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What’s the story?
Roman Reigns recently spoke to Inside The Ropes, opening up on a myriad of topics, highlighting the reason why most current indie wrestlers aren’t needed in the WWE.
While Reigns claimed that he didn't intend to offend any independent performer, he said that most of the performers who’ve been ripping off DX and the NWO in the indies lack originality.
Additionally, the Big Dog insinuated that—not meaning to disrespect the great performers in pro-wrestling history—the WWE strives to put forth original characters rather than revamped versions of the same old ideas.
In case you didn’t know…
Roman Reigns has been performing for the WWE since 2010 and he broke through to the main roster in 2012 as part of the Shield.
The 32-year-old has lately been accorded top billing in the WWE, replacing long-time promotional flag-bearer John Cena.
The heart of the matter
Speaking of which, Reigns’ giant push hasn’t been well-received by the vast majority of fans and pundits; which in turn has led to the Big Dog frequently finding himself in the midst of social media debates not only against them but also opposite several indie wrestlers.
Although Reigns has been highly vocal about his dislike for today’s indie wrestling scene, the Shield powerhouse explained his side of the story rather objectively this time around, stating:
"We don't need guys running around doing Too Sweets and we don't need guys acting like they are DX from, you know, 15 years ago. We need original characters."
“I need Seth Rollins to be Seth Rollins—I need Kevin Owens to be Kevin Owens—I need Bray Wyatt to be Bray Wyatt! We need original Superstars who have no clue what was done 15-20 years ago, and no disrespect to our history.”
What’s next?
Roman Reigns reunited with his Shield brethren on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW, reforming the popular faction after about three years.
The Shield (Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins) are set to face The Miz and The Bar (Cesaro & Sheamus) at the upcoming RAW brand-exclusive TLC PPV on October 22nd. Besides, as revealed on RAW, Braun Strowman too seems to have joined forces with the latter group in order to defeat the Shield at the aforementioned pay-per-view.
Author’s take
Roman Reigns is spot-on in his analysis of several indie performers simply trying to revive older gimmicks.
However, the irony of Reigns criticising someone for their lack of originality is rather intriguing. One could even say that it displays an alarming lack of self-awareness.
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