10 Next Booking Steps For Heel Roman Reigns In WWE
The Big Dog we've been waiting for has finally arrived...
Roman Reigns shocked the world when he made an unexpected return this past Sunday at SummerSlam. But the 'Big Dog's comeback wasn't even the most shocking thing about the closing moments of the PPV; no, that honour goes to his badass new attitude that, believe it or not, made it seem like the traditionally heroic superstar had finally turned heel.
Launching an all-out assault on both Braun Strowman and the new Universal Champion 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt, Reigns made an impact, reminding both the WWE locker room and the fans watching around the world that he was the big dog on SmackDown. And with that, it looks like WWE has finally pulled the trigger on something fans have been wanting to see for some time now, molding Reigns into the villain we always knew he could be.
Though his heel turn has yet to be officially acknowledged by the company, it doesn't change the fact that - for the first time in years - people are excited by Roman Reigns. With that in mind, it's imperative that the creative team don't backtrack, and there are a number of steps they can take to ensure that doesn't happen.
You want to know what a heel Roman Reigns looks like? Let's find out...
10. He Immediately Drops The Shield Gimmick
He may have been face for the vast majority of his WWE career, but Roman Reigns knew exactly how to portray himself as intolerable when he wanted to (his rivalry with The Undertaker and the aftermath on Raw are perfect examples of that). As a result, he'll slot into the villainous role much more easily than you might think - and without the cringe-worthy babyface dialogue he struggled with a few years back, this could be the making of him.
In order for it to truly work, though, there are a number of things that must go. For starters, it's time to drop both The Shield's entrance music and the body armor ring attire. We get it, they're fantastic elements that captured the law and order essence of the team's gimmick, but when they initially split up, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose wasted little time establishing themselves as standalone performers with their own unique gimmicks. Reigns languished somewhere in between, never letting go of who he was while attempting to establish a new character. None of it worked.
The Undertaker was the Big Dog of his generation whether he was raising hellfire or riding motorcycles, so it's time for Roman to find a new rough-around-the-edges facet to his character that allows him to continue being the 'Big Dog' while dropping all of the elements that held his progression back.