Is Roman ready?

[TheICChampion]

Let's put the fact that Lesnar has re-signed aside, shall we? WWE may still go with Reigns as champion at WrestleMania. The question is, considering the fact he hasn't been given a lot of time, do you feel he's ready to take that spot? Why or why not? I feel he's as ready as he's ever going to be, given the amount of time he's had, and he has improved greatly since we first learned he was going to WrestleMania for the WWE title. Has he proven to you that he's ready? I know his promos need work still, and that's OK. I personally can live with that, as he's not supposed to be a talker. He's supposed to be an ass-kicker. Taking all that into consideration, what do you think?

 

[CharlesKane]

He's been pushed because of his look, his family name and he has some potential. The potential is there but it's not realized yet.

But honestly, his biggest problem is comparison to Seth Rollins. They came up together worked together and went solo at the same time and Rollins is a fully realized character and the top full time heel in the company. Maybe the comparison isn't fair, but That's life.

Another 6-12 months and Reigns should be ready and then it's an easy sell

 

[John McCass]

I'll go with the 3rd option. He's getting there. As has been mentioned, the biggest drawback for him is comparison to his fellow wrestlers. Guys surrounding him are much talented and charismatic such as Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Dolph Ziggler, Daniel Bryan etc. All these people are vastly talented and have a big fan following than Reigns. In comparison to these men, Reigns is like a dust particle. I'm not saying that he can't be "The Guy". He surely can be "The Guy". He's improving his work day by day. His mic skills are improving, ring work will also enhance if he is paired with aforementioned guys and not with Brock Lesnar, as of now. Maybe, he can surprise me but it is all about previous showings. He's getting ready and will reach the point by the time WrestleMania 32 comes. All he need is some buildup in the midcard and pairings with talented guys.

 

[Navi]

I picked number 3, he's getting there. He has come a long way but still has lot's to learn and given the chance he will. I worry that this push which in my opinion has come too soon might just do him in, in the end. It's a lot of pressure to put on someone as inexperienced as he is.

I guess it's a wait and see situation.

 

[Mac]

He's getting there but he still isn't ready imo. He should've been in Cena's spot in the US title match. I really don't know or understand the WWE's rush to place Reigns in the main event now. He isn't going anywhere let him develop and build his buzz organically. But he has the look, he's a little green in the ring but not terrible, his mic skills are improving and he has a little charisma.

 

[DexVendetta88]

I took "he's getting there" because he has all the momentum, and talent in the world to be in the main event picture. The only problem is his current push is just too rushed. He hasn't been given enough time to be properly built up, let alone build any character and charisma which I feel are his greatest weaknesses. Usually during WM season you see a lot of heavy builds which relies heavily on character and charisma, but so far this year I'm not impressed with how Roman is being handled. I'm just not sold on him main eventing WM which in turn makes his match with Brock Lesnar very anti-climactic. I've been watching wrestling my whole life, but this is honestly the 1st time I am not sold on the main event match. I would be cool if Roman headlines next year or in 2017, but right now he still has so much to work on.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

IMHO, i think that roman is being rushed, way too much to my taste. Even brock who was rushed to the main event, had more singles matches in his bag before getting the title from the rock.

Lets be honest guys, roman has potential, i can dig the guy, but i dont think that he had more than 2 o 3 singles matches in PPVs. yes...2 or 3 TOPS.

Its NOT a prospect to send right to the main event of wrestlemania, against a veteran like brock.

I hope that a) im totally wrong, and the guy delivers big time, or b) wwe realized that he is not ready, and let brock go over clean, yet make roman to be a tough fight.

option b its to me the more real, roman can get more out of a loss than a win this sunday. Randy, Bryan, off the top of my head, were promising talents that got better from their loss in their first high profile match at wm.

 

[OYDK]

Is anybody ever really ready? Roman Reigns since the Royal Rumble has been improving steadily, and I'm all for Reigns continuing to improve with the gold around his waist. It does happen on rare occasions where, somebody wins the WWE Championship and steps their game up exponentially, and I think it could happen with Roman Reigns.

