10 Facts To Silence The Roman Reigns Critics
5. He Gets Guys Over
Roman Reigns did so much to get Braun Strowman over.
Their intermittent 2017 pay-per-view series was so good that it evolved from pre-WrestleMania placeholder to the platform on which a genuine headliner was created. Their matches were back and forth titan clashes, like the Undertaker Vs. Batista series with an additional layer of unhinged furniture and vehicular destruction. Put John Cena in the Reigns role, and the story changes. Cena would spend the first half of the match selling like he was dead before mounting sudden, telegraphed comebacks. That's his standard, tired, documented 'David' mode. Reigns wasn't a gurning cartoon superhero in the face of his Goliath. He sold for Strowman like he was an actual, genuine monster. That's another department in which Reigns is sorely underrated, incidentally. Reigns sold Strowman's raucous backstage with authenticity and selflessness.
Samoa Joe was a threat to Brock Lesnar at Great Balls of Fire because Roman Reigns elevated him to threat level in their competitive RAW matches. He did more with Bray Wyatt on the June 5 RAW in 25 minutes than Randy Orton did over the course of two major PPV matches.
Reigns is a a performer as unselfish as he is underrated.