WWE TLC 2019: 4 reasons why WWE got Roman Reigns vs King Corbin wrong

Disclaimer: The views of the author do not necessarily reflect those of Sportskeeda.

The final pay-per-view of the year, TLC, just concluded and it was a mixed bag. While there were some great matches and some interesting storyline points, some things on the show were just downright frustrating.

After weeks of questionable segments involving dog mascots and dog food among other things, everyone was rooting for Roman Reigns to finally defeat King Corbin and move on to better storylines. However, in an unwelcome swerve, WWE booked Corbin to beat the Big Dog with the help of Dolph Ziggler, the Revival and a bunch of security guards.

This decision is a pretty damaging one which may have some ramifications down the line when it comes to booking Reigns. Unless if they have a well-thought-out plan, WWE got it wrong when King Corbin pinned Roman Reigns. Here are four reasons why.

#4 Locker room leader?

Roman Reigns is the current locker room leader in WWE and has been referred to as such on WWE programming. This would surely mean that his fellow babyfaces would stand up for him and come to his aid, just like he usually does for them. Right? No.

When the odds were overwhelmingly stacked against the Big Dog, nobody came out to help him. While Mustafa Ali was not in the building, the likes of the New Day and Shorty G would have had a vested interest in the events transpiring in the ring.

Reigns has been a stand-up guy as recently as Friday night on SmackDown when he saved Kofi Kingston and Big E from a devastating beatdown at the hands of the heels. The absence of his fellow babyfaces display a lack of consistency or simply, a lack of care from the good guys on SmackDown for their locker room leader. This was not a good look for them, or him.

The backstage brawl after the match was too late of a reaction from the babyfaces of the Blue brand.

#3 Reigns has now lost to 3 different heels in 2019

When Roman Reigns returned from his leukemia in February, the wrestling world breathed a huge sigh of relief. And along with the support he received, the WWE Universe was ready to get fully behind the Big Dog again.

However, WWE decided to take things slow and halt Reigns' momentum on multiple occasions. He got pinned by Shane McMahon, a non-wrestler, at Super Showdown. This was sandwiched between two victories over Drew McIntyre, who could have really done with a victory over Reigns more than anybody who beat him on pay-per-view this year.

The Big Dog would stare at the lights for Erick Rowan, was seemingly getting a big push alongside Luke Harper, before WWE decided to cut that entire story a month later. Another big loss wasted.

Now, Reigns losing to King Corbin in the exact same manner begs the question. Why book your top guy to lose almost every one-on-one pay-per-view match he is in? He should be winning most of the time, especially against hated heels at a time when the fans are actually cheering for him.

The Big Dog has always been saddled with some bad storytelling, which is unfortunate as he is a really good performer who shines brightest when the story is on point. Unfortunately, that has not been the case over the course of this year.

#2 The feud continues

It seems like ever since WWE made the move to FOX, SmackDown has slowly become worse. Aside from the few weeks leading to Survivor Series, Friday nights have not been enjoyable for the most part. The biggest culprit for that is the feud between Roman Reigns and King Corbin.

While a story between the two can be booked effectively, Vince McMahon vigorously stamped his weird sense of humor into the program. Every week we got some terrible segment about Corbin calling Reigns out about his 'Big Dog' nickname.

While we hoped that the former Universal Champion would finally shut him up, the 2019 King of the Ring earned a cheap victory to keep the feud going. Now, we will have to sit through at least a few more weeks of this mess. Hopefully, the infusion of other characters to this story actually shifts the focus to the action. Then it will be acceptable.

However, the past few weeks will not instil hope in fans that anything will change. Prepare for some more segments involving dog food, chains and possibly another appearance from that god-awful 'Big Dog' mascot. The creative for this feud is just not good.

#1 The sudden Superman push will cause fans to turn on him

As of right now, the safest bet for Royal Rumble and WrestleMania is that Roman Reigns will win the annual 30-man extravaganza and go on to defeat 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt at the Show of Shows, to win the Universal Championship. While it could be a sound story if told correctly, Reigns' recent booking would cause all of the goodwill that he has built up with the fans to be completely evaporated.

A win against King Corbin would have set him on his way, but a loss to his royal rival makes his eventual rise to the top extremely forced. It's like Roman Reigns gets his Superman powers in late January and loses it right after WrestleMania. It is extremely frustrating.

Reigns is not an underdog, he is a warrior. He should not be put in places of peril for him, he thrives in domination and chaos. WWE should start booking him like the 'Big Dog' regularly. Fan support for him was at its peak when he was Spearing and Superman-punching dudes all over the place, back at TLC 2015. Had we seen that Roman Reigns at TLC 2019, things would have looked much better.

Roman Reigns should be booked consistently throughout the year and WWE needs to play to his strengths, putting more faith in his abilities on the microphone and in the ring. That is the only way how the fans might still root for him against one of the most popular characters in the company today. It shouldn't have been so hard, WWE. It shouldn't have.