3. Thanks For Nothing
Faced with the choice between turning either Roman Reigns or Dean Ambrose heel, WWE chose neither. Faced then with how to book new world champ Reigns, WWE decided to pull a Lex Luger and have him lose the title immediately due to a Sheamus Money in the Bank briefcase cash-in. WWE had the opportunity to take Roman and mirror what happened with his cousin the Rock 17 years earlier at Survivor Series, turning the rising star heel and pairing him with evil owner Vince McMahon, making him the most hated man in the company and ultimately its biggest star. Maybe it wouldnt have happened like that, but well never know, because WWE refused to pull the trigger. Instead, Reigns got to win the title clean and celebrate for a few minutes with a confetti shower, ala Daniel Bryan at SummerSlam 2013. And just like Bryan, Romans reign was cut short by a MITB cash-in. So Reigns, who has been painfully close to winning the title numerous times this year, got his fingers on the title, only to have it immediately ripped away. WWE needs to be careful, of theyre going to have Lex Luger 2.0 on their hands, with a guy who comes this close to becoming champ and just falls short (or in this case, has it stolen right away). Fans were left with Roman dejected in the ring, almost in tears. Thats the hero to hitch your wagon to said no one.
Scott Carlson
Contributor
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.
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