Could the WWE be painting themselves into more of a corner?

[Navi]

This is an article from Forbes.com regarding fan support for Dean Ambrose in relation to his match with HHH, and what it means for Roman Reigns.

That’s bad news for Roman Reigns. Not because Reigns won’t be getting his WrestleMania 32 title shot anymore. In fact, he still will.

It’s because giving the fans Ambrose vs. Triple H only reminds them how much they’d rather see Ambrose as the newly crowned face of the WWE instead of Reigns.

The reactions of the live crowd on the road to WrestleMania 32 have made it abundantly clear that, despite how much Reigns has been pushed, Ambrose is their guy. On last week’s Monday Night Raw, Triple H put a world class beatdown on Reigns, and what did the crowd do? It actually cheered for Triple H.

On this week’s Raw, Triple H attacked Ambrose in similar fashion, and what did the crowd do this time around? It booed Triple H out of the building. That tells us a lot, a lot about Ambrose, but even more about Reigns.

Anyone who watches WWE programming consistently can tell you that Ambrose is getting the reactions that those within the company want Reigns to get, and so the company is certainly pushing Ambrose more these days, but not quite as much as Reigns.

Ambrose’s skyrocketing popularity, however, has given him a TV feud with Triple H during Reigns’ short absence, and after just one week, it’s already proven to be highly entertaining. But if the plan is still to crown Reigns at WrestleMania, then Ambrose vs. Triple H is a terrible turn of events. For Reigns, that is.

The more chances that Ambrose is given to shine, the better he performs. The better he performs, the more the fans want to see him succeed. That’s fantastic, and clearly well deserved, for Ambrose, but the unfortunate side effect here is that it’s putting Reigns into a terrible situation that only further hurts his chances of ever getting over with the majority of the audience.

After all, why would the fans cheer for Reigns when they can cheer for Ambrose instead?

WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin sees Reigns’ struggles as a problem as well, but said on The Steve Austin Show (h/t WrestlingInc) that Vince McMahon will continue to push Reigns because of the effort he’s put into building Reigns up:

“To me, it’s like Vince chose this guy and he’s sticking with him. Whatever the fans think, whether it’s the smart marks, or the casual fans, or the fervent fans, I don’t know. He’s sticking with this guy and I don’t know.” Austin added, “he not going to pick another guy because he has so much invested in this guy, so he [has] got to keep riding him, but he could ride him in a different direction, but you can’t back off the gas pedal. Babyface or heel, you’ve got to keep the pedal to the metal with this guy because if you don’t, he will become an also-ran immediately.”

McMahon has invested, both literally and figuratively, a lot into making Reigns the heir apparent to John Cena: Time, money, effort, booking, etc. The main story arc of WWE TV over the past year or so has been Reigns’ rise to the top of the company, and while WrestleMania 32 is supposed to be the climax of that journey, the pay-per-view’s ticket sales have been incredibly disappointing, with the WWE selling out AT&T Stadium looking less and less likely by the day.

All that time spent on Reigns. All that effort. Still, a tremendous letdown. And the disappointment isn’t over.

The supposed rise of Reigns is going to hit another bump in the road at WWE Roadblock, when Ambrose battles Triple H in a match that, although Triple H will almost assuredly win it, will showcase the love the fans have for Ambrose and, by default, the hatred they have for Reigns.

You can safely assume that Ambrose will be cheered wildly on March 12th in front of a raucous Toronto crowd that will pull no punches and hold nothing back. It will be a well earned moment for Ambrose as he gets the biggest title shot of his career and, win or lose, an unforgettable moment worthy of a WrestleMania.

All the while, Reigns will look like the forgotten cast member of a movie in which he’s supposed to be the star.

That’s great for Ambrose, but no so much for Roman Reigns.

I think the writer has hit the nail on the head, and I'm left wondering why the WWE are doing what they are. True I love seeing Ambrose in the main event, and more so seeing him has a title match. We all know HHH will win, but we've seen what happened when HHH beatdown Reigns and the crowd reaction to it, compared to what happened with Ambrose.

