Can Roman Reigns take John Cena's spot as the face of the WWE?

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Roman Reigns is obviously one of the best young talents WWE has right now.

He has the look and the size that WWE wants.

While he isn't a "Daniel Bryan" or a "Cm Punk" in the ring but he obviously gained support from a large portion of the WWE Universe especially after The Shield turning face.

He has been constantly improving however all that improvement means nothing to a portion of fans who don't see him as an equal to his two partners Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins.

Dean Ambrose is one of the best mic workers in WWE right now and Seth Rollins is one of the best in ring performers in WWE.

Roman Reigns is average in both- wrestling skills and mic skills.


The Biggest name in wrestling history, Hulk Hogan was never that good as an in ring performer but that didn't matter as he was extremely charismatic and captivating.

Roman Reigns doesn't have the personnality of a Hulk Hogan.

Reigns have been trying recently to show more personnality and has been getting more time on the mic however it felt very forced, Reigns doesn't have the "IT" factor on the mic.

Roman Reigns was voted on WWE.com as the best looking guy on the roster and while there's no denying that Reigns is a good looking guy but the WWE isn't a beauty pageant.

Reigns needs a lot more to be the face of the WWE.

John Cena is still pretty much superior to Reigns in every aspect: Wrestling skills, mic skills, charisma, popularity, drawing ability, etc.

Roman has the advantage of being 28 years old and with Cena getting close to 40, it's fair to say WWE is looking for a new face of the company.




What are your thoughts?

Could Roman Reigns be that guy? Could Reigns take Cena's spot as the face of the company?

 

[GOOZEKING]

No, he isn't ready and I guarrentee you guys when roman goes solo he will start getting bad chants from the crowd. If we all know wwe and from the ryback experience, he will be forced into the main event and people will dislike it.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

No, he isn't ready and I guarrentee you guys when roman goes solo he will start getting bad chants from the crowd. If we all know wwe and from the ryback experience, he will be forced into the main event and people will dislike it.

Well some of the most popular / biggest stars were pushed to the moon when they started.
Undertaker won the WWE title in his first year, same with Kurt Angle, same with Brock Lesnar.
Big Show debuted in WCW by attacking Hulk Hogan and in WWF by attacking "Stone Cold". He won the WCW title in his first match ever.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

No, he isn't ready and I guarrentee you guys when roman goes solo he will start getting bad chants from the crowd. If we all know wwe and from the ryback experience, he will be forced into the main event and people will dislike it.

While I can't say that I agree that I know fans will turn on Reigns or that he'll flop when he's out on his own, I do think there's a possibility of it happening. As I said in the thread discussing the, alleged, potential WM XXXI match between Reigns & The Rock, based on what I've seen since The Shield has been together, in my eyes, Reigns is the overall weakest of the group. Reigns has the best overall "look" of the group, at least as far as him ultimately looking something like a superhero. It's possible that Reigns will blossom all the more once he's out on his own. After all, as the muscle of the group, Reigns as a character is generally more limited on the mic. There's no way to know for sure until he's ultimately out on his own.

If/when he becomes a singles guy, but doesn't display more charisma or personality, then I don't see him becoming the "face" of WWE no matter how much WWE officials might want it. If reports are true, they also wanted Batista to have this huge, triumphant return in which he waltzed into WrestleMania XXX and we all saw how fans responded to that. They can push a guy all they want, but that doesn't necessarily mean that fans are gonna really behind him. For another example of that, check out Alberto Del Rio. Vince loved the guy's look and he was given multiple huge pushes, but most fans never got into Del Rio on that level. As a member of the group, Reigns is pretty over, but is he currently Daniel Bryan or CM Punk over? Not even close. With the exception of his match against CM Punk on Raw, the fans in attendance haven't exactly been on the edge of their seats during his singles matches against Kane or Bray Wyatt, even though they were both pretty good matches. Fans like what they see in Reigns as a member of The Shield but, and this is just my opinion, I don't think a huge number of them have fully invested in Reigns as "the guy" just yet.

