What is best for Roman Reigns?

[mkw1962]

I know we have beaten this to death about Roman but lets just look at it this way. Since WM31 he has gotten better in the ring, his mic skills are better and he has won over the fans. what needs to be done for him to be the next WHC. 1. Roman turns heel and becomes a monster.
2. Roman staying face and getting close only to be screwed out of the title, he eventually will win it.
3. Roman wins MITB 2016 face or heel he will win.
4. Roman wins Royal Rumble 2016 wins it at WM32.

 

[Headman]

Daniel Bryan not returning before Wrestlemania would be best for Roman Reigns. If it were me, I'd put the belt on Reigns around Survivor Series. I don't think he'd take any heat for being in the main event of Mania if he's already the champion. I'm not a fan of the fantasy booking I've been seeing around the internet with the Shield triple threat main event either. Wrestlemania has had two triple threat main events in a row (Yes I count the mitb cash in.) and the match itself sounds like the main event for Night of Champions or something not the biggest show of the year. So I'm thinking either Cena goes for title #16 against Reigns or maybe the Rock vs Reigns or something like that. Either way, if the goal is to keep Reigns from being the target of the IWC's annual hissy fit they should put the belt on Reigns early.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I'm about to go on a rant. I'd like to apologize before I even start.

If Daniel Bryan had not returned before the 2015 Royal Rumble, then Roman Reigns would have won the WWE Championship by defeating Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31.

WWE is the reason Reigns isn't WWE Champion today, whether they realize it or not.

Daniel Bryan was (and probably will be once he returns) the most over wrestler in a very long time. He returned shortly before the Royal Rumble. Many fans assumed he would win the Royal Rumble. There was one problem...

WWE, more specifically Vince McMahon, did not want Daniel Bryan to succeed, and they still don't. That's been well documented, and it was not just a storyline.

When Daniel Bryan was eliminated, fans got pissed, shocked, and even embarrased (at WWE's stupidity) all at the same time.

Can you blame them? Bryan was the likeable underdog who had heart and passion, but WWE didn't want him to succeed.

Reigns was the guy who had everything going for him. He had the look and physical skills. WWE wanted him to succeed.

Who would you cheer for?

That doesn't even mention the terrible booking of the match itself.

Big Show and Kane completely destroyed and eliminated all the fan-favorites in the match, most notably Dean Ambrose and Dolph Ziggler. Roman Reigns was built up as the last hope. No one wants to see a wrestler booked that strong unless you're Brock Lesnar, and he's a former UFC fighter so it's justified.

WWE basically signed Roman Reigns's popularity's death wish.

After the match, WWE was even more desperate in getting Roman Reigns over. They had Reigns's cousin The Rock, who is possibly the most popular wrestler of all time, come down to the ring and endorse Reigns.

Philadelphia booed The Rock and Roman Reigns right out of the Wells Fargo Center.

You might ask, "Why would people boo The Rock? "He is like the bestest sports entertainer ever."

Because Roman Reigns was trying to leech off of his popularity. That's all Reigns had done up to that point - leech off the popularity of more popular wrestlers - mainly The Rock, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose.

Then, WWE had an even worse solution than ever before - Have Roman Reigns leech off the popularity of Daniel Bryan by defeating him clean in the ring and receiving his endorsement after the match.

Add Daniel Bryan to the list of more popular wrestlers Roman Reigns has leeched off of.

Then, the build to WrestleMania 31 was awfully executed.

Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman rarely showed up, which isn't necessarily Reigns's fault. Now, Reigns was being booked as the underdog, which completely negated all the booking that he received after Seth Rollins turned on The Shield. In a sense, it was yet another example of Reigns feeding off of Daniel Bryan's popularity. On the last Raw before WM31, Reigns and Lesnar played tug of war with the WWE Championship.

Another mistake on WWE's part was not booking Lesnar like a heel. Back then, Brock Lesnar pushed an amputee down a set of stairs. People hated Lesnar for that (kayfabe wise). Think of it like this, why should I boo Brock Lesnar? Lesnar didn't get booed, but Reigns did - right out of Levi's Stadium.

Reigns did put on a good performance at WM31, but it wasn't enough. The Royal Rumble fiasco and everything afterwards were very fresh in peoples' minds.

After 'Mania, Reigns went into a feud with Big Show, which was another attempt at making Reigns look strong. "If Reigns can beat Big Show, he can beat anyone!"

Since then Reigns has teamed with Dean Ambrose several times, leeching off of his popularity.

All of that is why I will NEVER accept Roman Reigns as WWE Champion. I would compare this situation to the old "stain your rug story." Sometimes, you stain your rug. You can get most stains out, but some are permanent. Royal Rumble 2015 and the build to WM31 is a permanent stain and will NEVER go away.

I apologize that this is a pretty long read. I thought it was necessary to fully get my point across.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Intercontinental Championship after he attacks Ryback as a heel then destroys him for the title. Goes on long title reign then loses it at Wrestlemania when he calls out anyone from the locker room to challenge him and Kurt Angle shocks the world and returns to WWE at WM.