It's obvious that the fans want Ambrose in the title scene more than anyone else, and the WWE rightly or wrongly has created for themselves another Daniel Bryan in Dean Ambrose. The fans won't be happy when Dean loses, but they will be even more unhappy if that's the end of it. Most will see it as a "Well we gave him a chance, he had his shot. Now it's back to the other guy." I for one will not be happy, and I worry what will happen to Ambrose after March 12th. Also worry about the reaction to Reigns if they try to push Ambrose aside again.

 

[WrasslinPittsburgh]

The only reason Vince finally went with Daniel Bryan was thAt the yes chants never stopped and the audience pretty much hijacked the shows. He gave us what we wanted and then Bryan gets hurt. He'll never listen to the crowd again as long as he lives

 

[whoopin' ass]

When has what the fans wanted ever mattered? To add on about Bryan, Vince didn't cave because the fans were cheering Bryan. he caved because Punk left and pointed out hot over Bryan was yet wwe was going in a different direction - Vince had egg on his face. He had to prove Punk wrong which is why they went with a stupid angle where Bryan had to win a match to get a title match later that night when him winning the Rumble would have been so much easier. They know they would make a ton of money off of it so they went with it.

With Ambrose, you have a different situation. He is nowhere near as over as Bryan was. wwe can still push Reigns because there is really no one who is so over that the fans will revolt. They can have Reigns win and hold the title for a while and then push Ambrose and nothing will change. Fans will cheer for Ambrose in Toronto but they will also cheer for Reigns when he wins at Mania.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I made a similar observation in a recent thread, I think the it was the one discussing Ambrose's title shot. The idea of seeing Ambrose and Triple H is more appealing to me and is infinitely more entertaining after just a single week of seeing the two of them interact. A huge reason why is because Ambrose is so much more comfortable on the mic and has a more interesting persona than Roman Reigns, at least in my opinion. Ambrose has been cast in the role of an underdog the past few weeks and one of the reasons why it works so well is because he hasn't been booked to look like the nigh unstoppable super stud like we've seen with Reigns at times. Ambrose has been "injured", he's selling the hell out of the injuries, knows how to sell the injuries and it tells a much more compelling story. He might be overselling a bit at times, but I'd much rather have overselling than underselling.

However, when it's all said & done, Vince has made his decision and it'll almost certainly be Reigns vs. Trips. Reigns' family is said to have flown off the handle last year when he didn't win the title, many of them telling him he should quit WWE, so Reigns is going to have his WrestleMania moment this year and while Ambrose is over, he's not over to the degree of Daniel Bryan in which Vince is forced to alter his plans

 

[CyberPunk]

I am not the biggest fan of Ambrose, but we can't deny his popularity at this time. He is infinitely more over than Reigns (as a babyface before someone jumps down my throat stating different definitions of 'over'), and people want to see him compete in the main event. WWE (or Vince) on the other hand have made up their mind to give Reigns his Wrestlemania moment. Is it a good idea? I am not sure. Reigns lack of character development and inconsistent story has bugged me ever since his singles push started. Reigns is talented, but he hasn't been given the time to work on his weaknesses. On the other hand, Ambrose is a seasoned competitor who has done this for well over 10 years, knows how to tell a story inside the ring and has taken advantage of whatever opportunities came his way. Of course, for the audience, it is easier to relate to Ambrose.

I am pretty sure everyone can see that Reigns needs time to work on his character and connect with the crowd, which he can't do if Vince continues with this madness of trying to push him as the no.1 face which clearly he isn't. It is coming to a point where anyone feuding with Reigns is becoming bigger face than him. Everyone can see that. I can't fathom why Vince refuses to acknowledge that?

 

[Sai the Uganda Guy]

I love Ambrose, really I do, but for him to win the title at Roadblock would just completely ruin what has been built for so long between Reigns and Trips. I'm of the thought that this won't be as bad for Reigns as the writer claims it will be. Will a majority of the fans be upset that Ambrose almost undeniably fails here? Absolutely, and I will be a tad upset at it myself, but so be it. I understand that Reigns isn't as over or as liked as Ambrose and blah blah blah, but Reigns has been chosen, they've been building this up, and that's that. Trips defending the strap against Dean successfully will hopefully put enough heat on him to outweigh the unnecessary heat that's on Roman, and I think this could build into a solid program that will benefit both Reigns and Ambrose. Ambrose fails at Roadblock, Reigns wins (LOL) at Mania, and from there they can build tension between the brothers, and ultimately lead up to a triple threat with Seth Rollins, the man that should be facing Trips at Mania (stupid injury), upon his return.

