Connecting With Characters - Why Roman Reigns Isn't Over

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Over the last few months, Roman Reigns has been portrayed as an underdog. This worked quite well for other wrestlers, most recently Daniel Bryan. Fans reacted extremely positively towards Bryan, and he's now considered one of the most popular wrestlers of the modern era. Fortunately, fans haven't had the same reaction towards Reigns. Why? If it worked with Bryan, why isn't it working with Reigns? It's all because of his character and how he is presented.

What is an underdog? According to Google, an underdog is "a competitor thought to have little chance of winning a fight or contest." Daniel Bryan certainly fits the bill. He was only 5 ft. 10 in. tall and just 190 lbs. He didn't have a great look or much going for him. Bryan was an underdog.

Now Roman Reigns is being booked like an underdog. Reigns has a great size at 6 ft. 3 in. tall and 265 lbs. He has a great look. He was apart of one of the most successful stables of all time, The Shield (which also covered his weaknesses). He is related to The Rock. He broke the record for most eliminations in a single Survivor Series Elimination match. He broke the record for most eliminations in a Royal Rumble. He is anything but an underdog.

In conclusion, most fans can't connect with Roman Reigns. Is that why he's not over?

 

[MTL722]

First things first. Roman Reigns has been over with the fans before. Lets not forget that he was the most over member of The Shield. He was the member that everybody expected to go on and become the top guy in the company. It was inevitable. The problem was and is that WWE has failed to give Roman Reigns his OWN persona

Ambrose went on to become the "Lunatic Fringe" and one of the most over faces on the roster. He may actually be number one right now. Rollins became "The Future" of the WWE and THE most over heel in the company. Roman became.....Roman Reigns. His music remains the same. His entrance remains the same. His gear and his matches remain the same. The only thing that hasnt remained the same? His reactions from the crowd

WWE missed the boat on Reigns 2 times, both in 2014. First, when Batista won the Royal Rumble. Reigns was the number 2 guy and was insanely over. But WWE chose Batista, likely thinking that Roman could maintain his momentum all the way to next years Rumble. It makes me wonder if Daniel Bryan still would have gotten his Wrestlemania run that year had Roman won

Second was when Seth Rollins was chosen as the guy to break up The Shield. Had that been Roman, I swear he could have made a great heel champ. Roman with the backing of Triple H, using The Pedigree, as his finish, and then ultimately taking on Triple H at last years Mania. Seth still could have had his cash-in and ended the night with the title, but this time as a face

All-in-all, Romans career is far from over. He still has a good amount of potential, but getting him over as a face seems near impossible at this point. Heels rarely leave Mania with the championship, but I think a double turn is the only course of action at this point. Cocky, vicious, heel Roman would connect

 

[Farese12]

I agree. Creative making singles Roman the same as The Shield Roman is one of the major issues to why he is not as over as they would have hoped.

 

[InsomniaMusic]

I dont think it's a mistake as the Shield gimmick works for Roman the best. What other gimmick would be good for him.
I just think they need to stop making him the underdog and make him the powerhouse he is

I feel it would be cool if he led a new Samoan Swat team with the Usos and tamina

Dean was the Lunatic Fringe from before.

 

[Navi]

First things first. Roman Reigns has been over with the fans before. Lets not forget that he was the most over member of The Shield. He was the member that everybody expected to go on and become the top guy in the company. It was inevitable. The problem was and is that WWE has failed to give Roman Reigns his OWN persona

Ambrose went on to become the "Lunatic Fringe" and one of the most over faces on the roster. He may actually be number one right now. Rollins became "The Future" of the WWE and THE most over heel in the company. Roman became.....Roman Reigns. His music remains the same. His entrance remains the same. His gear and his matches remain the same. The only thing that hasnt remained the same? His reactions from the crowd

This right there is your answer. Yes he was over with the Shield, but then again the Shield themselves were the most over faction on the roster in a long, long time. The WWE are still relying on the fans loyalty when he was part of it to keep him going now, and the sad thing is that it's not there anymore. The Shield is no more and Reigns has to set a course with a new gimmick. The more he and the WWE rely on the old gimmick it's not going to work for him, it will just get worse.