 

[Savior of Silence]

All of that is why I will NEVER accept Roman Reigns as WWE Champion.

I was with you until you said this stupid shit. You seem to have a knack for doing that.

Yes it was WWE's fault in their booking of Roman Reigns. The fact that you realize that yet still hold it against Roman personally is beyond ridiculous.

As to the OP's question, the best course of action for Reigns is to continue to not force the issue. That's why fans rebelled in the first place.

Anybody that gives a specific booking scenario is just kidding themselves as there's no way to predict the future and what the fans will and will not accept.

 

[FromGlasgow]

So basically If it wasn't for that pesky Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns should have been getting Hogan and Austin like cheers, That Daniel Bryan screwed over the whole company because he's too popular? That makes sense!
Should they just have fired anyone remotely more popular than Roman Reigns just before and around Wrestlemania time? (probably most of the face roster) Just so having Roman Reigns winning the title wouldn't look so bad?
WWE booked him way too soon coming off an injury for most of the year straight into winning the royal rumble to headline wrestlemania but perhaps the plan all along was for Seth Rollins to cash in his briefcase during the match which actually ended up being a great event.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I was with you until you said this stupid shit. You seem to have a knack for doing that.

Yes it was WWE's fault in their booking of Roman Reigns. The fact that you realize that yet still hold it against Roman personally is beyond ridiculous.

In retrospect, I was being ignorant at the end of the post. Being a huge fan of Daniel Bryan, I was just in a bad mood after thinking about what happened at Royal Rumble 2015. I'm actually becoming a fan of Reigns here recently, and it wasn't his fault.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

So basically If it wasn't for that pesky Daniel Bryan, Roman Reigns should have been getting Hogan and Austin like cheers, That Daniel Bryan screwed over the whole company because he's too popular? That makes sense!
Should they just have fired anyone remotely more popular than Roman Reigns just before and around Wrestlemania time? (probably most of the face roster) Just so having Roman Reigns winning the title wouldn't look so bad?
WWE booked him way too soon coming off an injury for most of the year straight into winning the royal rumble to headline wrestlemania but perhaps the plan all along was for Seth Rollins to cash in his briefcase during the match which actually ended up being a great event.

No, I didn't fault Daniel Bryan for getting over. Lol, that's just ridiculous.

All I said was fans wouldn't have booed Reigns as bad IF Daniel Bryan hadn't returned.

I'll say it again though - you can't blame Bryan for getting over or getting healthy.

Blame WWE for refusing to push Daniel Bryan instead of Roman Reigns.

 

[rmp0012002]

It still bothers people that the WWE essentially went public that Reigns was gonna get the belt and be the new face of the company. Fans will decide that and they decided Reigns wasn't that guy. It can't be telegraphed, it has to just happen but since everything the WWE does is in the wrestling sheets prior to it occurring it makes it harder for Reigns to win the belt out of nowhere without angering people. For me personally, he has a limited moveset and charisma of a log.

 

[ASKane]

First point, Reigns hasn't gotten much better in the ring, he's just been allowed to show what he has got in the ring. On the point of what to do with him I always liked him as a heel, when he and Seth were tag champs hearing him trash talk guys like Goldust while controlling the match was fun to watch as he looked dominant, but because WWE's formula dictates that a face must get beatdown then overcome their opponent with their signature moves it just doesn't work. Reigns should be the WWE's monster heel, the powerhouse who dominates his opponents while trashtalking them. So for me unless WWE allows its face's to dominate he should have a 3 PPV feud with Wyatt where Wyatt wins at Battleground, Reigns wins at Summerslam in a double turn and then Reigns wins at Night of Champions using heel tactics to create sympathy for Wyatt who as a face moves onto a new opponent while a heel Reigns who can hopefully be the top heel and not be in the Authority, rematches Lesnar for the title inside a Hell in a Cell to prevent any outside interference (no repeat of Mania) and then Reigns wins the title and carries it through till Mania where a hopefully healthy again Bryan gets his moment again or Cesaro gets the push he deserves with either as Rumble winner and then Reigns stay as WWE's top heel and feud with the champ, Cena, face Rollins, Ambrose and others

 

[Navi]

I fully agree that Bryan being in the Rumble and only lasting a few minutes probably went a long way to doing Reigns in. Especially with what happened the year before, when a returning Batista was boo'd out of the building. You would think the WWE would learn, but sadly they are idiots. If Bryan wasn't going to win the Rumble, he should have come back afterwards.

In saying that though, I'm not sure it was all Bryan's being there that did it. Reigns was being boo'd even before the Rumble. It started when he did those live satellite feeds, fans were already starting to turn, and when he won the Slammy for "Superstar of the Year", a lot of people went WTF. Here's a guy who's only been in singles competition for a couple of months, out injured for another couple of months, and he wins the Slammy. It was pretty obvious right from the breakup of the Shield Reigns was going to be pushed to the moon and then some.

Also agree that the WWE has used a lot of people to get him over, Ambrose, Bryan, Heyman and that shouldn't have to happen. If he can't get over by himself, then he shouldn't be the new face of the WWE. How many people are they going to sacrifice to put this guy in the top spot.

