7 Ways WWE Can Improve The Product This Year
6. Turn Reigns Heel
Roman Reigns has to turn heel at some point this year. This seems so obvious, it almost wasn’t worth listing. Roman is about as anti-organic as one can get. He has been shoved down our throats as the heir-apparent to the throne for years now.
When it became obvious this was the direction the company was taking Reigns, the fans revolted. It would have been much more palatable had Reigns been charismatic on the mic, or a fantastic in-ring performer, but neither of those things are true. Reigns has size and presence on his side. He has a unique look. And he has the unfathomable benefit of never losing a singles match clean. At least not one that I can remember.
Such a streak is beyond absurd. It does nothing for his image with the fans if the guy never gets beat clean. It only reaffirms long held beliefs that no matter how hard we reject the notion of Reigns as the next big thing, the company will continue to find ways to push him, or at the worst, have him lose in ways that still make him look good.
Also, this nonsense about Reigns not being a good guy or bad guy is asinine. Ambivalence about what side of the line a character stands on only works in the very short term. It takes someone incredibly special to dance along the edges and sell the fans on it. Reigns is not that guy. And that’s okay. But the fact that the WWE has double and triple and quadrupled-down on this guy as a face makes no sense whatsoever. Most of the recent top superstars had to get long runs in as top heels before they could become successful faces. Think Rock, or Stone Cold, or Cena, or Shawn Michaels, or…you get the point.
Reigns could do wonders for his career with a long stint as the top heel. Speaking of the top heel…