8 Ups And 5 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (July 17)

Downs...

5. The Human Catchphrase Machine

If you’re wondering one of the reasons some people just can’t get into Roman Reigns (even while respecting him as an in-ring performer), look no further than his promo Monday night.

Reigns was preparing for his match against Samoa Joe when Charly Caruso asked him about the stakes in his match against a guy he’s never beat. Roman proceeded to give an answer that was one cliché after another mixed with his various nicknames no one calls him except the announcers and other catchphrases. In the span of less than 20 seconds, he referred to himself as “The Guy” and “the Big Dog” while reminding fans that the ring was “my yard.”

Look, a cousin of Reigns’ was a walking catchphrase, but The Rock also had already won over the fans and had the crowd chanting along with him. People aren’t yelling, “Big Dog” with him or “It’s my yard” or anything like that. They chant along with Enzo Amore, but not with Roman.

Throwing 20 catchphrases and nicknames out there in your own promo only works if fans are going along with it. Otherwise, you need to use your promos to actually win fans over, not try to get a lame nickname over.