Roman Reigns, the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, is broken. Yes, Reigns has the backing by those in charge to be the next face of the company, but no matter what he seems to do, the overwhelming majority of fans seem to absolutely despise him.
Still, the plan to make Reigns the next top star in the company has remained unchanged, and there hasn’t even really been many tweaks to his character since he first starting getting booed a year and a half ago. Despite that, Reigns is undoubtedly a talented performer, and if the company was willing to just change a few things here and there, there still is a chance he could get over with the fans.
In honor of the champ’s 31st birthday, here are seven ways that the Roman Reigns character can begin to sway the WWE universe back in his direction.
7. Become the chaser again
Reigns had a brief moment last year where it seemed like the crowd was finally going to get behind him, and it was on the night he won his second WWE title. On that night, Reigns overcame the evil Authority’s plan to stop him, and he ended up beating the universally loathed Sheamus to win the strap.
The reason that storyline got over is because Reigns actually had obstacles in front of him that he had to overcome. He didn’t just up and win everything because he’s the best, he had to fight through an evil Vince McMahon and Triple H as well as Sheamus to win the championship. Even if you hated him, in that moment, you were rooting for him to succeed.
But now that Reigns is the champion, that story can’t really be told any more. Reigns already is “The Guy.” He doesn’t have anything to chase after or accomplish. His job now is to simply swat away any threat that comes after his gold, and while a dominant champion can certainly be over in the right circumstances, it isn’t the best way for someone who is as hated (as a babyface) as Reigns is to go.
Seeing someone who the crowd hated even more than Reigns (not that there is many to choose from; The Miz, maybe?) screw him out of the championship would force Reigns to become the chaser again and would give the company the potential to create a storyline where he once again had to overcome barriers to achieve success.
That won’t turn everyone on his side, but if done correctly, it would at least be a step in the right direction.
6. Expand his moveset
One of the biggest complaints that is leveled against Roman Reigns is that he “can’t wrestle.” That’s obviously not true. Reigns has had many great matches in his career, and many of them were singles bouts after he left The Shield. The problem is that the overwhelming majority of those great Roman Reigns matches have had to incorporate some hardcore element to them to really pick up a notch, or they were with elite level workers like Daniel Bryan or AJ Styles.
Like during his win last Sunday over Styles, Reigns excels when he gets to be brutal and physical with his opponent. He is very good at big spots and using weapons, and he can build the drama for big nearfalls as well as anyone. However, when it comes to your run of the mill regular Raw match or whatever, he struggles to keep it interesting.
That is largely because even though he’s been on the roster for more than three years now, Reigns still doesn’t have a huge arsenal of moves to choose from. Far too often he relies on clotheslines, Superman punches, Samoan drops and spears.
What made John Cena turn the corner with fans during his “US Open Challenge” was that he was having great matches with everyone that came out, and he was showing things to the fans that they had never seen from Cena before. Reigns doesn’t have the same level of experience in-ring as Cena does, but if he really took the time out to add some additional big moves to his matches, it would help things out a lot.
For example, on Sunday, Reigns busted out a beautiful Razor’s Edge into a sit-out powerbomb that was one of the best moves he’s had in a long time. If he can use that on a more regular basis and add two or three more signature “big man” power moves, it will make the Superman punch and spear a lot less groan-worthy when he pulls them out.
5. Ditch The Usos and find better stablemates
The Usos are very popular with children. With everyone else? Not so much. The fact that they haven’t really progressed at all either in-ring or out in several years probably has something to do with that, and while they’re capable of having good matches, they are extremely generic.
Although the connection makes sense since they are related in real life, it was a mistake to put Jimmy and Jey with Roman Reigns in his recent rivalry with The Club. For one, having the bland Usos on his side didn’t do anything to get the hardcore fans to cheer him, and secondly, having his cousins always there to bail him out didn’t make Reigns appear more sympathetic either.
Going forward, it still makes sense for Reigns to have a stable. If he’s heel, he can use them to do his dirty work. If he’s a face, he can bring them under his wing. However, there are plenty of better options to join the WWE champ than the Usos. In fact, there are two guys around that know a thing or two about being in a faction with Roman Reigns…but we’ll get to that later on.
4. Switch out the gear and entrance music
Seth Rollins broke up The Shield in June 2014. In the two years that followed, Rollins and Ambrose have essentially abandoned their Shield roots and have embraced their own individual styles and attitudes. Specifically, they both have gotten new ring gear and entrance music.
Roman Reigns, though, still uses the same damn song that The Shield came out to (minus the Sierra, Hotel, India, etc. which was the coolest part) and he still wears a version of the flak jacket that he, Ambrose, and Rollins wore during their run as a group. Up until very recently, he still came down from the crowd too.