Also the fans like rebels. They like the fact that Ambrose went after Rollins, they like the fact that Rollins became a smug bastard that thought he was better than everyone else. Hell he even thought he was better than the Authority. Reigns unfortunately has stayed the same. He's riding the crest of the wave that got him to where he is not realizing the wave crashed around him a long time ago.

I don't blame him entirely, it's lazy booking on behalf of the creative department, as most things are these days. I would say that HHH is not Roman Reigns main obstacle in his quest for the title, the disgruntled fans are. HHH is the best heel on the roster and he's walking into Mania a face. At Fastlane, you don't cheer the heel who smashes the top dog into the steel steps face first, you boo the hell out of him. But no he was getting the "one more time" chants. Fans wanted to see Reigns get the hell beat out of him. Why I have no reason, but is that really how much they don't like him?

Reigns has an uphill climb again, and I have a feeling that fans are tired of him now. It's getting to the point where they just don't care, once that happens usually there is no coming back. Seriously the next time I hear SIERRA, HILTON, INDIA, ECHO, LIMA DELTA, SHIELD would love to see three men coming down the aisle instead of just Reigns.

 

[@smarkmouth]

WWE missed the boat on Reigns 2 times, both in 2014. First, when Batista won the Royal Rumble. Reigns was the number 2 guy and was insanely over. But WWE chose Batista, likely thinking that Roman could maintain his momentum all the way to next years Rumble. It makes me wonder if Daniel Bryan still would have gotten his Wrestlemania run that year had Roman won

Second was when Seth Rollins was chosen as the guy to break up The Shield. Had that been Roman, I swear he could have made a great heel champ. Roman with the backing of Triple H, using The Pedigree, as his finish, and then ultimately taking on Triple H at last years Mania. Seth still could have had his cash-in and ended the night with the title, but this time as a face

Good analysis, but I'm going to note a third fumble, this one much more recent. At TLC/Raw the night after, Reigns was over. In a matter of three different segments, Reigns went from jeers to cheers from the audience. Of course, I'm referring to his beatdown of Triple H and subsequent attack on Vince before becoming champ. Roman was selling a glorious rage and went full warpath. We thought this was an overdue turning point, but it didn't take long for creative to put him back into the role of the Roman we didn't want to see.

I would also like to applaud your notion that Reigns should have been the one to side with the Authority for one extra dimension; the guy who by all purposes should be The Rock's protege is using the Pedigree? There's certainly some poetry in that.

 

[Anger]

I'm a fan of Roman Reigns, as I am of Bray Wyatt, both of whom I believe are tremendous talents, although I give the better overall upside to Bray. However, my problem with both men is not the men themselves, but the ridiculous creative direction that is repeatedly scuttling them both. Reigns was best at TLC/Raw; the vicious behemoth fueled by indignant rage mercilessly laying waste to Triple H and Vince is whom he should be. He's not The Rock or John Cena, and he's never going to be. But he could be something equally as great if only creative would stop trying to create, or perhaps if Vince would let go of Reigns as the next ultra Face. I like Reigns and Bray Wyatt, but neither are very interesting with their current creative push. And to me they are two prime examples of WWE creative and Vince just blatantly ignoring the obvious and doing what they want, no matter what. I remember well when Rock was roundly vilified by the WWE audience even though he was supposed to be the stereotypical heroic good guy, but the people hated him with a passion. And so he was turned heel, and we all know how well that worked out. I honestly don't understand the obstinacy with regard to Reigns' creative direction. They saw how great the TLC angle went over, and yet he's back to the pure vanilla underdog bullshit.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

Roman Reigns should take the Walter White route. He must go heel, because he wants to leave a legacy behind for his family. Boom, instant character development, instant heat for using the name of the great Anoa'i family in order to achieve his own goals.

Roman has brought up his family on several occasions. However, Triple H keeps pushing him back. Roman can't feed his family like that. But he doesn't care because he still has the fans' support right? Wrong. The fans have turned their back on Roman. Roman is no Cena. Roman has to be the very best he can be in order to feed his family. Boom heel turn, with a very nice character development. He doesn't need to be HHH's dog or a corporate champion. He just need to be a heel Conan the Barbarian by himself. Do anything possible by all means neccessary for his family. Even swallow his own pride, for his family. That's what a man would do, feed his family first, care for the fans second.

