Roman Reigns is a failure! Well, according to Samoa Joe, anyway. The Raw, after "Wrestle Mania 34" kicked off Monday night, and Samoa Joe had few choice words for a dejected Roman Reigns who came to address his Wrestle Mania 34 loss on Sunday at the hands of Brock Lesnar, to the WWE universe.
Yes, I said it; his "Wrestle Mania" loss. After all the weeks of hearing him say that he was the only one who could defeat Brock Lesnar, I actually believed that Roman Reigns was going to do exactly that when Sunday finally came.
Roman's loss is no surprise
But if I'm being honest with myself, I knew that he was going to lose.
Not because Brock was going to beat Reigns into a bloody mess like he did Sunday, but because the WWE were going to write it so it would to go down that way. That's how it's been for the past year; so it's something I expect now.
It's no secret that the WWE has been trying unsuccessfully to push Reigns as the new face of the WWE; especially since John Cena has distanced himself more from the franchise to focus on his acting career, and his tenure at the franchise is slowly coming to an end. It’s also no secret that the WWE universe has been bent on rebelling against the push; seeing Reigns as an oversold and overestimated wrestler whose bark is bigger than his bite at times.
McMahon and the rest of the WWE administration are more than happy to exploit this.
For them, this is part of the business; utilizing the crowd reaction and opinion to create storylines that are aimed at keeping crowds interested enough to continue responding. But for Roman Reigns fans and WWE fans alike, the storylines for Roman Reigns have become disappointing and uninspiring.
This is a usual Roman Reigns saga:
- He saunters in the room and trash talks his opponents.
- He begins to overpower them with heavy right chops.
- Like a Neanderthal, he brashly charges his opponents and runs into a kick or a knee (almost every time)
- He stoops low and waits for an opponent to get close so he can throw him over his shoulder; usually leading to an opponent stopping right in front of him to low kick him in the face.
- He gets beaten all across the ring for most of the match to ensure that he goes through some type of struggle, and then makes a comeback...
- A comeback that goes through all of his moves ( which he doesn’t have that many of), and usually ends with a desperate Superman Punch or running Spear to the gut as a finale to win the match.
Sounds boring, doesn’t it?
That’s what WWE fans are given every time they watch a Roman Reigns match. To be fair, the only time Roman is made to be invincible is when his opponent is some low-caliber wrestler making their debut.
Against big names like Samoa Joe, Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, and even the Miz, Roman Reigns struggles to keep up with their pace of wrestling; at times, even losing so badly that it’s embarrassing.
And if it's not the pace, then it's the antics at ringside that always distract him; leading to opponents taking advantage of the distraction to gain themselves a win.
But for Roman, it's one against all, isn't it? From the beginning, he has been built up to be that wrestler that can handle anything and anyone, no matter the odds and no matter the numbers. But for all his talk and swagger, Roman Reigns has consistently been made to look like any other wrestler: vulnerable. And just like owls in the dark, past all the imagery and overinflated bravado, the WWE fans have begun to see through it.
Since it seems Roman's actions can’t back up his claims of being the “Big Dog”(no matter what Reigns does), the WWE universe no longer “believes” in that dominant aura he once had or view him as a success.
So even if he does win or manage to dominate a match, the fans are not as excited about it as they once were. The luster of the diamond that was once Roman Reigns has now become dull.
Vincent McMahon, apparently using Bray Wyatt's Eater Of Worlds sense for reading the crowd, must have observed this overall vibe; as he used Samoa Joe as a voice for the people to send Roman Reigns a personal message:
Now we all know that technically, this isn’t Roman’s fault; it's not like he wrote himself to lose against Brock Lesnar. This is just the usual tactic to build fire under the character's feet and get the fans invested in the next journey to prove themselves. It's nothing more than another classic WWE tactic.
Vintage WWE tactics and Roman Reigns
But see, that’s the problem: it's another classic WWE tactic; something that has worked for over two decades, but is now starting to become outdated. It’s actually one of the many outdated tactics that the WWE still employs, but that’s an article for another time.
When Reigns first hit the scene as a solo wrestler on "Monday Night Raw" he seemed almost unstoppable. His strikes were crisp, and he never seemed like he was overexerting himself. He didn’t talk much then, but dominated matches with ease and in spite of him losing in major matches, the WWE Universe went wild for the quietly intense super wrestler.
Did I say super-wrestler? More like a superhero. Back then, his aura, his choice of costume attire, and even his movements screamed “Superman!” That is, if Superman was badass; with long hair, tattoos, and a beard.
Or maybe more like Superman...with the attitude of a very brazen Luke Cage.
This is why kids and females alike became huge fans of Roman Reigns. Watching him was like watching a comic book character come to life in the ring and that in of itself brought a fresh look to the WWE. Male fans were also once in awe of Reigns as well.
