Like everyone else in WWE, Roman Reigns suffers from the curse of bad writing. Script writers who dont know wrestling pen half-baked verbiage for men who have backstories and experiences they cannot possibly hope to relate to. Is it any wonder they end up all sounding like one-track drones with no flavour? Thats what happens when everyone is cast with the same voice. Nobody has gotten over in recent years based on their promos, WWEs overly-scripted method of doing things ensures that. Thats why nobody had broken out of the pack and grabbed one of Vince McMahons mythical brass rings. The system makes it impossible to do so. When we hear Roman Reigns speak on WWE television that is not him, that is not his voice, it is the hurriedly-penned words of one of the myriad failed comedy writers on the WWE staff, or even worse, the 70-year old out of touch Vince McMahon. How can he possibly relate to a 30-year old, especially given the WWE bubble he has lived in for over three decades? Evidence of that came in the build up to WrestleMania XXX when Reigns was forced to deliver the immortally bad, McMahon-penned line, Sufferin succotash like a humanoid Sylvester the Cat. A cartoon character which made its official debut in 1945, coincidentally enough, the same year as McMahon was born. However, when he is not shackled by naff writing, Roman Reigns is actually a fine speaker. Witty, verbose, intelligent and able to react on the fly, Reigns has the potential to be one of the best talkers in the business if WWE would trust him enough to give him the chance. He proved this at the 2014 SummerSlam Panel, holding his own with Steve Austin and looking entirely comfortable in the presence of far more experienced stars. Trading barbs with Stone Cold, one of the greatest talkers the wrestling business has ever known, is no mean feat. Given that what they write for him is universally panned, that WWE constantly refuse to allow Roman to at least try and succeed without the aid of the writers is inexplicable.
The author of the highly acclaimed 'Titan' book series, James Dixon has been involved in the wrestling business for 25 years as a fan, wrestler, promoter, agent, and writer. James spent several years wrestling on the British independent circuit, but now prefers to write about the bumps and bruises rather than take any of them. His past in-ring experience does however give a uniquely more "insider" perspective on things, though he readily admits to still being a "mark" at heart.
James is the Chief Editor and writer at historyofwrestling.co.uk and is responsible for the best-selling titles Titan Sinking, Titan Shattered, and Titan Screwed, as well as the Complete WWF Video Guide series, and the Raw Files series.
