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What's the story?
In an interview with ESPN, Roman Reigns has said that he doesn't consider himself to be a babyface or a heel, instead seeing himself as the first true grey area professional wrestler.
In case you didn't know
Roman Reigns is far and away the most polarising professional wrestler lacing up a pair of boots in the modern day and age. Reigns is either mercilessly booed or passionately cheered - never anywhere in the middle. Every member of the WWE Universe seems to have an opinion on the Big Dog.
Hardcore fans decry the way he is booked and is frequent struggles with promos, whilst others will point out his impressive resume of great matches and hard-working mentality. Whichever side of the fence you are on, it is impossible to deny that Reigns has an aura around him wherever he does.
The heart of the matter
Roman Reigns seems to be aligned as a babyface on WWE TV, working against heels more often than not. This is impossible to understand when viewing only the reaction he gets, however, which is always a mixture of cheers and heavy booing. Reigns was asked by ESPN which side of the fence he saw himself on;
"To me, I'm neither. If I'm totally off here then I'm totally off, but I'm the first of my type. I'm the first true grey area guy"
Reigns went on to say that he tries to keep his on-screen persona as flexible as possible whilst retaining the human element to it, meaning the character's mood fluctuates with his own.
The Big Dog doesn't work a pigeon-holed style either, meaning he can fit into whichever box is necessary for the occasion. In the interview he acknowledged the fluid nature of professional wrestling, and that the days of 'good guy vs. bad guy' are long gone.
The full interview can be read here.
What's next?
After being completely annihilated on the microphone by John Cena this past week on RAW, Reigns will look to pick himself back up and fire back at the 16-time world champion. Reigns and Cena are scheduled to do battle at September's No Mercy pay-per-view, in what will be their first ever singles match against each other.
Author's take
Whilst many performers have received mixed reactions over the years, it is difficult to deny the intensity of the one afforded to Roman Reigns. The boos are certainly more apparent than the cheers, but Reigns continues to toe the line between good and bad. Times have most certainly changed.
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