10 Times WWE REJECTED Million Dollar Ideas
5. Roman Reigns Doesn't Turn...
...Until it's too late.
An objective draw in a time where almost nothing sticks for WWE, the heel Roman Reigns has been received precisely as well as fans told the company it would years before he finally turned.
Speculatively, might this have been a bigger difference maker against the rise of AEW than counter-programming it with an increasingly desperate version of NXT? Wrestling numbers guru Brandon Thurston has previously cited the 2015 Royal Rumble as a legitimate exit point for fans WWE never gained back - might they have managed this unlikely feat if a viable alternative hadn't existed first?
As the 'Head Of The Table' before the pandemic changed everything anyway, Reigns would have been a fascinating addition to a increasingly stale product. Not least because his babyface persona defined that feeling more than just about anybody else. Getting there before the seeds of All Elite Wrestling were sown in 2017/18 might have ensured the continuation of a monopoly Vince McMahon eventually lost.