10 Reasons WWE Fans Will FINALLY Accept Roman Reigns

6. Weaknesses: Acknowledged

Roman Reigns Old School Title
WWE.com

Not for the first time in this article - John Cena remains the only real precedent of a babyface performer received as a heel for years and years on end - a comparison to the Champ is in order.

The extent to which WWE protected SuperCena bordered on the laughable. He was beatable - by spooky little kids, Jon Stewart, Kevin Federline - but not by a fellow performer using their skill and skill alone to pin his shoulders to the mat. This series of contrivances became so laughable that the meme CenaWinsLOL was born from it. Cena's miraculous comebacks from injury in real life only compounded the perception that he was unbeatable.

In contrast, Reigns ate the pin at SummerSlam's berserk headliner, loses more often than you'd think via means that are not hysterically overblown, and does not otherwise damage his opponents in defeat. Moreover, WWE assassinated the Roman Reigns character last autumn during the lauded reality-leaning promo wars ahead of No Mercy.

Disassociate Reigns from Cena - a process that is already underway - and the ReignsWinsLOL narrative, eventually, will dissolve.

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!