The Problem With Roman Reigns That Nobody Wants To Talk About

The Jey Uso programme ended definitively, but went to a second match. Reigns Vs. Owens spanned three matches, all of which were fought under stips because that is mandated, and its excesses crawled to a beyond predictable conclusion at Royal Rumble. The scope of the story in any other promotion would have resulted in a title switch. This wasn't so much a babyface chase as a quest. No title change happened. WWE simply promoted three matches with near-identical finishes and no meaningful advancement because that is what the company does.

WWE has stigmatised itself as such a dire product unworthy of investment that a potential all-time great act cannot salvage its reputation. In 2021, WWE is literally allergic to being worthwhile. Another very good (re)match, opposite Daniel Bryan on April 30, illustrated the unsolvable puzzle. The match drew a damning .49 in 18-49 - the lowest number SmackDown had drawn in the key demo since the harrowing dank of the Performance Center era in July of last year.

Nobody bought that Daniel Bryan's career was on the line, even though, ironically, it actually might have been. The show did not pop a rating because WWE's word means sh*t. Nothing means anything anymore. In storylines, Roman has no meaningful opposition, which might form part of the problem. In reality, the challenge facing him is profound: he performs on a toxic brand poisoned into the roots.

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