 

[Azane]

I almost wonder if WWE Could capitalize on the Reigns blackhole phenomenon to get Random heels over as megababy faces.

Roman Reigns vs Braun Strowman, Suddenly, Braun Strowman gets cheers! (Nah it'd really end up like Goldberg vs Brock).

The inevitability of Reigns is killing everything interesting about anything since SURVIVOR Series. Triple H was the 3:1 odds on favorite on betting sites to win Royal Rumble without even announcing he'd be there, and him being #30 was almost a guarentee'd certainty. Reigns winning TLC was guarentee'd as well. Reigns will never be interesting as long as his gimmick is that he is going to win. That booking worked back in the 90's, Hulk Hogan vs ???? LOLHULKWINS, but today is a different time and place, Reigns needs something beyond getting handed free wins while laying around for 70% of a match in order to get any fan support.

Meanwhile, Ambrose is coming from the "Indy Darling" side of things, trying to get over when people knew him from other promotions, which is always a straight uphill battle, because Vince doesn't want anyone to get over that made a name for themselves outside of his company. I didnt care for him at first, but he's turned me. He offers me something different and unique that isn't super common among WWE, and his in ring psychology tells stories that make me care about him. They've been teasing pushing him to the ME since RR, giving him the last eliminated spot, and now, a "PPV" level title shot. Will they ever pull the trigger? who knows.

They just need to toss Reigns back in the mid card again and have him earn some fan respect before they try to make him the babyface again. Or turn him heel, something you can do WITH Ambrose that will get Roman over as a heel, and give Ambrose even more fire behind him, and of course the inevitable Seth return.

 

[LBGetBack]

I love Ambrose, really I do, but for him to win the title at Roadblock would just completely ruin what has been built for so long between Reigns and Trips. I'm of the thought that this won't be as bad for Reigns as the writer claims it will be. Will a majority of the fans be upset that Ambrose almost undeniably fails here? Absolutely, and I will be a tad upset at it myself, but so be it. I understand that Reigns isn't as over or as liked as Ambrose and blah blah blah, but Reigns has been chosen, they've been building this up, and that's that. Trips defending the strap against Dean successfully will hopefully put enough heat on him to outweigh the unnecessary heat that's on Roman, and I think this could build into a solid program that will benefit both Reigns and Ambrose. Ambrose fails at Roadblock, Reigns wins (LOL) at Mania, and from there they can build tension between the brothers, and ultimately lead up to a triple threat with Seth Rollins, the man that should be facing Trips at Mania (stupid injury), upon his return.

How can you "ruin" what isn't working and which seems primed to end in disaster? That disaster being the babyface being booed out of the ring to end Wrestlemania. Hell of a way to cap off the story.

Nah. Who cares if they've been planning it for a long time. Call an audible. If they want Reigns to win the title at Mania so badly, have him go heel and take it off Dean. Then he wins the title and gets booed out of the building....and now that's a GOOD thing as his heel heat would be off the charts.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Vince doesn't care about what the audience wants. Fans wants Dean Ambrose, but Vince wants Roman Reigns.

Reigns will be booed out the building when he defeats Triple H at WrestleMania 32. Does Vince care? He probably doesn't. Sure he's tried hard to get Reigns over, but his main goal is to make money. The fans who are going to boo Reigns out the building will still be subscribed to the Network and still watch Raw, so Vince is still getting their money and viewership. That's all he cares about.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

I love Ambrose, really I do, but for him to win the title at Roadblock would just completely ruin what has been built for so long between Reigns and Trips. I'm of the thought that this won't be as bad for Reigns as the writer claims it will be. Will a majority of the fans be upset that Ambrose almost undeniably fails here? Absolutely, and I will be a tad upset at it myself, but so be it. I understand that Reigns isn't as over or as liked as Ambrose and blah blah blah, but Reigns has been chosen, they've been building this up, and that's that. Trips defending the strap against Dean successfully will hopefully put enough heat on him to outweigh the unnecessary heat that's on Roman, and I think this could build into a solid program that will benefit both Reigns and Ambrose. Ambrose fails at Roadblock, Reigns wins (LOL) at Mania, and from there they can build tension between the brothers, and ultimately lead up to a triple threat with Seth Rollins, the man that should be facing Trips at Mania (stupid injury), upon his return.