 

[PeterSellersSTL]

No, he isn't ready and I guarrentee you guys when roman goes solo he will start getting bad chants from the crowd. If we all know wwe and from the ryback experience, he will be forced into the main event and people will dislike it.

Is there a way to get him to the main event and avoid this backlash? I think a tiny segment of the IWC just wants Reigns to fail for their own selfish reasons. Give him sometime.

 

[OYDK]

Call me crazy, but Roman Reigns reminds me a lot of his cousin The Rock when he first started out in the WWF. The Rock, much like Reigns was average on the mic, below average in the ring and had a generic gimmick, however, The Rock had "the look" that WWE liked just like, yup, Roman Reigns. We all saw what happened to The Rock... With WWE behind him he became The Great One, The Peoples Champion, The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment and one of the greatest Superstars of all time.

Can Roman Reigns take the same path? I say eventually, Reigns will step up and be a main player for years to come. Will he be the face of WWE? Not with his current skill set. Reigns has to evolve and improve a lot before he reaches the heights of Stone Cold, Hulk Hogan, and John Cena.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Call me crazy, but Roman Reigns reminds me a lot of his cousin The Rock when he first started out in the WWF. The Rock, much like Reigns was average on the mic, below average in the ring and had a generic gimmick, however, The Rock had "the look" that WWE liked just like, yup, Roman Reigns. We all saw what happened to The Rock... With WWE behind him he became The Great One, The Peoples Champion, The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment and one of the greatest Superstars of all time.

What a ridiculous comparison.

When Rock debuted, he was pushed as a mid card star in 1996-97 as Rocky Maivia.

For Roman Reigns, he's not changing any gimmick. This is it for Reigns.

Reigns feuded with Cena, Punk, Taker, HHH... the biggest names in WWE right now.

Rocky Maivia didn't feud with Shawn Michaels or Bret Hart.

Rock wasn't "below average" in the ring as you stated, he was pretty good, way better than Reigns.

He wasn't "average" on the mic, he rarely cut promos and even when he did, he was pretty good unlike Reigns's promos

 

[Headman]

Reigns has a good look, good size, and has charisma. I'd like to see some better singles matches out of him before I declare him the next top star, but out of all the guys on the roster right now I like his potential. He's still light years from being the next John Cena though.

 

[JoshRP81]

Way to soon to tell IMO. Reigns has been visible for about a year and a half now. It'd be like asking in 1991 if Stunning Steve would become the biggest start of the decade. Our asking if Terry the Hulk Boulder would become the biggest star of the 80s.

 

[resignedknight]

I agree with everybody that it's too early to tell, but I do have some thoughts that I'm struggling to put into words. Reigns does have something unique, and you see flashes of it from time to time, particularly in his non-verbal interactions with his teammates. It's a kind of nonchalant, confident toughness that I'm not sure we've seen before.

In some respects, he's the opposite of what the WWE used to look for--Reigns will never cut an '80s Warrior/Hulk-esque shouting promo. He's too cool and what he does seems more authentic, natural, and quiet than what you usually see.

In other respects, he's actually kind of an anti-Cena. Cena always seems like he's trying too damn hard to get us to like him and convince he's the top guy. Reigns doesn't feel like he's trying at all, like all this comes naturally.

All of that is to say I think Reigns is unique. He's got a long way to go, but his natural demeanor could make him the next big thing. I think the potential is there to change the paradigm in a way only the biggest stars ever have. Or there could be a reason why the stuff done by the other guys mentioned above has always worked and guys that aren't like them don't go far. Time will tell.

 

[Thewweera]

As soon as Reigns had his impressive run from the Survivor Series to the Rumble, something told me the internet would turn on him. I believe we are witnessing that right now. He has a presence about him that is unmatched IMO. He has somewhat of a unique in ring move set and is improving on the mic. He was the most overall improved star in 2013 and definitely has the look for the role. He is a natural badass. Just because Roman's star is going to shine, it doesn't mean Ambrose or Rollins won't go far as well.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

No. John Cena won't allow it to happen. The best Reigns can hope for is to be the #2 face in the company. Not a bad place to be by any means. But until Cena retires or takes a reduced schedule, that spot is unattainable.