To answer the OP's question though and stay on topic. I wouldn't put Reigns anywhere near the WHC title right now. And I wouldn't have him win the Rumble again, that's just asking for a shitload of trouble. When he was climbing the ladder at MITB they started booing him again, and cheered Wyatt when he pushed the ladder over. So it's clear while fans might be coming around, they don't want him as champ. I think the push they gave him last year has done more damage than it was worth.

I will buy him as WHC champ, but not now, maybe next year.

 

[The Samoan Heritage]

All of that is why I will NEVER accept Roman Reigns as WWE Champion. I would compare this situation to the old "stain your rug story." Sometimes, you stain your rug. You can get most stains out, but some are permanent. Royal Rumble 2015 and the build to WM31 is a permanent stain and will NEVER go away.

Yea, No. "A stain" would be something like the booking guys like Barrett, Wyatt, Damien Sandow, Cody Rhodes, etc have all faced. The way the Royal Rumble was booked doesn't even effect Reigns now its more of an afterthought. While the WM31 Reigns vs Lesnar match will be remember more than the horrible WM31 build.

For me even though I look forward to what wwe will do with Ryback and the IC title, I would prefer Reigns being the IC champion. Have Reigns win it in some type of multi-man match and build Reigns and the IC championship back up at the same time. Unlike Rollins, Reigns character has yet to be fully developed so I don't see him winning the WWE title any time soon.
If Ambrose can truely flip the scrip and become a major heel, I wouldn't mind Reigns vs Ambrose for the IC championship at Wrestlemania 32. But it would take some major booking on wwe part to have the fans turn on Ambrose for Reigns.
Either way I hope wwe continues to slowly push Reigns. There's no need for Reigns to be WWE champion this soon just keep giving him stories and allow him to continue to improve. (If wwe is desperate for him to be wwe champ, a champion vs champion match at wrestlemania against Lesnar/Rollins would be interesting)

 

[yourdamnluck]

Reigns walking in mania as the champ and lesner as RR winner is best for Reigns.
I'd like to see him win the belt around Survivor series so that there is doubt about who walks out as the champ at mania.

 

[Prince Vee]

Roman Reigns doesn't need to turn heel at this moment. Its just because he has started to get fans behind him and turning him heel will be an awful idea. But this feud is asinine. What would either of them would benefit from it? Both of them can't lose right now, Wyatt and Reigns. But still turning him heel will be a bad idea.

Let him chase the title on different occasions and let him deprived off that opportunity every time when he gets too close. And finally the fans would start to rally behind him. But for that, he needs to feud with a top heel with a legitimate and cognitive storyline which explains why he's getting screwed off the opportunity.

In that way he really can evolve into a complete Superstar to carry WWE for another 5 years. But WWE have to be patient for at least an year to harness him for the next level.

Cheers!!

 

[OYDK]

They've got to turn him heel. Well, they don't "got to", but it would be most beneficial to Reigns in my opinion. I get the notion that; Reigns is finally getting cheers so why stop that momentum now, but the truth is, people still WANT to boo Roman Reigns. You can hear it clearly in the more smarky audiences and even after that first explosion of high-pitched cheers that we hear when Roman's music hits, there is always a smattering of boos that follow. The only way to truly get RR over with the entire crowd is to turn him heel, on Dean Ambrose preferably, and allow him to do what he is made for... because let's be serious, the guy is made to be a heel. From the look, to the semi-arrogant attitude, to the intensity, Reigns is built as much more of a natural heel than a face. If you allow him to express himself towards the fans as a heel, I guarantee he'd earn their respect and be much more accepted when he finally turns baby again.

To have Ambrose turn at this point wouldn't make very much sense. The fans want to scream and cheer for Dean Ambrose, and they want to jeer and boo Reigns. Give the fans what they want and both guys will benefit greatly from it.

 

[Messiah]

All they need to do is keep doing what he's doing. A heel turn would be stupid, there's no need for that. He's gotten over and improving so much, so let them build him the way they've been doing.

 

[kadroan]

I know we have beaten this to death about Roman but lets just look at it this way. Since WM31 he has gotten better in the ring, his mic skills are better and he has won over the fans. what needs to be done for him to be the next WHC. 1. Roman turns heel and becomes a monster.
2. Roman staying face and getting close only to be screwed out of the title, he eventually will win it.
3. Roman wins MITB 2016 face or heel he will win.
4. Roman wins Royal Rumble 2016 wins it at WM32.

He's on the right track. If he wins the Rumble next year, I'm sure fans will be happy but if Brock or The Rock is in the Rumble and he wins, he's doomed.

 

[binbin47]

I think what he really needs is a relooking, i and kind of a new character, the man still uses shield music gear (bulletproof vest made a bit of sense for the mercenary, security enforcers but now...really?) entrance and the only thing we know about his personnality is "believe that" and that sucks.

oncerning the Wyatt feud, I'm hoping Bray wins just becaause I don't want him to be a glorified jobber, or if he loses the match, it has to be because reigns really loses his mind and so Bray kind of wins the psychlogical war.Or something like that.