That angle will be ruined when Reigns get booed out the building after he defeats Triple H at WM32.

 

[Sai the Uganda Guy]

How can you "ruin" what isn't working and which seems primed to end in disaster? That disaster being the babyface being booed out of the ring to end Wrestlemania. Hell of a way to cap off the story.

Nah. Who cares if they've been planning it for a long time. Call an audible. If they want Reigns to win the title at Mania so badly, have him go heel and take it off Dean. Then he wins the title and gets booed out of the building....and now that's a GOOD thing as his heel heat would be off the charts.

Honestly, I like this option better, but I am almost certain they won't do it. Vince believes that HHH beating Dean at Roadblock will be enough to put the heat on Trips and thus, off Roman. Will it happen? It's unlikely, but I am merely hoping for the best.

That angle will be ruined when Reigns get booed out the building after he defeats Triple H at WM32.

See above.

 

[enviousdominous]

I fear that the WWE is going to go against the grain and try to keep pushing Roman Reigns as a face.

From what I can tell; the fans boo Roman Reigns because he was pushed when the fans would have much rather seen a different person in that spot. The WWE seemed to assume that the only requirement to get someone over on the crowd is to arbitrarily put the world title on them.

It would have made sense to have made Roman go heel a long time ago, where as a face he's just pretending that he doesn't hear the crowd booing him.

I've heard many plausible scenarios. Lesnar could interfere and build heat for WrestleMania, which would be great for Dean vs Lesnar but wouldn't explain why Roman has been gone for almost a month. Roman interfering would be a disaster; he can't go heel because he's facing a heel at WrestleMania, costing Dean the match would make the crowd hate him even more and causing Dean to win the world title would destroy any chance of Roman being over with the crowd at WrestleMania.

I expect that Dean will lose, clean. This whole episode of WWE history will be quickly forgotten about and the WWE will fail in their attempt to push Roman Reigns as a face champion after WrestleMania.

 

[The Yes Guy]

I was just watching an episode back from 2012-13 and I could see names in that roster that could actually have sold out arenas.

I don't really see that with anyone today. Be it Reigns or Ambrose or any one of the roster. Someone like Punk, whether you love him or hate him, had the 'it' factor that has been missing today.

I won't blame WWE here because it's not really their fault. The whole roster lacks serious drawing power. People prefer Ambrose just because he's better than Reigns and not because of he is a draw.

So to answer the question, It's not gonna matter if they push Ambrose or Reigns, it'll be useless because they lack charisma. You wanna sell out WM, bring in some veterans.

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Who knows...maybe the WWE is playing us all. The card announcements could be bogus and they have been planning something else all along.

We could see this at Wrestlemania....

Champion Dean Ambrose vs Triple H vs Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns in a fatal four way Main Event for the WWE Championship. Triple H and the Authority help - Their Golden BOY - Roman Reigns win the championship via heel turn with additional outside help from an unsuspecting ( ??? ) Ending WM in shocking fashion for once.

 

[Navi]

I was just watching an episode back from 2012-13 and I could see names in that roster that could actually have sold out arenas.

I don't really see that with anyone today. Be it Reigns or Ambrose or any one of the roster. Someone like Punk, whether you love him or hate him, had the 'it' factor that has been missing today.

I won't blame WWE here because it's not really their fault. The whole roster lacks serious drawing power. People prefer Ambrose just because he's better than Reigns and not because of he is a draw.

So to answer the question, It's not gonna matter if they push Ambrose or Reigns, it'll be useless because they lack charisma. You wanna sell out WM, bring in some veterans.