 

[Messiah]

Roman Reigns is obviously one of the best young talents WWE has right now.

He has the look and the size that WWE wants.

While he isn't a "Daniel Bryan" or a "Cm Punk" in the ring but he obviously gained support from a large portion of the WWE Universe especially after The Shield turning face.

He has been constantly improving however all that improvement means nothing to a portion of fans who don't see him as an equal to his two partners Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins.

Dean Ambrose is one of the best mic workers in WWE right now and Seth Rollins is one of the best in ring performers in WWE.

Roman Reigns is average in both- wrestling skills and mic skills.


The Biggest name in wrestling history, Hulk Hogan was never that good as an in ring performer but that didn't matter as he was extremely charismatic and captivating.

Roman Reigns doesn't have the personnality of a Hulk Hogan.

Reigns have been trying recently to show more personnality and has been getting more time on the mic however it felt very forced, Reigns doesn't have the "IT" factor on the mic.

Roman Reigns was voted on WWE.com as the best looking guy on the roster and while there's no denying that Reigns is a good looking guy but the WWE isn't a beauty pageant.

Reigns needs a lot more to be the face of the WWE.

John Cena is still pretty much superior to Reigns in every aspect: Wrestling skills, mic skills, charisma, popularity, drawing ability, etc.

Roman has the advantage of being 28 years old and with Cena getting close to 40, it's fair to say WWE is looking for a new face of the company.




What are your thoughts?

Could Roman Reigns be that guy? Could Reigns take Cena's spot as the face of the company?

That's all this guy fucking has. I don't care if he looks good. For God sakes he could barely wrestle and he has no charisma on the mic.

There's rumor's WWE might go under in 2015. I will fully believe that if Roman Reigns is the next face of WWE... I never thought anyone could be more overrated than Dolph & AJ... it seems Roman Reigns is.

 

[OYDK]

What a ridiculous comparison.

When Rock debuted, he was pushed as a mid card star in 1996-97 as Rocky Maivia.

For Roman Reigns, he's not changing any gimmick. This is it for Reigns.

Reigns feuded with Cena, Punk, Taker, HHH... the biggest names in WWE right now.

Rocky Maivia didn't feud with Shawn Michaels or Bret Hart.

Rock wasn't "below average" in the ring as you stated, he was pretty good, way better than Reigns.

He wasn't "average" on the mic, he rarely cut promos and even when he did, he was pretty good unlike Reigns's promos

So the comparison is ridiculous becauseee... why again? Because Rock was a mid-carder and Reigns is a "main eventer"? I don't give a shit about gimmicks man, I was talking strictly ability on the mic and in the ring, and believe me, if you actually watched The Rock when he first debuted (which I have a strange feeling you didn't) you would know that he WAS below average on the mic... That's kind of the reason somebody doesn't get mic time in the FIRST place. Show me a Rocky Maivia promo before the NOD that is "pretty good"... Bet you can't. Also they were WAY worse than Reigns' promos now, are you kidding me?

Rock had a lot of charisma, like Reigns, and a good look like Reigns but he was so-so in the ring LIKE REIGNS. Jeez you're without a doubt the most annoying and obsessed Rock mark that I've ever come across.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

I don't actually see John Cena going away as a full time wrestler for a good 4-5 years to come, and so is with Orton. As far as Roman Reigns is concerned, if the WWE will continue to have just one WHC, that means a situation similar to back in 1999- Austin is the man but you have Rock, Foley, HHH, The Undertaker, and occasional challengers Big Show and Kane all going for the title. John Cena himself would never have been "The Man" for such a protracted period on Raw had we only had the WWE championship and no WHC or brand distinction.

