Just What Is WWE Actually Doing With Roman Reigns?
Fans turned against Reigns a long time ago. The company's line of defence has always been that any reaction is a good reaction, regardless of cheers and jeers, and that the fact that Roman was drawing such noise from the crowd meant his push was working. Now, in 2018, the fans are turning away from 'The Big Dog.'
He still gets booed, but the volume isn't anywhere near as thunderous as it was in 2017. The audience become increasingly apathetic to Reigns every time he steps out, and this is entirely down to WWE, who have made it impossible to take him seriously as a top contender.
The company have never understood how to best present 'The Big Dog,' who failed as 'The Guy,' and is now doing the same as an unlikeable Daniel Bryan expy. In building Roman's new anti-authority stance and stacking insurmountable odds against him, WWE are clearly trying to recreate Bryan's support surge, totally unaware that "The 'Yes!' Movement" occurred in spite of their booking, not because of it.
It's completely transparent. You can't make him a corporate poster boy one month than an attempted folk hero the next, yet that's exactly what WWE are trying to do. It's maddening, frustrating, and befuddling in equal measure.
Roman will rematch with Bobby Lashley on next week's Raw. If he wins, he'll get another Universal Title shot at SummerSlam, where he'll once again be presented as the babyface. After three months of crushing defats, whiney promos, and a steadfast refusal to acknowledge his own failings, how can anyone believe in Reigns in this role?
Though Lesnar's reign has been tiresome, Reigns is not the guy to replace him. His credibility is shot to pieces. Taking the Universal Title would ask a huge leap of logic from a fanbase that are asked to forget everything they know about professional wrestling on a near-weekly basis, but such is WWE's disdain for their audience. They take you, the fan, for a goldfish. No memory, no attention span: just an army of mindless content-consuming drones, whose loyalty is guaranteed in an industry crippled by a lack of accessible competition.
But WWE can't exactly have Reigns lose his next big feud, either. The guy is now dangerously close to being typecast as an also-ran, and if he falls to Lashley or Lesnar, he might as well be wrestling Curt Hawkins and Tyler Breeze on Main Event. They've booked themselves into a corner, and there's nobody to blame but themselves...
CONT'd...