10 Reasons Roman Reigns Should Lose WWE Title At Payback 2016

Reigns losing may provide motivation for a heel turn...

Roman Reigns WWE World Heavyweight Champion April 2016.jpg
WWE.com

Going into WWE Payback on May 1, few realistically expect that AJ Styles will defeat Roman Reigns to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Management's golden boy, Reigns has only been on top of the mountain for just shy of a full month, following his anticlimactic win over Triple H at WrestleMania 32.

The boos raining down upon WWE's pet project aren't exactly a new phenomenon,but  they were audible long before he bagged the belt on wrestling's biggest stage. 

In stark contrast, AJ Styles is the kind of performer those Roman-hating fans absolutely adore. He's world-travelled, a true veteran and always delivers exciting matches.

Styles doesn't have to try too hard in order to be liked, his character feels natural next to Reigns. That's something WWE should pay attention to heading into Payback as AJ as champ could shake things up mightily over the next few months.

It'd undercut Reigns, but his babyface experiment is clearly not working. Here's why Roman Reigns should lose the WWE Title this Sunday, and why his loss would be everyone's gain...

10. AJ Styles Would Have Amazing Matches Against All-Comers

Roman Reigns WWE World Heavyweight Champion April 2016.jpg
WWE.com

Picture the scene: AJ Styles wins the WWE World Heavyweight Championship then defends against the likes of Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho and Sami Zayn.

Monday Night Raw and SmackDown would be the most likely destination for these bouts, because there's a good chance WWE would book a rematch against Roman Reigns at Extreme Rules.

Even if the favoured son did regain the belt on that pay-per-view, seeing Styles defend the WWE Title against those aforementioned names would be thrilling. He doesn't need the title to be in main events every week, or even involved in good matches, but man would they be something to behold.

Anybody Roman Reigns goes up against will automatically be the crowd's favourite, but that wouldn't necessarily be the case with AJ. He'd offer great balance as champion, with fans sure to be split between supporting someone like Sami Zayn and continuing to root for Styles.

As WWE Champ, AJ Styles would offer something remarkably different to the most recent run of titleholders like Reigns, Sheamus and Triple H.

Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.