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What's the story?
In Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online earlier this week, Dave Meltzer became the voice of the masses in making his lack of enthusiasm over Reigns unequivocally clear:
"At the end of the day, he's not the guy! As soon as they broke up The Shield I remember saying it. He's not the guy. Then it became painfully obvious that's the case."
In case you didn't know...
As you will know, Roman Reigns has been struggling to gain approval from WWE fans across the globe for years now. It has gotten to the point where many, including Meltzer, are starting to doubt whether or not it will, or even could, actually happen.
There was a time when Reigns was beloved by fans. During his time in The Shield, as Meltzer points out, he was very much over with the fans and this followed on to the early months of his singles run, particularly his first WWE Championship.
This, however, was ruined with silly booking decisions, especially having Roman topple the adored Daniel Bryan in the latter stages of his in-ring career with WWE. There really was no turning back.
The heart of the matter
In his interview, Meltzer, who has been a well-regarded wrestling critic for decades, also offered why the WWE seem to be intent on sticking to their decision regarding Reigns despite obvious protestation from the WWE Universe:
"In their mind, it's just like, they are still hung up on that looks thing and that's where they are out of touch."
He was, however, also able to offer an explanation as to why fans have not switched off their TV sets over the Reigns issue:
"They have this hardcore audience... they're gonna buy tickets to the big shows. It's their frickin' religion. And, when they don't like it, they're gonna complain but they're still gonna watch."
As Meltzer points out, for many wrestling fans, wrestling has become more than a weekly television show they enjoy, but more of a religious commitment. Even an addiction, in some cases. The fact that they would continue to return to a product that is not entirely satisfying, given the ever-changing landscape of the wrestling world, is completely understandable.
What's next?
Meltzer, still being the avid fan that he is, also offered some alternatives as to who could replace Reigns as the 'Top Guy' in the company when, and if creative choose to let Reigns' momentum gradually die:
"It's Reigns by default until somebody comes up... McIntyre checks a lot of boxes."
While Meltzer shows a lot of faith in the Scotsman McIntyre's ability, it isn't all that likely that he could replace Roman Reigns on top of the mountain that is WWE, especially is McMahon and creative are intent on cramming Roman down the fans' throats whether they like it or not.
Author's Take
I sympathise with Meltzer's sentiments. Unless there is a drastic re-vamp of Roman Reigns' persona or career, there is absolutely no way back for the man who many were pitching to be the next 'Big Dog' in WWE.
Personally, rather than WWE creative burying their heads in the sand, as they seem to have been doing for the past two years, I would like to see them take a genuine risk and bring up another competitor, such as McIntyre, to take the company in bold new directions.
Unpredictability, as we have seen in recent weeks, can be a goldmine for WWE if they choose to use it properly. Only time will tell.
