on to win the Universal Championship a week later at Payback 2020 - but it was two nights before that on SmackDown when his heel turn was cemented as he aligned with Paul Heyman.
So why did Roman Reigns finally turn heel? What made Vince McMahon give in? According to Reigns himself, it was something he wanted more than anyone. Speaking to Ryan Satin of FOX Sports, he explained what happened behind the scenes that led to him turning heel:
"So, it was one of those things where it was like, 'Man, I want to do this because I know I can tap into a different level of character work. I know I can create so many more layers as a performer if they allow me to do this' but the numbers just wouldn’t let me. When the opportunity came I jumped on it. It was kind of a team discussion. Obviously, you gotta have the big man involved and gotta have the blessing from him. But, it just all seemed to work out with perfect timing," said Roman Reigns.
In the same interview, Reigns revealed that he always wanted to turn heel. When The Shield first broke up in 2014, he felt as though Seth Rollins should have been the babyface while he should have been the heel of the group.
"I’ve always wanted to turn heel. I didn’t feel like I should have been the babyface out of the Shield group. We all agreed, we thought it should have been Seth, and then keep me as a bad guy," said Roman Reigns.
This would have undoubtedly changed the course of WWE history in the last seven years.
Also Read: How much is Roman Reigns' Worth?
Why did Vince McMahon refuse to turn Roman Reigns heel for so long?
Roman Reigns was arguably the most rejected top babyface in WWE history. While John Cena was polarizing in his own right, his rise to the top was a lot more organic and widely accepted by the fans.
They desperately wanted Reigns to turn heel between 2015 and late 2018. Ex-WWE writer Brian Gewirtz revealed that the reason why Vince McMahon refused to turn The Tribal Chief heel was that he took the same approach as he did with Cena:
"When it came to Roman [Reigns], the model was John [Cena], right? Because there were plenty of times when the writers would come in and be like, ‘Can we just turn John heel?’ With the, ‘Let’s go Cena, Cena sucks. Can we do it? Can we pull the trigger?’ And it was something Vince [McMahon] never wanted to do," said Brian Gewirtz.
Gewirtz went on to explain that it was a "trust your gut" feeling for McMahon by keeping Roman Reigns as a babyface. Gewirtz's words stand true, especially when looking at how the company tried to make Reigns into a Cena-esque babyface, something that was never going to work.
Ultimately, Reigns' desire to explore his character as a heel paid off and it resulted in him having the best run of his WWE career.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
