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What’s the story?
Roman Reigns is a very polarizing figure in pro wrestling. He has a lot of people who love him but others despise him. Triple H has an interesting opinion on the matter.
In an interview with ESPN, the NXT head honcho claimed that Roman Reigns had already turned heel in the eyes of detractors.
The background
When Roman Reigns split off from The Shield it was soon made apparent Vince McMahon was pegging him to be "the guy." He was slated to win big matches and hold top titles but fans didn't seem to warm up to The Big Dog like WWE would have liked them too.
Even though WWE put their entire marketing machine behind Roman Reigns they could only turn a minority of the WWE Universe into a fan of the Roman Empire. Reigns is still cheered in some regions, for the most part, Roman gets just as many boos as he does cheers.
When Reigns was paired up against The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33, many assumed Roman would be working as the heel in that contest. As history told that certainly happened and the backlash Reigns received for defeating The Undertaker the next night on Raw was a ridiculous amount of heat. Fans booed Roman Reigns for nearly ten straight minutes and it looked like he was on his way to becoming a main event heel.
However, WWE quietly slid Roman back into a babyface role once more when he started his future feuds against heels who arguably received better reactions than he did like Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe, and Brock Lesnar.
The heart of the matter
Roman Reigns is feuding with John Cena in another marquee main event match worthy of WrestleMania. As the two continue toward No Mercy it would appear as though Roman is once again being booked as a heel.
Triple H recently spoke to ESPN where he gave a unique opinion about Roman Reigns turning heel. According to Triple H, Roman has already turned heel it's just a matter of who you ask.
"When people say, 'they should just turn Roman,' why? For the people that hate him he's already turned. And for the people that love him, they don't want him to turn."
What’s next?
After Roman Reigns' feud with John Cena is in the record books the next destination for Roman is unknown at this point until he tangles with Brock Lesnar. After all, WrestleMania 34's main event is still scheduled to be The Big Dog vs The Beast Incarnate. But who knows how much more heat Roman Reigns might be able to draw along the way.
Author's take
All of the recent talk about The Undertaker has been very interesting. Burying Undertaker in the promo with John and Roman when Cena called Taker a broken down veteran with a bad hip and Reigns reminded everyone he retired The Dead Man certainly piqued my interest.
Since the whole promo was scripted, Vince McMahon obviously wanted that verbiage in there. Perhaps if they keep speaking his name, The Undertaker might show up and seek some revenge over Roman Reigns. If that did happen it would give WWE little choice but to fully turn Roman heel at that point.
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