I hear what you're saying and agree. If you look back over the last year or more what name do you see most often in the main event, Roman Reigns. Everyone else has been almost forgotten about in the effort to get Reigns up that mountain, and it is hurting the WWE. The do have wrestlers that if they put the time and effort into them would draw, and would sell out Cowboy Stadium, but Vince is hellbent on making Reigns a star. He is a star, but the fans have decided that someone else is a brighter star and they are going with him. Give Reigns his moment in the sun at Wrestlemania. I predict that it won't be pretty when the dust settles.

 

[Prince Vee]

Dean Ambrose has the natural Charisma that a wrestler or well a WWE Superstar should have, which Roman Reigns lack abundantly. Everyone would invest on watching Dean Ambrose than Roman Reigns (Although there are exceptions in all the cases). On Raw the promo between Triple H And Dean started off slowly but surely it went to the point that the fans crazily want Dean Ambrose to have a title shot. WWE isn't going to lose anything in giving the title to Dean for a PPV and watch what he can do with that. Because he hadn't done much with his US or IC title.

Amidst these senses, WWE made a right choice in making this match between Ambrose and Triple H at a house show because, TV might show how much the fans love Dean Ambrose which won't be good for the WWE or Roman Reigns.

Anyhow, WWE had experimented by giving the titles to the likes of Great Khali, Jack Swagger and even Mark Henry! Why not make Dean the part of that bloody experimental title reign??

 

[ShinChan]

Anyhow, WWE had experimented by giving the titles to the likes of Great Khali, Jack Swagger and even Mark Henry! Why not make Dean the part of that bloody experimental title reign??

Yeah. Unlike the people you mentioned, Ambrose is hugely over babyface despite poor booking and being Roman's sidekick most of the time. Remember when Ambrose defeated Rollins via DQ in the title match, the crowd erupted in cheers for him. The crowd is always gonna cheer him over Reigns and I believe that WWE should push him rightly for everyone's benefit including WWE as they can make a big babyface star in form of Ambrose but they are trying for Reigns as always.

​

 

[sMark]

WWE still have an option to get out of this corner - let Ambrose win at Roadblock by DQ and look at fans' reaction. If fans clearly want Ambrose to get the title, then use "shenanigans" and "Shane's stock" to make WM main event a fatal four way - HHH, Reigns, Ambrose, Lesnar and give Dean the title.

I believe Ambrose can be a "new Austin" for the fans to enjoy, the crowd sick and tired of formulatic and boring Cena style matches and promos for the last 10 years, so why not give them something different at least for a year or two.

 

[Mac]

WWE still have an option to get out of this corner - let Ambrose win at Roadblock by DQ and look at fans' reaction. If fans clearly want Ambrose to get the title, then use "shenanigans" and "Shane's stock" to make WM main event a fatal four way - HHH, Reigns, Ambrose, Lesnar and give Dean the title.

I believe Ambrose can be a "new Austin" for the fans to enjoy, the crowd sick and tired of formulatic and boring Cena style matches and promos for the last 10 years, so why not give them something different at least for a year or two.

I definitely don't want to see another fatal fourway main event at a WM. The WWE was hellbent on pushing their guy to the top spot to the point where they overlooked how over Ambrose was, and if it were obvious to me back in December that Ambrose should win the Rumble (without the title being defended in the Rumble) and have him go challenge for the title, then it had to be obvious to them. However they were stubbornly forcing Reigns in that spot despite him not being over enough to justify it. They need to give Reigns a heel turn at some point that's the only way to salvage him.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Honestly, I like this option better, but I am almost certain they won't do it. Vince believes that HHH beating Dean at Roadblock will be enough to put the heat on Trips and thus, off Roman. Will it happen? It's unlikely, but I am merely hoping for the best.

It won't though. There is no chance Reigns will be over when he defeats HHH at WM32.

Fans wants Ambrose. You give the fans what they want. They clearly want Ambrose over Reigns.

As I explained in an earlier post, it doesn't matter. Vince will get what he wants because screw the fans.

