It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Roman Reigns is not only going to be the breakout star of The Shield, but also the breakout star of the entire WWE in 2014. Roman Reigns could very well be the next Rock, maybe not in terms of charisma, but at least in terms of his status as the future face of the company. But Rock was both heel and face. So which way should Roman go?
It seems everyone is of the mindset that The Shield need to breakup and Roman needs to break out on his own as a babyface. But before we let conventional wisdom set in, I'd like to examine the two paths Mr.Reigns could be about to set out on and then leave it up to the forums to decide which path he should take.
If you look at the current roster as if it were the NBA standings, it might look something like this:
Heel Conference
1)Randy Orton
2)Brock Lesnar
3)The Shield (Roman Reigns)
4)Bray Wyatt
Face Conference
1)John Cena
2)Batista
3)Daniel Bryan
4)CM Punk (assuming he comes back at some point)
5)Sheamus
6)Big E
Using these rankings, let's assume Roman splits from The Shield and switches to the good guy conference. Where does that leave him? Well, he would for sure be a higher priority over guys like Sheamus, Big E and probably even Bryan, but does anyone think he would actually be a higher priority than Batista or Cena? Here's a best case scenario for a face Roman Reigns' placement in the WWE's depth chart:
1)John Cena
2)Batista
3)Roman Reigns
4)Daniel Bryan
5)Sheamus
6)Big E
Perhaps if Batista's return is shorter than expected, Reigns could even be elevated to the #2 face on the roster, but only if the Bryan phenomenon subsides and if Punk doesn't come back. If Punk were to return Roman would slide even further down the good guy depth chart. But no matter what, there is NO WAY Roman Reigns could ever usurp John Cena for that coveted #1 face spot at any time in the near future. At best, Roman would play second fiddle to Cena on the good guy side of the ledger.
Now let's take a look at the alternate path for Roman Reigns. Let's say he remains a heel. What if The Shield doesn't split up? What if instead of splitting up like Legacy in 2010, The Shield patch things up like The Hart Foundation in 1997 with Roman playing the role of Bret Hart and convincing the guys to stick together instead of resorting to infighting?
Seeing as how John Cena has a seemingly permanent lock on the #1 good guy role, that means there is a limit to how far Roman can go as a face. But as a heel, the sky is the limit. Randy Orton WILL drop the title at some point and Brock Lesnar WILL take another lengthy leave of absence. When that happens, which could be very soon, there will be an opening for a new number 1 baddy in WWE. If Roman stays a heel, the heel depth chart could look something like this in the very near future:
1)Roman Reigns
2)Bray Wyatt
3)Randy Orton
If Roman turns face he will at best play second fiddle to Cena, but if he remains a heel he could be the #1 villian in WWE. I would have Roman Reigns usurp Randy Orton as the authorities go-to-guy. Much like The Rock was the go-to-guy for the corporation back in 1998, Roman could play that role for The Authority. Why turn Roman Reigns into an upper-midcard babyface when he can be a main event heel? Why be second best at something, when you can be number one at something else?
For me, I feel the smarter path is to keep him heel and give him one run as a heel WWE Champion before they ever think about turning him face. I know he's popular right now, but so was The Rock in 1998. But WWE was smart enough to know that turning Rock face back then would have been dooming him to live in Stone Cold's shadow. The same will probably happen to a face Reigns as he would have to play second fiddle to John Cena. Other than his fellow Shield members, I don't see too many heels for him to feud with in the near future were The Shield to split up. But as a heel Champion he can feud with Cena, Batista, Bryan, a returning Punk, or even The Undertaker.
I feel the sky is the limit for a heel Roman Reigns. But as a face there is a glass ceiling looming over him named John Cena. At some point I do feel Roman should turn face. But now is not that time. Not when WWE still shows no signs of slowing down the Cena express.
Agree or disagree?
It seems everyone is of the mindset that The Shield need to breakup and Roman needs to break out on his own as a babyface. But before we let conventional wisdom set in, I'd like to examine the two paths Mr.Reigns could be about to set out on and then leave it up to the forums to decide which path he should take.
If you look at the current roster as if it were the NBA standings, it might look something like this:
Heel Conference
1)Randy Orton
2)Brock Lesnar
3)The Shield (Roman Reigns)
4)Bray Wyatt
Face Conference
1)John Cena
2)Batista
3)Daniel Bryan
4)CM Punk (assuming he comes back at some point)
5)Sheamus
6)Big E
Using these rankings, let's assume Roman splits from The Shield and switches to the good guy conference. Where does that leave him? Well, he would for sure be a higher priority over guys like Sheamus, Big E and probably even Bryan, but does anyone think he would actually be a higher priority than Batista or Cena? Here's a best case scenario for a face Roman Reigns' placement in the WWE's depth chart:
1)John Cena
2)Batista
3)Roman Reigns
4)Daniel Bryan
5)Sheamus
6)Big E
Perhaps if Batista's return is shorter than expected, Reigns could even be elevated to the #2 face on the roster, but only if the Bryan phenomenon subsides and if Punk doesn't come back. If Punk were to return Roman would slide even further down the good guy depth chart. But no matter what, there is NO WAY Roman Reigns could ever usurp John Cena for that coveted #1 face spot at any time in the near future. At best, Roman would play second fiddle to Cena on the good guy side of the ledger.
Now let's take a look at the alternate path for Roman Reigns. Let's say he remains a heel. What if The Shield doesn't split up? What if instead of splitting up like Legacy in 2010, The Shield patch things up like The Hart Foundation in 1997 with Roman playing the role of Bret Hart and convincing the guys to stick together instead of resorting to infighting?
Seeing as how John Cena has a seemingly permanent lock on the #1 good guy role, that means there is a limit to how far Roman can go as a face. But as a heel, the sky is the limit. Randy Orton WILL drop the title at some point and Brock Lesnar WILL take another lengthy leave of absence. When that happens, which could be very soon, there will be an opening for a new number 1 baddy in WWE. If Roman stays a heel, the heel depth chart could look something like this in the very near future:
1)Roman Reigns
2)Bray Wyatt
3)Randy Orton
If Roman turns face he will at best play second fiddle to Cena, but if he remains a heel he could be the #1 villian in WWE. I would have Roman Reigns usurp Randy Orton as the authorities go-to-guy. Much like The Rock was the go-to-guy for the corporation back in 1998, Roman could play that role for The Authority. Why turn Roman Reigns into an upper-midcard babyface when he can be a main event heel? Why be second best at something, when you can be number one at something else?
For me, I feel the smarter path is to keep him heel and give him one run as a heel WWE Champion before they ever think about turning him face. I know he's popular right now, but so was The Rock in 1998. But WWE was smart enough to know that turning Rock face back then would have been dooming him to live in Stone Cold's shadow. The same will probably happen to a face Reigns as he would have to play second fiddle to John Cena. Other than his fellow Shield members, I don't see too many heels for him to feud with in the near future were The Shield to split up. But as a heel Champion he can feud with Cena, Batista, Bryan, a returning Punk, or even The Undertaker.
I feel the sky is the limit for a heel Roman Reigns. But as a face there is a glass ceiling looming over him named John Cena. At some point I do feel Roman should turn face. But now is not that time. Not when WWE still shows no signs of slowing down the Cena express.
Agree or disagree?