But as WWE attempted to make Roman seem more human to the fans by giving him more chances to articulate himself and allowing him to lose more matches, they inadvertently destroyed that once powerful image that captivated the WWE Universe. And though Roman's younger fan base, along with the female demographic, still support Reigns, the male demographic is no longer impressed by the character; having quickly become the main source of boos in the WWE crowds whenever the Roman Reigns theme music comes on.
The funny thing is that it’s not like Roman Reigns is saying the wrong things. In fact, a lot of things that he says are about as real as it gets; organically connecting to the current climate of this generations' outlook on life, while exercising key morals of justice and integrity that are pillars for the modern-day superhero. But somewhere, there’s a disconnect between his personality behind a mic and the image of his performance as a wrestler; something that average fans can keenly sense. Add that, his small arsenal of his moves (Samoan Drop, Drive By, Power Bomb and the Superman Punch), to his inability to dominate consistently in the big matches, and it’s no surprise that he's getting booed on the regular now.
Times are changing and the WWE UnIverse has seen pretty much everything that there is to see when it comes to in-ring performance. They’re not going to stay impressed at something they’ve seen for decades; much less, put it up on a pedestal and call it their champion. Roman Reigns definitely has the look to be the face and champion for a new WWE generation, but he also requires a fresh approach on how to best utilize his personality in-ring performance.
How can the WWE fix this?
Instead of focusing on his Roman Reigns' gift of the gab, perhaps the WWE should go back to the drawing board with his skill set. Since he's apparently helpless when it comes to submission type wrestlers, they should have him add more transitions to his ground game.
Maybe they should even give him a couple of his own patented submission moves. Also, since he doesn’t have any aerial moves, they should work on decent aerial moves that he can physically do off the top rope and I'm not talking any of that simple 'jump off and throw down an elbow' stuff either. And they should definitely bring back the times when he used to fly over the top rope into opponents standing around at ringside.
Throw in some new punch combos (maybe another super move like the Superman punch), some high-flying knees, some other kick variations…and the WWE might be able to resurrect their Superman faster than the Flash with a Mother Box.
The reason why wrestlers like Charlotte Flair, AJ Styles, and Asuka are so popular and respected is because they have energetic changes of pace in their skillsets; keeping the fans in awe and suspense at what they may do next.
Even Braun Strowman, a 385-pound man, is more agile than Roman Reigns, making his in-ring performance even more explosive and energetic. In Asuka's case specifically, she kept an undefeated streak for nearly two years before recently getting defeated by Charlotte Flair at Wrestle Mania 34, and she did all of that by spending less time on talking and more time on handling business - something that Roman used to do. And since her arrival on "Monday Night Raw," the fans have absolutely loved her for it. Same with AJ Styles, and though fans are not necessarily fond of him now, his skill set of various moves and his impressive agility are always revered, regardless of the reception he gets.
Even Reigns' former SHIELD mate, Seth Rollins enjoys the same reverence; in spite of him turning heel for an entire year and becoming the McMahons' lapdog against the entire WWE Universe.
Why? Because even though he was a bad guy, his in-ring performance was still exciting to watch; once again, something that Roman used to have.
If the WWE still intend to make Roman their new face, they’ll need to consider going back to the drawing board and giving him an upgrade. It's a new time, and a new generation; with stars like Balor, AJ Styles, Asuka, and Strowman ushering in a new look to “sports entertainment.” In the age where these generation of wrestlers are constantly pushing the bar for what it takes to be a great wrestler in the business, the WWE is in need of a proper champion to be its' figurehead. Roman Reigns has the potential to be its Big Dog. The WWE just needs to stop bluffing about it and unlock the gate.
Technically, this is a franchise for athletic stunt people, so allow him to fight like he's really in an action movie. Let him be faster and agile than the rest of his peers. Let him be cocky, but be able to back up that cockiness, like Floyd Mayweather. Even Lil' Wayne knew he had to change it up after "400 degrees." And look what happened: we ended up getting the best out of Lil Wayne ever in the "Carter" album series and the "Dedication" mix tapes.
Maybe Reigns will defeat Lesnar and finally win the Universal title when they meet again in Saudi Arabia for the title rematch in two weeks -only for him to lose it in the title defense against Samoa Joe at the WWE Backlash that's scheduled a few weeks after that. If that happens, it would be the perfect time for Reigns to go on a much-needed break; allowing him to train and add some more elements to his performance.
Let Samoa Joe retain the belt for six months to a year, and re-introduce an evolved Roman Reigns to invoke his rematch clause. This would give him and the WWE a chance to show off a more powerful, much faster, and more technical Roman Reigns. Maybe they can even come up with a side persona that he can tap into like Finn Balor and his Demon King Demon King to bring back the mysterious intensity he once had, and give fans something else to see from time to time. Combine the strength of the Big Dog with the spirit of the AJ Styles, and Roman would be a marketing face worthy of the new era coming into the WWE.
How do you guys feel about Roman Reigns as the new face of the WWE? What do you think the WWE should do with Roman Reigns? Should they do more for Roman? Or scrap the idea altogether? Let us know in the comments!
