It's Official: WWE STILL Can't Finish Roman Reigns' Story

by Michael Sidgwick
Sami Zayn Logan Paul
WWE.com

The reality is that WWE turned Roman heel and decided that he will be the figurehead of the company for a long, long time, and when this decision was made, Cody Rhodes was still enjoying life in AEW. The idea that he would jump to WWE was unfathomable. Never even spoken about as a possibility. Sami Zayn was a ranting midcard lunatic under the delusion that he was the victim of a conspiracy. WWE didn't even consider their names; in fact, they didn't consider any name because they thought there was a significant chance of securing the Rock for WrestleMania 39.

There was never a conclusion to this story, since Rock wasn't even going to dethrone Roman. The idea, presumably, was to simply see how things developed with no real planning. Realistically, who did WWE actually build as a top babyface between Payback 2020 and this recent Triple H-booked period? Nobody! Drew McIntyre was a draw for the UK market, Big E, sadly, a device to prevent a bloodbath against Monday Night Football. The person WWE has truly attempted to prep for the next big, long-term role, for as long as Roman has reigned with the belt, is Austin Theory. Ultimately, none of this actually matters. WWE is all but guaranteed to secure its biggest television rights deal ever in the near future. The pivot from the Network to Peacock has proven to be an enormous success. The company is future-proof.

This, though, is where we all were a few years ago: in a punishing landscape that left fans numb because their voice or even financial investment did not matter.

WWE can't finish Roman Reigns' story because they don't want to until they absolutely have to. They've had two incredible opportunities to do precisely that, in seminal, crowd-pleasing fashion, but elected not to.

Why?

Because they don't really want to put a smile on your face. They want to milk your teat. To them, you are a Mark who will always keep watching. They said the quiet part loud on television several years ago, and funnily enough - with Vince rewriting the script on Monday - nothing has changed.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!