I think his biggest problem is confidence. It seems as if he's trying too hard to make everything perfect, and is botching in the process. Perhaps, if he wins the title, he'll be a little more comfortable with his situation. In this situation, I'll also go with option 3 as I don't think he's absolutely ready yet but I think he could evolve a lot quicker and more effectively as the WWEWHC. If he's not ready at the start of his reign, he'll be ready by the end of it.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I picked number 3, he's getting there.

Me, too. I fully disagree with the "he's come as far as he can" choice because since Reigns returned from injury, he's obviously been working hour after hour on everything from his in-ring repertoire to his work on the mic, and the fact he's improved so much in this short period of time indicates to me he's capable of even more.

True, at some point everyone reaches their level of incompetence and can go no higher (remember The Peter Principle?) But Roman is still only 29 and I fully believe he's capable of enormous improvement.

 

[bioshock]

He still cant cut a promo, and his wrestling is still suspect, well as if that matters, Cena been suspect for years and that never mattered. I think it just falls back on promos, if you cant cut a solid promo your not going to be the guy, unless your a freak like Lesnar and your that damn good, at that point you can just have a mouthpiece manager.

SO my pick is 2 - not even close. Biggest drawback is he cant cut a promo. He hasn't progressed at all in the last year on the mic. Look at how many promos Rock and Cena did leading to their WM matches, compared to Reigns who has cut almost zero promos leading to the match. His longest promo was in a studio.

 

[laodaron]

Well, since every single big name in the history of pro-wrestling says that it's impossible for someone to be ready for their first big push, this is a silly topic.

That being said, he's as ready as he can be currently for a top end push. He's great in the ring (watch him make DB look better than almost ever at Fastlane), he's solid on the mic, and he's believable as the top dog. But I don't want Brock to lose the belt. I'd like to see Roman get Brock to the 123, and have Rollins interfere.

 

[Navi]

He still cant cut a promo, and his wrestling is still suspect, well as if that matters, Cena been suspect for years and that never mattered. I think it just falls back on promos, if you cant cut a solid promo your not going to be the guy, unless your a freak like Lesnar and your that damn good, at that point you can just have a mouthpiece manager.

SO my pick is 2 - not even close. Biggest drawback is he cant cut a promo. He hasn't progressed at all in the last year on the mic. Look at how many promos Rock and Cena did leading to their WM matches, compared to Reigns who has cut almost zero promos leading to the match. His longest promo was in a studio.

Listen I have been one of his harshest critics on cutting a promo, but it's not as easy as it looks. Public speaking isn't something that everyone can do, and it is listed as one of the biggest fears people have. I think it comes it at number two behind fear of flying.

He hasn't been on his own for that long, and when he was with the Shield, Rollins and Ambrose did the talking for him. He is getting better, but they have to stop scripting him so much. He doesn't sound natural and that's why, he's trying to hard too remember his lines. You can almost hear the wheels turning as he's talking.

If you watch him on interviews like Conan O'Brien the other night, he came off rather well. Funny and quick witted, totally unlike the Roman Reigns we've seen in the wrestling ring. His wrestling abilities will come along as well so I don't think they should give up on him just yet. I don't think they should have pushed him as quickly as they did either, but if he survives this, then he'll be fine.

 

[#1druid]

Well, since every single big name in the history of pro-wrestling says that it's impossible for someone to be ready for their first big push, this is a silly topic.

That being said, he's as ready as he can be currently for a top end push. He's great in the ring (watch him make DB look better than almost ever at Fastlane), he's solid on the mic, and he's believable as the top dog. But I don't want Brock to lose the belt. I'd like to see Roman get Brock to the 123, and have Rollins interfere.

Are you honestly saying Reigns made DB look good? when it's very obviously the other way around. Roman winning will ruin his career he's not ready, the crowd is rejecting him and him losing may be his only shot to recover. If he loses he can get some sympathy which he is sorely lacking. He should lose a series of big matches and just look sad. One of the best things that ever happened to Daniel Bryan was his 18 second loss to sheamus. Reigns needs to feel like management is rejecting him and then the crowd might sympathize.

 

[laodaron]

Are you honestly saying Reigns made DB look good? when it's very obviously the other way around. Roman winning will ruin his career he's not ready, the crowd is rejecting him and him losing may be his only shot to recover. If he loses he can get some sympathy which he is sorely lacking. He should lose a series of big matches and just look sad. One of the best things that ever happened to Daniel Bryan was his 18 second loss to sheamus. Reigns needs to feel like management is rejecting him and then the crowd might sympathize.