Instant character development, instant heat and something to run with for the next year.

 

[xRob13x]

I do like Reigns, but the creative direction behind him is the biggest problem, as many have said already. They're pretty much just going for Cena mk2. They did right by him with his post-TLC beatdown of HHH, which was pretty good. They absolutely killed his momentum in the Rumble when they made this huge hub-bub of him having to defend from the number 1 spot and then pulling him to the back for half the match or more. I feel like the Rumble was their best chance at making him seem legit and whether by creative decision or his own limitations, they opted not to do so. The most infuriating was no-selling three freaking chair-shots from Ambrose at Fastlane to pick up the WWE signature 'hero gets beat down, then does one move and wins' victory. People are just tired of the same old crap.

 

[Sean Valjean]

What saddens me was that they'd finally managed to get Roman over at TLC by destroying Triple H. THEY HAD IT IN THEIR HANDS.

I LOVED that beatdown on Triple H because I am beyond sick of the Authority. And so was Roman. That was why I connected with him in that moment more so than any other. He channeled all of my frustration over their BS and just destroyed him. Not only that, I got the pissed off badass that I always liked in the Shield. It was glorious.

Then they immediately fucked it up the next night by having Stephanie berate him and slap him back to lame Roman, then get embarrassed by having a 70-year old punk him out. Fuck that. I don't want that Roman. That's not the characterization that fits him. He looks like a guy who shouldn't take shit from anyone. Yet he does all the time, and smiles while doing so.

If he can't be an badass destructive force, a proven success, then he needs to just turn heel and become the cocky jackass that knows he's had everything handed to him because he believes he deserves it due to family, looks, etc. A lot of his haters already believe that anyway, so they'd buy into version of him far more than the "world's most physically blessed underdog" character he's stuck with now.

 

[DirtyD79]

What saddens me was that they'd finally managed to get Roman over at TLC by destroying Triple H. THEY HAD IT IN THEIR HANDS.

I LOVED that beatdown on Triple H because I am beyond sick of the Authority. And so was Roman. That was why I connected with him in that moment more so than any other. He channeled all of my frustration over their BS and just destroyed him. Not only that, I got the pissed off badass that I always liked in the Shield. It was glorious.

Then they immediately fucked it up the next night by having Stephanie berate him and slap him back to lame Roman, then get embarrassed by having a 70-year old punk him out. Fuck that. I don't want that Roman. That's not the characterization that fits him. He looks like a guy who shouldn't take shit from anyone. Yet he does all the time, and smiles while doing so.

Agreed. They turned him into a total puss. People don't want to see him being a grinning jackass, they want to see him go on a roaring rampage of revenge that would do a Quentin Tarantino movie character proud. When Steph slapped him he should have ripped her arm out of the socket and beat her to death with it and then delivered a roundhouse kick to break Vince's 70 year old hip. Well OK maybe not that extreme, it's a PG show after all. But still he should be out wrecking mofos left and right, not making wisecracks or spewing bon mots.

 

[Spencesc11]

Here is the major problem in 3 simple flaws the WWE has made with him
1) Trying to make him Cena 2.0 which if they didn't notice Cena gets booed a lot
2) Like Cena move set and comeback every time is over done and to expected
3) Horrible mic skills

So how do you fix this???

Simple you make him a heel.

1) HHH retains at Mania (Reigns is crushed)
2) Ambrose defeats HHH for the Title at Extreme Rules
3) The jealousy builds for a few weeks between the "brothers"
4) Ambrose faces Reigns at MIB where Reigns cheats to win the Title with interference from none other than HHH. Reigns has sold his soul to the devil Michael Cole proclaims
5) At Summerslam you get heel champion Reigns vs. John Cena

I would also have Rollins return as a face and pair up with Ambrose as a new version of DX. Where their antics could frustrate the new Heel stable.