And lets consider without being the champion, can Roman Reigns be the "face" of the WWE? Hard to accomplish. In the history of wrestling, only a handful of wrestlers have been considered to be as important or at times even more important than the current reigning champion in that era. I believe Shawn Michaels, Sting, Undertaker and CM Punk are those individuals who were many times as prominent or even more prominent than the World Champion . Not even Batista was ever "the face" without having the WHC on his waist.

Besides, Roman Reigns hasn't shown us any glimmer on the microphone. His wrestling ability basically constitutes of variations of the big punch, clothesline, and even more clotheslines. His spear in the ring is no more intense or exciting than Edge or Batista's, and nothing quite like Goldberg's spear, even though I have to agree that the spear he does on the barricade is awesome. To make matters worse, his grimaces suck too. I expect only a Batista or Goldberg like success as far as Roman Reigns is concerned. He's never going to replace John Cena, or be a face of the WWE for half as long as John Cena has been. I could be proved wrong, though.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

For me it depends on how he evolves on the mic. It is possible to have a successful babyface run with the title without being amazing on the mic. Think of Diesel, Benoit, Batista, Lesnar. They just need to book to his strengths and hide his weaknesses. If he's booked in this way, I don't think he will have a problem. I do think WM31 is too early for him though, and I don't think he'll be able to carry the burden that Cena does right now. He needs a lot more experience before he's really ready to be "the face" of the company, not just the champion.

 

[WZReporter411]

I say he will.People don't understand that no one starts off as the one of the greats.Let me drop a few names Rocky Mavia,Paul Wright,Ryback,etc. all was missing something at one point but improved.The Rock was missing charisma and became the most charasmatic wrestler of all-time as The Rock.Wright wasn't good wrestler at first he still isn't great but he is good.Ryback couldn't wrestle at all and now almost every match he is in is either just decent or good.Undertaker wasn't a good wrestler at first now he is one of the greatest in ring performers of all-time.My point is that any one can be good/great and so can Reigns.Reigns is a fast learner so I know he can improve.His mic work originally sucked all he said was "i'll beat your ass." Now look he is good with his words and accent of saying it.The way he said "was that all you got" was really charasmatic and unique in a way.Reigns mic skills went from suck-to decent-to actually pretty good.So he continiously improves.Just like originally Reigns ring ability sucked and now it is decent.If he worked on his cardio and moveset it would be great.We know when it matters most Reigns is great.So come Wrestlemania 31 his match with The Rock will be good maybe even great.The Rock is already training and working on cardio.Trust me after Wrestlemania 31 if he beats The Rock for the title he will feel like the man and start getting that adreniline and becoming great.So March 29th we will have a new face of WWE and his name is ....... Roman Reigns IMO.

 

[GeneralKarim]

It's too early to tell. People are talking like Reigns is the 2nd coming of Christ. At the moment he is not over like someone who would replace Cena should be. When he will be a singles guy, we will know all our answers.

There are some WWE App videos on youtube where it clearly shows Reigns having more character than he does when he is on RAW, but that's the same situation with Big E and look where that got him. He's just a strong, explosive dude who does literally 3-4 moves per match, probably because Vince told him.

To me Rollins and Ambrose ( and I havent seen any of their work before WWE, besides a few Moxley promos ) are above Reigns in mic work and ring work. Just cause you do a few good looking moves doesn't mean you are instantly a god. Reigns is doing fine for himself, doing his cool cat promos and all, but we need to see more from him, and WWE needs to allow him to show us in order for him to truly advance is character and be someone of importance in the WWE.

Since the Shield kinda just turned face I doubt they are splitting them up any time soon. And that's good I think because The Shield in my mind are fucking special man. They along with Cm Punk have been the more edgy characters that have kept me watching wrestling with interest. It is kinda hard after all the people they have been through to still remain as a unit but we will see.

All in all, people need to get of Reigns' dick and calm down. Every single time, every single damn time, people are hyping someone up way too much and then when he isnt treated like a Super Cena they whine. And when he is treated like SuperCena, they whine again.
Just let the guy evolve in front of your eyes and try not to judge so much. What will happen will happen.