We watched different matches then. Roman Reigns made Daniel Bryan look like a heavyweight competitor for the first time in his career. Otherwise, DB has always looked like a midcarder reaching above his station. Kick kick kick, running kick. Roman helped him look like a force.

Requiring all that other crap is unnecessary for a guy that's already ready.

 

[#1druid]

We watched different matches then. Roman Reigns made Daniel Bryan look like a heavyweight competitor for the first time in his career. Otherwise, DB has always looked like a midcarder reaching above his station.

Requiring all that other crap is unnecessary for a guy that's already ready.

Bryan beat evolution clean with one arm in one night and looked fine doing it. Someone's position on the card has nothing to do with looks, it's the crowd's connection with them, it's why bryan is where he is and why reigns is going where he's going. He's winning before he's ready and he's floundering, sorry you want to see your guy fail so bad just to say "he's ready." Bret/luger=bryan/reigns sorry dude.

 

[laodaron]

Bryan beat evolution clean with one arm in one night and looked fine doing it. Someone's position on the card has nothing to do with looks, it's the crowd's connection with them, it's why bryan is where he is and why reigns is going where he's going. He's winning before he's ready and he's floundering, sorry you want to see your guy fail so bad just to say "he's ready." Bret/luger=bryan/reigns sorry dude.

It's funny. Roman is SUPER over at live shows and in non-smark cities. He's better in the ring than smarks give him credit for. There's literally only one thing that's bad for his career, and that's not being a favorite of the smark asshole bunch. He will forever get the Cena treatment, not because of the WWE, but because of shitty fans that can't respect how good he really is.

 

[CharlesKane]

It's funny. Roman is SUPER over at live shows and in non-smark cities. He's better in the ring than smarks give him credit for. There's literally only one thing that's bad for his career, and that's not being a favorite of the smark asshole bunch. He will forever get the Cena treatment, not because of the WWE, but because of shitty fans that can't respect how good he really is.

You do realize the "Cena" treatment as you call it has been a reaction to his stale character that stopped evolving in 2005. Most people fully admit that Cena is good and they respect him but he needs to change his tired character portrayal.

So Reigns is getting the same treatment as Cena in your estimation but after only 6 months of becoming a singles wrestler, that's not a stale character. That's a guy who only got over in Vince's imagination and then was shoved down the fans' throats.

And before you say he was over after the shield break up, it is a farce, the shield was over as a unit, he kept the gimmick and fans were lead to believe he and Dean would be sticking together even as singles wrestler, so he was still getting the shield pop not his own.

 

[#1druid]

It's funny. Roman is SUPER over at live shows and in non-smark cities. He's better in the ring than smarks give him credit for. There's literally only one thing that's bad for his career, and that's not being a favorite of the smark asshole bunch. He will forever get the Cena treatment, not because of the WWE, but because of shitty fans that can't respect how good he really is.

Every face is super over at house shows even Batista was. So what you're saying is that he's not as popular as others and therefor undeserving of his push? Every narrative called for daniel Bryan to come back and get the rematch for the title he never lost, wwe did this by putting bryan in the rumble and giving people hope. If bryan came back after the rumble things might have not gone so bad. People love db they just like reigns.

 

[Dave]

I went for "He's almost there" for one reason and one reason alone; he's going to be continually pushed by the WWE until he is there. Whether the fans like him, loathe him or don't give a solitary shit either way, he is a future World Champion. There is no doubt about it. His performances since the Royal Rumble have been inconsistent but similarly have been getting consistently better than what he was putting out 6 months ago if you ask me. Even after Mania, Roman Reigns will continue to be a huge asset for the WWE and someone around which the WWE will be holding their company. He's going to have plenty of time to get there and he is showing signs of improving. Brock signing his contract has bailed the WWE out from a particularly embarrassing and horrible situation. Putting the title on Reigns was not the right thing at the moment and they've managed to get an out from Lesnar. But like I said, Roman is on his way.