 

[Rhodes2TheFuture3313]

We all want Ambrose over Reigns. Nothing against Roman. He's a solid worker, but his promos are just so forced like what they tried to do with HBK back in 1996. It didn't work then and it's not working now. Ambrose is the FACE that everybody wants. Y? Because he has a character that he and the WWE Universe believe in. Roman is just a corporate Superman in a vest that can work solid matches, but he hasn't developed a character that everyone can relate to. Turn the guy heel. I think that is the only way to get him over at this point. Creative & Vince have failed Roman at this point.

 

[shafe_41]

We all want Ambrose over Reigns. Nothing against Roman. He's a solid worker, but his promos are just so forced like what they tried to do with HBK back in 1996. It didn't work then and it's not working now. Ambrose is the FACE that everybody wants. Y? Because he has a character that he and the WWE Universe believe in. Roman is just a corporate Superman in a vest that can work solid matches, but he hasn't developed a character that everyone can relate to. Turn the guy heel. I think that is the only way to get him over at this point. Creative & Vince have failed Roman at this point.

No they don't. At least I don't. I have no desire to see Ambrose over Reigns. Just not right now. I agree with the rest of your post though. To get Reigns over, he has to go heel. The only thing I can't stand at this point is the people complaining how terrible everything is RIGHT NOW. We're four weeks from Mania and the night after Mania where we hit the reset button. All three of your main events tied together in some way. Ambrose/Lesnar, Shane/Taker, Reigns/Triple H are all linked in some way which I don't believe is an accident. Things are going to happen. Things are going to change. This is the biggest time of the year for change.

So is WWE painting themselves into a corner? Hell no. Not even close. The night after Mania, anything can happen. Biggest reset button of the year. All this complaining about how terrible the product is and how much everybody hates Reigns will cease to exist the night after Mania. I would legit bet on it. Ok... maybe not the overall product part. But I would certainly bet nobody hates where Reigns is the night after Mania. All you have to do is thing back to last year at Mania where everybody thought Reigns was maybe going to go over Lesnar. Enter Rollins. Obviously there's no MitB this year to consider, but not a single person saw Rollins inserting himself INTO the match last year. Nobody. If you say otherwise, you're a liar. So we'll have to wait until after Mania for a shakeup this year. But it's going to happen. Just give things time.

 

[conici]

When has what the fans wanted ever mattered? To add on about Bryan, Vince didn't cave because the fans were cheering Bryan. he caved because Punk left and pointed out hot over Bryan was yet wwe was going in a different direction - Vince had egg on his face. He had to prove Punk wrong which is why they went with a stupid angle where Bryan had to win a match to get a title match later that night when him winning the Rumble would have been so much easier. They know they would make a ton of money off of it so they went with it.

With Ambrose, you have a different situation. He is nowhere near as over as Bryan was. wwe can still push Reigns because there is really no one who is so over that the fans will revolt. They can have Reigns win and hold the title for a while and then push Ambrose and nothing will change. Fans will cheer for Ambrose in Toronto but they will also cheer for Reigns when he wins at Mania.

That theory is wrong, Punk's interview with Cabana came out at the end of 2014, Bryan won the title at 30 in April(?) So you're flat out wrong.

So it's better to push a guy who gets no reaction or reaction that WWE want instead of a guy who is probably the hottest thing in the company right now. But not it's 100% the better idea to push Reigns in that spot

 

[thebarber]

With the ridiculous 50/50 win loss booking, nobody stands out anymore. Reigns will be winning the title to end Mania 32. Road Block is going to be used to create the last 3-4 matches that haven't been announced. If AJ Styles is in a throwaway multiman tag match, then that will do me. Surely Kevin Owens vs AJ vs Jericho vs Zayne would be a better option. Looks like both secondary titles and tag titles will be multi man matches. Unless they have a huge swerve planned, this Mania is looking very ordinary

 

[Weems2k]

The only reason Overacting Ambrose is as over like he is; cause the E's fanbase are a bunch of Internet Hipster's. He's the opposite of what Vince and Co. are pushing. Just like with Reigns, as soon as they start pushing Ambrose to the moon, and setting him up as the next guy, the boo's will "reign" down on him too. Wouldn't shock me at that point that a heel Reigns, or even Cena stat getting huge pops again.