 

[theblasterkid]

Hopefully when he is ready. I'm tired of Cena. When he does, Cena needs to put him over clean at Wrestlemania 32 or 33.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

If someone else has already stated this, it's not my intention to rip off your post. Just simply don't have the time at this second to read through them.

The thought just popped into my head, though I'm sure others have already considered it, that one reason why Reigns MIGHT not be accepted as "the face" of WWE in the eyes of the fans is because he more closely fits the physical mold of what Vince believes is "the face" of WWE. Reigns is a tall, dark, well groomed, good looking guy with a lot of muscles; therefore, he's the type of guy that most people expect Vince to want at that level.

Because if that, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that fans will turn on Reigns when/if his big singles push starts. I think the odds of that happening go up if Reigns morphs into a more traditional babyface rather than the mostly tweener character he has now. Look at Sheamus as an example of someone that a lot of fans just haven't embraced upon his return and current push as US champ. He still delivers inside the ring but he's no longer cheered as much as he once was. It's been no secret that Sheamus has been a favorite of Triple H for several years now, though why it's taken so long for some to turn on Sheamus I can't say. At any rate, most wrestlers who're reported to be heavily embraced by upper management are have a similar sort of look & build, meaning they can have something of an uphill battle getting some fans to embrace them once their big push begins.

 

[kadroan]

It's really up to creative. He's got the most potential since Ryback to overtake Cena. It's just creative got to pull the trigger and give him a chance.

The way the crowd was behind him in the final minutes of the Rumble against Batista. That showed potential. However, if they never give him that signature win like they didn't give Ryback, he may at best just be a modern day 2005 Batista.

I think they'll take the next step with Reigns. He's a Royal Rumble and WrestleMania WWE WHC win away away from accomplishing it

 

[a member of wwe universe]

Reigns is absolutely over hyped by you ppl.

the guy hasnt had his single push yet or performed in a memorable single match. He hasnt done anything and you want to talk about him taking over cena as the FACE of the company lol.

Reigns could very well end up like del rio, sheamus, swagger, ziggler etc. who got pushed to the top and end up irrelevant.

Until he has first single push and single program against top guys, nobody can assess his future. His last big singles match was with cm punk and it was a flop. But it is too small of a sample size to judge him tough.

Cena aint going away for another 10 years. Hes a company man and its evident this is his life. Nobody is going to take his spot until he retires.

 

[a member of wwe universe]

That's ridiculous. Cena is not going to be the face of the company until he retires, he's not going to be the face of the company in his 40s.
WWE better find a replacement soon and that replacement is Roman reigns.

No it doesnt look good havent a 45 year old guy still being the face of the company. But its only fair to make this assumption because wwe has failed to produce any decent star for the past 5+ years. Punk and Bryan are an exception, they're not wwe creation organically and were never meant to be.

There were times that wwe could have pulled the trigger on punk to let him roll the ball or they could have rolled with this particular guy. However, wwe, or vince would always go back to the safe route with cena as the focal point.

Its absurd for ppl to easily say a guy like reigns is going to be the "face" of this company just because he has some potential that has not even been displayed on tv. Ya make this guy a face and forget about his ability to draw, ability to have the company revolves around him for many years ,marketing appeal and other business craps. I dont think vince would mind.

Cena is worth 106 million in value to wwe if that put to any perspective.

 

[L@RISANO]

If someone else has already stated this, it's not my intention to rip off your post. Just simply don't have the time at this second to read through them.

The thought just popped into my head, though I'm sure others have already considered it, that one reason why Reigns MIGHT not be accepted as "the face" of WWE in the eyes of the fans is because he more closely fits the physical mold of what Vince believes is "the face" of WWE. Reigns is a tall, dark, well groomed, good looking guy with a lot of muscles; therefore, he's the type of guy that most people expect Vince to want at that level.

