When Roman Reigns was one third of the Shield fans loved him, despite the fact he was a heel. He carried himself with an aura, he had a cool guy presence about him that made him stand out. Fans liked the long-haired, goatee wearing, tattooed sh*t-kicker that he portrayed. So much so that they rallied behind him hard at the 2014 Royal Rumble, begging for him to be the man to eliminate Batista and go on to WrestleMania XXX to compete for the title. The difference was, he remained unheralded then. Word had not yet got out that WWE wanted to push Reigns to the moon, so he remained an underdog who fans were willing to root for. Turning Reigns babyface and scripting him to be a carbon copy of John Cena - a poor blueprint for how to book a popular babyface if ever there was one was the thing that killed him. If Reigns was allowed more freedom and given a heel turn, he could quickly rebuild that aloof, cocky, badass persona that fans previously enjoyed. WWE should learn from their own experiences with Romans relative The Rock, who prior to become a global megastar was the much-maligned Rocky Maivia, a babyface forced down fans throats who was reviled by the Attitude Era audience. A heel turn saved his job, and soon made him arguably the most popular performer in the company once he turned back babyface, so the precedent is there. That is the model WWE should be following.
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.