The Roman Empire (Reigns, Rusev, Samoa Joe, & Sheamus) - With Rusev and Joe tagging and becoming champs at some point.

 

[OYDK]

It's more than his booking, it's his whole persona. Roman Reigns looks like a God, but he doesn't speak like one and he doesn't act like one. He just doesn't sound powerful when he talks, it's almost as if you can see him second guessing himself out there. Also, it doesn't seem like the confidence is truly there. Compare Reigns to Ambrose. Ambrose knows the character that he's playing and you can see that he's bought into it 100 percent. I just don't see that wherewithal with Reigns. In the ring, I think he looks like a star. Put him in a one on one battle on the stick though, and he becomes a fish out of water.

Best option is to take the mic out of his hands. Whether that means turning him heel or booking him like a Brock Lesnar destroyer type face, it needs to happen. The biggest problem is they're not letting Reigns be himself. They script every move he makes, just let the guy be himself.

 

[Just Zay'n]

He just needs a bit of a repackaging. They should give him a new entrance and new ring attire at 'Mania, I was thinking something like a Gladiator-style orchestral theme, to give him a 'Roman Empire' type of gimmick.

He's just stale. It has nothing to do with his abilities or charisma, and has everything to do with his booking and how he hasn't changed since the Shield. He still wears Shield ring gear, uses the Shield theme song, and does the Shield entrance through the crowd. Not to mention his in-ring persona never really changed from 'silent enforcer' to just 'straight out badass'.

 

[laodaron]

So, Roman Reigns is actually over, with the people that spend money on merch and whatnot. He's over with me, a casual fan and a 34 year old married man. The issue is that the smark fans and WWE by pushing guys like Punk and DB have ruined the push for other people that aren't vanilla midgets from the Indies.

Seriously, when was the last time a guy got a legitimate World Title push that wasn't an established veteran, and that WASN'T a vanilla midget Indy star? The WWE, by catering to smark fans 7-10 years ago and pushing CM Punk along with others, have conditioned fans to believe that only Underdog small guys are worthy of beating the top heel for the title.

That's why Roman isn't over. He's literally never going to get over in the traditional sense, by nature of being big and having less than 10 years of experience. Hopefully, they think long and hard about giving him a heel turn, and about trying to recondition the fans and stop catering to smark audiences.

 

[Gallops77]

People seem to forget how over Roman Reigns was right after the Shield split. He was in a fatal fourway for the WWE WHC and was the one guy every fan in the arena wanted to see win. He came out to a huge pop, and when he speared someone the crowd erupted.

Then he got hurt. That killed his push. He came back to some cheers, no boos, but not the same interest. Then last year the WWE set him up for failure with the Royal Rumble after the fans would boo anyone who won when Daniel Bryan was eliminated. Since then, Reigns has gotten the mixed reactions. I think the only way to truly get him over would be to turn him heel and wait until the fans beg for a face run.

 

[Low_Ki]

It's how he is booked up to a point.

I know we are not in the Attitude Era anymore but look at Austin and HHH's feud in the early 2000's. Austin did what he wanted, and when he was slapped by Stephanie, he came out the next week, interrupted her, did very little talking then dropped her with a Stunner because he couldn't touch Hunter due to a stipulation.

Roman obviously in this day and age cannot hit a woman on live TV, let alone a mother and wife. With that said, you can't stand there all smug after being mugged off after you have viciously attached a man the night before. That anger, that energy needs to be continual. Hell have Steph slap him then have Vince hit the ring, or another corporate stooge and have Roman destroy that person too. Make me believe that this guy is as sick of Authority rule as much as I am as a fan.

I'm 32, and I cheer the guy whenever I go to live events in the UK. I'm one of the few, but I think a change in on screen personality is the start, and then other things will slot themselves into place.

 

[BaconBits]

I have a problem with threads like this. It implies that Roman isn't over, when that's not the case. He's over. Way over. Maybe he's not over in the way creative wants him over, but he's got the majority of the audience reacting in some way, shape or form. If people are reacting to you, you're over. Depending on the city, he even gets the desired reaction, and it's the biggest reaction of the night. In other cities, he gets a negative reaction, and it's the biggest reaction of the night.

