13 Ups And 23 Downs For WWE In 2020

by Scott Carlson

1. Tribal Chief Reigns Supreme

Roman Reigns Jey Uso
WWE.com

What else could top the list for 2020 but the return and ascendency of Roman Reigns?

After years of being force-fed to fans as a top babyface who ran through the opposition, WWE finally gave in to fans’ demands (ironically, at a time when fans weren’t in the stands to boo or cheer the decision) and turned Roman heel. But Reigns wasn’t just a bad guy. He was the bad guy. He’s become the Tribal Chief, the head of the extended Samoan dynasty, and the ruler of SmackDown.

Since returning at SummerSlam, Roman has dominated the blue brand and been must-see TV at every turn. His PPV matches are consistently among the most entertaining, as his in-ring work continues to be excellent, but he’s now throwing in quality trash-talk to accompany the wrestling.

If you were one of the fans clamoring for Reigns to turn heel, you hopefully are yelling at your TV, “What took you so long?” while enjoying every moment. At this stage, the only way WWE could screw this up (and you know they can find a way) would be to cool Roman down or beat him while he’s white-hot.

In all seriousness, WWE needs to ride the Tribal Chief’s wake for as long as humanly possible, well into 2021. If they could replicate that success a couple more times, maybe next year’s list will look a little more balanced.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.