10 Stars WWE Are Booking Perfectly
4. Roman Reigns
When was the last time Roman Reigns uttered something unutterably lame on WWE television? "Sufferin' succotash" and "tater tots" have stigmatised him, it seems - but the 2017 Big Dog vintage is a far cooler and less contrived beast.
The whole "receive him how you want!" narrative is annoying. If WWE didn't want fans to receive him as a babyface, they wouldn't lay out his matches to have him fighting from underneath virtually every time, or instruct the RAW commentary team to put him over at every opportunity. Still, the comparison to John Cena is increasingly untrue shorthand furthered by a portion of the fanbase who, ironically, are spinning a narrative as hollow as WWE's.
Reigns isn't lame anymore. He isn't trying to crack lame gags or suck up to live crowds. If anything, he's a bit of a jerk, and he knows it. He revelled in soaking up the jeers on the post-WrestleMania RAW. His smirk-laced posturing at Extreme Rules was beautiful trolling psychology. His performances are fantastic. The mic material is fantastic. The commentary, however, is the last domino to fall.
It all still feels oppressive. On Monday's RAW, Cole focused only Reigns' ability to keep on ticking. It was strange, counterproductive. You get the impression McMahon's fingers are still gripping the cliff edge. If he let go - and he probably won't, sadly - fans might actually respond to his organic character growth.