10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Roman Reigns
WWE's propaganda machine wants you to forget a LOT about Roman Reigns.
Roman Reigns is back to being one of wrestling's most polarising figures.
WWE is over three years deep into his 'Tribal Chief' reinvention, and nobody behind the scenes wants the ride to end. That's why Roman has been champion seemingly forever, and why some view WrestleMania XL as the natural endpoint for his peerless domination of the company upper card since 2020.
Things weren't always so rosy, of course. Dart back in time to anywhere between 2015-2019 and you'll find some of the most thoroughly miserable creative plans Vince McMahon ever rubber stamped. The fact Reigns was one of the few acts McMahon gave serious thought to is worrying in retrospect, because some of his output was garbage.
WWE would want fans to forget all about it now, but the old 'Big Dog' days don't sit alone in that respect. There are moments from his critically-lauded heel run that deserve scrutiny as well. Not everything has been "cinema", put it that way.
These are all things WWE and Reigns himself would rather people didn't talk about. "Wreck Everyone And Leave"? At one point, fans did want Roman gone!
10. Sufferin’ Succotash, Son!
Consider this the ultimate starting point for Roman Reigns-inspired misery.
Fans have gone back and forth on the need for scripting when it comes to promos, but the 9 January 2015 episode of SmackDown was a prime example of why it shouldn't happen. Roman turned to Seth Rollins and said the following: "You are a snivelling little suck-up sell out full of sufferin' succotash, son!".
Yeah, it was bad. Then, just when people tried to digest the first round of silliness, Reigns turned to the cameras, winked and added, "That was not easy to say". Even the most laid back of fans probably wanted to slap him across his handsome face when Roman flashed that wink. It was one of the crappiest babyface moments ever.
Reigns had some other stinkers. His "tater tots" chat about Sheamus' balls, and his whole Jack & The Beanstalk stuff when feuding with Big Show would rank right up there, but nothing beats the "sufferin' succotash" rubbish.
What were they thinking?!