 

[Navi]

I have a problem with threads like this. It implies that Roman isn't over, when that's not the case. He's over. Way over. Maybe he's not over in the way creative wants him over, but he's got the majority of the audience reacting in some way, shape or form. If people are reacting to you, you're over. Depending on the city, he even gets the desired reaction, and it's the biggest reaction of the night. In other cities, he gets a negative reaction, and it's the biggest reaction of the night.

I would agree with this, but the WWE wants him over as a face not a heel, so the negative reaction isn't something they want to see. If he was coming out to crickets then yea no one cares, but you don't want your number one face being boo'd. I know Cena gets that, but Cena makes it work for him, he can turn the crowd to his favour. Besides it's become trendy to boo Cena for some these days, with Reigns I'm not sure. I have a feeling they want the Daniel Bryan reaction for Reigns and that's just not going to happen.

 

[Farese12]

I have a problem with threads like this. It implies that Roman isn't over, when that's not the case. He's over. Way over. Maybe he's not over in the way creative wants him over, but he's got the majority of the audience reacting in some way, shape or form. If people are reacting to you, you're over. Depending on the city, he even gets the desired reaction, and it's the biggest reaction of the night. In other cities, he gets a negative reaction, and it's the biggest reaction of the night.

I agree completely. Reigns is over, but not nearly as over as creative would hope. People are booing him because he needs to just have a badass persona that kicks ass, and doesn't talk. I am not saying he should be a babyface or a heel, because i think that he could do both. The issue is he sounds nervous when speaking and is just not captivating on the mic. Make him come out, kick ass, and leave. Do not say a single word.

 

[GrandWeezard]

At this point I don't think Roman Reings could recover from this huge loss of momentum.

 

[Messiah]

Are you stupid or what?... Reigns is the most over guy in the arena and on the internet.. All people talk about is Roman Reigns... Roman this, Roman that... Enough with this guy already, if you people didn't want him pushed, you wouldn't talk about him so much.

 

[Farese12]

The OP should not have titled this "Why Roman Reigns Isn't Over" because he is obviously over. It should be titled "Why Roman Reigns Is Getting Booed"

 

[Farese12]

At this point I don't think Roman Reings could recover from this huge loss of momentum.

Easy. Repackage him, and make him heel. I guarantee all those people that are booing now, will be cheering.

 

[Trill Co$by]

What saddens me was that they'd finally managed to get Roman over at TLC by destroying Triple H. THEY HAD IT IN THEIR HANDS.

I LOVED that beatdown on Triple H because I am beyond sick of the Authority. And so was Roman. That was why I connected with him in that moment more so than any other. He channeled all of my frustration over their BS and just destroyed him. Not only that, I got the pissed off badass that I always liked in the Shield. It was glorious.

Then they immediately fucked it up the next night by having Stephanie berate him and slap him back to lame Roman, then get embarrassed by having a 70-year old punk him out. Fuck that. I don't want that Roman. That's not the characterization that fits him. He looks like a guy who shouldn't take shit from anyone. Yet he does all the time, and smiles while doing so.

This.

CM Punk claims that people kept telling him that he was going over The Shield, but he had to make Roman look strong. Well, creative, that token needs to still be going on. Roman Reigns is a beast, and believe it or not he can go. He's proven it. But stop making him on the same level as others, he's not. If anything, he's on the level of John Cena, Triple H, Randy Orton, and Brock Lesnar... and that's it. Meaning that he's a man that can beat you either with his mind, his strength, his will, or a combination of the three. He shouldn't lose to Sheamus, he shouldn't lose to Dean Ambrose, he shouldn't even lose to New Day. He should go out there and spear everyone.

Also, one of the biggest problems that Roman has is Vince. Vince is doing to Roman what he did to Diesel and force feeding him lines. Maybe Reigns isn't confident enough to stand up for himself yet, but he needs to be. Reigns or someone needs to tell Vince, "Reigns isn't a loving teddy bear, he's a fucking monster... stop making him say stuff like 'suckering suckatash' on television" and then give someone who CAN write for Reigns. Hell, have Zeb write Reigns' lines for him.