6 Ups & 5 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Dec 6)

5. Roman Reigns' Intensity

Roman Reigns Dolph Ziggler
WWE.com

Roman Reigns has been rescued from forced babyface hell.

Fans seem to dig what he's doing now, probably because Roman isn't being pushed relentlessly as the focal point of every single show. Despite missteps with that poor 'whodunit' story over the summer, it was smart to take Reigns out of the main event firing line for a while and let fans make up their minds on him.

Strip away preconditioned responses to his work and Roman is actually a damn fine worker. When he's judged purely on the matches he has, the way he subtly sells little moments of annoyance or happiness mid-bout and his general intensity, he comes out shining. That was the case again against Dolph Ziggler on SmackDown.

Of course, this could all change if WWE revert to type and put Reigns back in the headline mix during 'Mania season. If that happens, the haters should try to overlook WWE's typecasting and admire the way Roman has pulled himself back from the brink.

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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.