Why Vince McMahon Won't Push Roman Reigns

Patience has become such an alien concept to the real Vince McMahon that it's a wonder the fabled Twitter parody version of him isn't googling the very meaning of the word every other week when the ratings sag.

This year alone, WWE have presented the biggest nostalgia shows in their history, along with a series of ratings-grabbings gimmicks such as the Wild Card Rule and the bizarre two-out-of-three falls period, but they've never just resorted to more Roman Reigns to solve the problem. That may sound sensible now, but for several years this felt like their first, last and only strategy.

So many of the times fans let their feelings known about Roman weren't even to do with the man himself. Residual fury over the 2013 Daniel Bryan debacles reframed how fans managed what they hated, particularly when former favourite CM Punk immortalised his own name in protest chants by leaving in 2014. Roman was supposed to reflect Vince McMahon taking the power back, but the disdain wasn't as easy to couch as split as it was when John Cena topped the bill. Nor was Roman half as good at coping as well as 'The Champ'.

Things - and thank god for this - are different now, and it's played back into the organisation's hands. McMahon won't push Roman Reigns because when he does, 'The Big Dog' is going all the way back to the f*cking top, pal.

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