 

[boywithbluehanger]

As far as the man goes, he's fully capable of being a main event player in the WWE. All that it takes to be a main event guy is a threatening build (large/fat or large/muscular), tall (6'0"+), passable mic work for the sake of promos, and in-ring stamina for lengthy matches. That's just for the man. The rest (finishers, dialogue, character personality, wardrobe) is up for the creative team to put together.

So while the man (Joe Anoaʻi) is ready, the character Roman Reigns, is not.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I'm torn between "No, not even close" and "He's getting there." I do think Reigns has potential that hasn't really been tapped, or maybe it's just going to take more time and experience for that to come out. At the same time, the overall booking of his feud with Lesnar makes me feel, to some degree, that he's not even close. However, in my opinion, he's most certainly NOT ready for this spot.

If the reports of Vince ultimately writing his stuff for him are true, then all the blame can't be put on his shoulders. For the most part, I don't think Vince's booking decisions, especially for the top matches this year, have been all that spectacular and the ratings that Raw has been pulling in over the course of WrestleMania season may well reflect that. There's been so very, very, very little interaction, intrigue and passion between Lesnar & Reigns that I'm less invested in this WWE Championship match than at, possibly, any other in WrestleMania history. Bray Wyatt's done an excellent job on his promos and I admit that I'm genuinely curious to see how Taker looks, feels and can perform Sunday, but this intrigue doesn't yet ease any doubts as to whether or not the match will be lousy. I also think that Sting vs. Triple H could've used some more interaction between them, though I have enjoyed the tension and the overall storyline. I don't know if this is so, but I kept getting the feeling that much of WrestleMania season last year had more final calls being made by Triple H. I might be completely wrong on Trips being allowed to make more final calls last year, it's just that the overall atmosphere just felt a lot more energized and seemed more in tune with what we tend to see in NXT compared to the current WrestleMania season and the numbers from last year were where they're supposed to be.

 

[MCMG]

He is almost, almost there. Reigns has all the potential in the world and it just needs to fall into place. He has a certain type of charisma. Sure it doesn't ooze out of him like with Cena but remember what The Rock was like when he was young. Sure Reigns will never get to that level but it takes time to get into your comfort zone.

His delivery on the mic has improved but the content is holding him back. Perhaps the writers and Vince need to have a complete re-think. Maybe someone like Triple H is put in place simply to help write his promos because when the content is poor it can't help his performance.

In the ring he is already underrated. An unbelievable thought. He had terrific matches with The Shield and people hide behind the fact there were 5 others in the match. Incredible matches as a tag with Rollins, even then, people don't want to give him credit. An awesome match with Bryan; apparently he was "carried". Reigns won't win now and he probably never will. Even if him and Brock tear the house down; Reigns won't get much credit.

The perception of Reigns is set for many. That's fine, whatever, but the potential is there for everyone with half a mind to see. He is improving constantly and seems to have a great work-ethic. Maybe it's just a switch that needs to be flicked for him. Like Austin randomly doing some commentary and being so good it changed his career and the entire landscape of WWE. Reigns might not be 100% ready but he is close enough to take this chance.

 

[Just Do It]

He is going to have to get used to the boos, that's for sure. I wonder at this point how people would re perceiving his in ring work if he were getting cheers. Mechanically I don't see anything wrong with him. Awkward on the stick (but look what he has to work with at times).

 

[Doctor Awesome]

It's really hard for any of us to say for sure if he's ready or not but for the sake of the argument I'd say no. The best thing that could happen for his rise as an individual in the company is to lose on Sunday. Lose, but turn in a serious effort that is convincing. People will pop for his shoulders staying down for a three count but that dose of humility will let people know that he is working hard to overcome all the doubts surrounding him and still keep him in that upper mid-card/main event spot. Beyond Mania, continue to get him booked on shows like Conan (he was pretty good on there) and let his personality shine, unscripted. Whichever producer is working on that match needs to make sure these two go all the way with the match as many (including myself) believe the pace will be too slow. Go hard, go fast but ultimately lose and live to see another day.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

There should be a "Who cares?" option. I don't. All new talents eventually find their place on the roster. Almost all end up where they belong. Be it in the main event or future endeavored. Put him in the spotlight and let him see how he does. Sink or swim. If he sinks, they'll put him elsewhere on the card until he can either work his way back or stay where he belongs.