Because if that, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that fans will turn on Reigns when/if his big singles push starts. I think the odds of that happening go up if Reigns morphs into a more traditional babyface rather than the mostly tweener character he has now. Look at Sheamus as an example of someone that a lot of fans just haven't embraced upon his return and current push as US champ. He still delivers inside the ring but he's no longer cheered as much as he once was. It's been no secret that Sheamus has been a favorite of Triple H for several years now, though why it's taken so long for some to turn on Sheamus I can't say. At any rate, most wrestlers who're reported to be heavily embraced by upper management are have a similar sort of look & build, meaning they can have something of an uphill battle getting some fans to embrace them once their big push begins.

Tbh;
As a huge fan of Reigns...and as someone who has listened to some of his interviews, Roman seems to be in a similar position as Big E is, as both seem to be comfortable and easygoing in front of the camera during the interviews and are cool and at times funny.

However, whilst Roman's Charisma is showing in his cool and collected muscle guy stuff, Big E hasn't been too lucky in portraying a similar type of character and is virtually gaining no reaction.

So people saying Roman sucks on the mic, do have a point, but I do believe him and Big E, and probably a few others are limited in that department by their character portrayal of being strong muscle bound guys.

And as Jack-Hammer said above; if when Roman Reigns becomes a single and they saddle him with a SuperCena type fun loving character, then his popularity will dip big-time.

I believe that whilst he has a few moves in his arsenal right now(4 to be exact), he needs to keep trying new stuff and mix it up in the ring. By Looks and Presence, he seems to be on the right track and is indeed popular with the majority of fans at this point. However, he isn't quite ready as yet and needs some time as a Singles character to iron out some clear flaws before he can be a Main Event staple come post-Mania 31 as it seems that is when the WWE plans to move him up. Also, if he is to be a success, this Tweener character suits him and his look more than anything,tbh, but the WWE has to make sure they don't force feed to the crowd too quickly that they turn on him right away....let him get over through a storyline by way of which fans can get behind him.

Lastly, I am of the belief that all 3 SHIELD members can become huge successes in the WWE. However, the WWE have to make sure that their Singles pushes do not coincide with each other.

For instance, if the plan is Roman Reigns to be pushed first with the HHH match rumoured. Then push Reigns first as a Singles and let the other two remain as a team until Reigns is comfortable in a Singles role, then move towards pushing a second member of the group(say Rollins as a Babyface) and so on...

 

[J.J.]

I don't actually see John Cena going away as a full time wrestler for a good 4-5 years to come, and so is with Orton. As far as Roman Reigns is concerned, if the WWE will continue to have just one WHC, that means a situation similar to back in 1999- Austin is the man but you have Rock, Foley, HHH, The Undertaker, and occasional challengers Big Show and Kane all going for the title. John Cena himself would never have been "The Man" for such a protracted period on Raw had we only had the WWE championship and no WHC or brand distinction.

And lets consider without being the champion, can Roman Reigns be the "face" of the WWE? Hard to accomplish. In the history of wrestling, only a handful of wrestlers have been considered to be as important or at times even more important than the current reigning champion in that era. I believe Shawn Michaels, Sting, Undertaker and CM Punk are those individuals who were many times as prominent or even more prominent than the World Champion . Not even Batista was ever "the face" without having the WHC on his waist.

Besides, Roman Reigns hasn't shown us any glimmer on the microphone. His wrestling ability basically constitutes of variations of the big punch, clothesline, and even more clotheslines. His spear in the ring is no more intense or exciting than Edge or Batista's, and nothing quite like Goldberg's spear, even though I have to agree that the spear he does on the barricade is awesome. To make matters worse, his grimaces suck too. I expect only a Batista or Goldberg alike success as far as Roman Reigns is concerned. He's never going to replace John Cena, or be a face of the WWE for half as long as John Cena has been. I could be proved wrong, though.

Goldberg like success? Goldberg was never the face of WCW? Quite naturally the powers to be weren't going to allow him to be face off WWE in no way shape or form even if he wrestled like Daniel Bryan and talked like CM Punk.