Reigns hasn’t done nearly enough to carve out his own unique personality since leaving The Shield, and the fact that he still uses the same gear and entrance is proof of that. Reigns needs to find his own rhythm as a performer, and to do so, he needs to fully escape his triple powerbomb past and develop his own brand as a unique superstar.
3. Stop talking/Get a mouthpiece
By now, Roman Reigns has had enough embarrassing moments on the microphone to last a career. The “sufferin’ succotash” line might not have been his idea, but he’s still the one that said it, and the constant testicle jokes that followed just made it that much worse.
Reigns’ recently foray into his “The Guy” promos have been a step in the right direction, but they are still below-average. The fact of the matter is, Reigns is just not a good promo, and that’s okay. There have been plenty of guys over the years who have succeeded at the highest level without having the ability to talk. The difference is, most of those guys have had someone by their side to do the talking for them.
Andre The Giant had Bobby Heenan. The Undertaker (early on at least) had Paul Bearer. Brock Lesnar has Paul Heyman.
Roman Reigns should be all business, regardless of whether he’s a face or heel. He should be the guy that is so physically imposing, he doesn’t have to talk. He should be the guy that just shows up, kicks ass, and leaves.
Having him go out there and cut 20-minute promos every week is part of the reason why the fans have turned against him so much. If he’s ever going to truly get to that next echelon of performers, he either needs to pull a Sting and just never speak at all, or he needs to bring someone in to do most of the talking for him, and only open his mouth when he has something really important to say.
2. Completely embrace his inner bad guy persona
Since WrestleMania, Roman Reigns’ character has taken a turn toward not being a cookie-cutter good guy, and blurring the lines between face and heel. Reigns has consistently been telling people that he’s “not a good guy and not a bad guy, but The Guy” and it’s improved his direction and character ten-fold.
However, if Reigns is ever fully going to unlock his potential, he needs to go all the way with it and become a heel 100 percent.
At this point, one of the only ways to get Roman Reigns over with the hardcore fans would be a complete heel turn. Reigns is already getting booed out of most buildings he goes in, and making a full turn is the next logical step in that. However, the company seems to insist that he continue to be built up as a babyface/tweener for his storylines with AJ Styles and Seth Rollins (at least so far). The “The Guy” stuff has been good, but a full metamorphosis into a monster heel would be better.
Part of the reason that they may be toeing the line with his character is that he remains popular with women and children. The company might think that Reigns is a lost cause with the “smarks” but that he could eventually reach John Cena levels with the youngsters who watch WWE and buy merchandise if he continues to hold on to some of the core aspects of the character he’s been playing for the last two years.
The problem is, with his inability to talk on the mic, and his lack of merchandise of his that kids would want to buy, he’s never going to really reach the level they want him to be as a good guy. However, if Reigns were to completely turn heel, it’s practically a guarantee that the internet fans who are booing him now would turn in his favor, and he could become one of the top heels of this era.
Now is the time to make the switch and let Reigns be the villain he was born to be. There are plenty of other guys on the roster who could take the mantle and become the next John Cena, but that is not Reigns’ role. Reigns’ moveset, personality, and look all constitute a heel, and it’s about time that they let him be one again.
1. Reunite The Shield
When all else fails, go back to what worked. With Seth Rollins recently returning from injury, the possibility once again exists for one of the greatest factions in WWE history, The Shield, to get back together.
While I may have personally soured on Reigns and Dean Ambrose as performers recently, there’s no denying that there is something magical about that trio coming down to the ring together. When The Shield first broke up, it was because they had done everything they could have possibly done as a group, and it was time for the three of them to venture out on their own.
However, considering that it’s been two years since The Shield was a group, there are literally dozens of new stars for the reunited group to go after if they were to have another run.
The New Day, The Club, AJ Styles, Enzo and Cass, Baron Corbin, Apollo Crews, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, The Dudley Boyz., The Vaudevillans, The Lucha Dragons, and Neville are all teams or superstars that weren’t around when The Shield broke up. Not to mention, there are plenty of other names on NXT like Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura, American Alpha and Finn Balor that should be coming up soon and could have classic matches with The Shield.
If the end goal is to ultimately have the three Shield members face off in a WrestleMania main event match, they would do well to have another run together first. For Reigns specifically, putting him back together with Ambrose and Rollins is one of the surefire ways to get everyone in the crowd to support him, and there’s no denying that those six-man tag team matches were when he was at his absolute best as a performer.
So there you have it. How would you get Roman Reigns cheered by the crowd? Let us know in the comments.
