9 WWE Questions With Bloc Party's Russell Lissack

6. The Roman Reigns Problem

Russell Lissack bloc party
WWE.com

What do you think of problems WWE have had with making stars - particularly babyfaces - in the modern era, in the wake of contrasting fan responses to John Cena, and even more so now with Roman Reigns?

"People seem to rebel if something is thrown in their face, and Roman's damaged goods because of that now. I do think he's really good. He has great matches, but the way he's been presented since the Daniel Bryan debacle the other year has basically made everybody turn on him.

It seems as though they can't organically build a babyface anymore. Going for the John Cena approach doesn't seem to work as well for him. Not that Roman wont be a big star and have a successful career, but it even took Cena about ten years to overcome that level of hate. He had years of the 'You cant wrestle' chants.

Its so difficult now though because if he became a heel, the moment you turn him, the problem might be the same. Like with Cena, if you turned him now, a load more people will cheer him and at least half the audience will love him, which is what they already have.

Reigns has been a bit more of a d*ck lately, and maybe a turn is coming, but then everything he's done over the last few years has felt like the start of a heel turn. Every feud he's had could have be the one!"

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett