Reigns' Arsenal & A Step in the Right Direction

[Seosa]

Reigns impressed me to a degree last night. A few weeks ago I wondered whether he'd benefit from adopting a number of suplexes & I felt it represented an improvement on his behalf. His German suplexes were a bit awkward, but the sambo-like suplex & the belly-to-belly were decent. I feel sorry for Reigns because Vince has dicked him over with his booking but he has the opportunity now to get the crowds on his side with an improved arsenal & hopefully by unleashing himself a bit on the mic. I'm not blowing his trumpet too early, but I felt last night was a move in the right direction.

Thoughts?

 

[Navi]

It seems that he pulls a few new tricks out of the bag last night, but will they be effective against someone like Lesnar. Reigns can't go technical with him simply because he's not a technical guy, so he's going to have to bust out some power moves and hope they're effective.

He won some fans back last night, but the WWE will have to be careful with his booking from now to Mania, so he doesn't lose them again. Keep him the hell away from Big Show.

 

[Seosa]

Admittedly, I'm quite intrigued by the idea of Reigns trying to belly-to-belly Lesnar like Angle used to.

 

[Escher]

Has Reigns wrestling ability ever been up for debate? I thought it was obvious that he's talented or for the cynics 'shows potential'. Granted he's no technical specialist but is that really the prerequisit for talent that everyone seems to think it is. Don't get me wrong I love that Reigns is adding new moves to his arsenal, but are those few new moves really what we should be basing our expectations of the WM match on? No, not really. As much as I was hoping for a Bryan victory last night (because a Bryan/Lesnar match would be phenomenal) it still has to be said that Lesnar is (when he can be bothered to try) a brilliant athelete and has often shown he can bring out the best in his opponents. So Reigns/Lesnar while not ideal should be good.

 

[Prince Vee]

Yeah it really worked I never had thought he could pull out some cool moves. The match started off awkward just showing Roman stronger over Daniel but in the end it finished off in a pretty good fashion and even a Roman Reigns hate like me enjoyed the match.

Now it looks more legit that he can be a worthy opponent to face Brock at Wrestlemania. More importantly he proved that he can Wrestle!!

Cheers!!

 

[kadroan]

Reigns impressed me to a degree last night. A few weeks ago I wondered whether he'd benefit from adopting a number of suplexes & I felt it represented an improvement on his behalf. His German suplexes were a bit awkward, but the sambo-like suplex & the belly-to-belly were decent. I feel sorry for Reigns because Vince has dicked him over with his booking but he has the opportunity now to get the crowds on his side with an improved arsenal & hopefully by unleashing himself a bit on the mic. I'm not blowing his trumpet too early, but I felt last night was a move in the right direction.

Thoughts?

It's great he brought out new moves. I was really impressed he did a powerbomb off the top rope. I been wanting him to do a powerbomb for the longest.

 

[achromat666]

My problem with Reigns was never his look, his fan appeal or his limited moves in the ring. It was the booking. Yes Roman did show a lot in the PPV match with Bryan, but the problem is if they gave us this kind of match before the Rumble, many of his naysayers would have been more willing to give him a chance. Reigns was out for months and they treated his return like he never left when he'd obviously lost a ton of momentum and hadn't grown as a performer in his time away. We needed more of the growth before the Rumble win.

As it stands, he merely looks better. He still doesn't look like he can beat Lesnar, he just looks like he has more of a chance. Sadly I think it's as good as it will get for him before WM because they've wasted so much of his current push on pointless matches and not showing us why we think he should face Lesnar.

 

[Mustang Sally]

... but the problem is if they gave us this kind of match before the Rumble, many of his naysayers would have been more willing to give him a chance.

Granted, but now that folks will have a month to digest....and hopefully accept ....the idea that Roman is in the main event at WM31, maybe they can get behind it. As the fact the guy has obviously been working hard on his ring repertoire becomes more and more apparent, perhaps a lot of folks will simply accept the idea it's not going to be their little buddy Daniel in there ....and start to consider how Roman will do.

I thought Reigns did a fine job last night. Did it help that he had a guy like Daniel, who knew what he was doing? Absolutely! Still, I can't remember Roman going that long in a match as a single before, and he looked sharp and intense the whole way through.

I'm telling you, someone has been burning the midnight oil with Reigns these past few months, teaching him to work. If he didn't have what it takes in the first place, there would be trouble going into the biggest event of the year and they probably would've found a way to work Daniel, or someone else, into the match with Brock. In fact, a bunch of us thought that's what last night's match was all about, right?

But it's plain that the WWE braintrust has decided to keep things as planned. I'm looking forward to seeing Reigns against Brock.

 

[LuckyLouie]

I dont like him so I was bummed he won. He is throwing a few new moves in doesn't change the fact the he looks like a total joke next to Lesnar. He doesnt look mean, he cant out wrestle him, he cant out power him. Nothing against him....but Brock is from another world. While Db looked weak, he could out wrestle and would be a achievement if he would have beat Lesnar. But if Roman beats Lesnar for the title, to me it looks worse then Arquette winning the title. The problem is you cant really have any new guys beat Lesnar for the title since Lesnar just killed the streak and has not bean beaten. So there really is no one who can look good against Lesnar.

 

[GeminiGarlord]

Blah, It was actually a bit pathetic on this last raw how there was like 20 minutes of people telling us how great roman reign is supposed to be while he was standing there looking slightly annoyed.

I'd say show don't tell, but there's not much to show there.

 

[Mustang Sally]

In politics, two people of the same political party run against each other to gain the office they seek. During the campaign, they go after each other like mortal enemies, but after the primary, we often see the loser throw behind the winner and give his endorsement, urging the voters to get behind the guy he just spent months trying to convince us wasn't worthy of the office.

This reminds me of Daniel Bryan's endorsement of Roman Reigns on last night's Raw. It was well done; it wasn't as if Daniel tried to convince us he loved Roman all along. He made it clear he tried his best.....lost....and now was urging Roman to beat Brock Lesnar in his place.

Okay, the goal was to get people behind Roman Reigns, particularly the folks who've been clamoring for Daniel Bryan. In that, they used the right move; who better to get people used to the idea that Daniel wouldn't be going for the title than Daniel himself?

Will it work? That's harder to say; a lot of folks have decided to dislike Roman Reigns and they'll stick with it, particularly if they've declared that he's a bad wrestler, which at least is a more valid reason than others they might come up with. Roman is improving each week; some folks will recognize that while others won't.

But, I believe it's time to forget about Daniel in the main event at WM31 ....and even Daniel himself has assured us this is the way to go. Don't worry, Daniel fans, he'll be at the big event, with plenty of his own to do. His chant will be there too, and a grand time is guaranteed for all Bryan fans.

All in all, I think Daniel's endorsement was a good move by WWE.

 

[DB-Fan]

All in all, I think Daniel's endorsement was a good move by WWE.

If Bryan's endorsement had ended the segment I'd be more apt to agree with you. But it didn't. Instead we also got Heyman coming in and going way beyond what Daniel did in giving an endorsement, he gave the guy something better than what I hear at most eulogies. Good gosh, it was over the top. Way too far over the top.

In fact, I'm not sure when I can ever remember Vince being so desperate to get a guy over with two, back-to-back endorsements like that. It was sad to be honest. And if the WWE isn't careful, it will burn them by causing more fans to turn on the guy. Most fans hate being "told" who to root for and who to respect. And that's exactly what Raw attempted to do last night with Reigns. It was too stinking obvious and too over the top, imho.

We'll see how it plays out, but my guess is that at Wrestlemania Brock receives the lion's share of the cheers and Reigns will get the majority of the boos. It's just not smart to force a guy down the throats of the WWE in the 21st century. Vince has yet to learn that.

 

[Navi]

Will it work? That's harder to say; a lot of folks have decided to dislike Roman Reigns and they'll stick with it, particularly if they've declared that he's a bad wrestler, which at least is a more valid reason than others they might come up with. Roman is improving each week; some folks will recognize that while others won't.

All in all, I think Daniel's endorsement was a good move by WWE.

I don't think people dislike Reigns because they think he's a bad wrestler. There is a huge difference between bad and inexperienced, which is what Reigns is. He's inexperienced. If you look at his body of work there isn't much there, and what fans are protesting about is that fact and that fact alone.

Reigns walked through the door, great look, but had to start learning from scratch. Now after 4 years in the business and 5 months as a singles wrestler he's being catapulted over other's that have spend year's crafting their style.

What Bryan said last night was true. The WWE equates size, power and physique to being top dog. But they forget about heart, which some who are overlooked have in spades. That's why people like Bryan and don't like Reigns. It's not that he's a bad wrestler there is just so many more that are better.

They had no choice but to have Bryan endorse him, nothing else was working. it was kind of their last hurrah.

 

[CyberPunk]

The more I see, the more I believe that WWE is trying to hard to make Roman likeable. Endorsement from Rock, Paul Heyman and Daniel Bryan, all to make Roman Reigns look good and likeable and I have no problems with endorsements. However, somewhere this doesn't fit his character. He is not John Cena, he's not Daniel Bryan, he is not Hogan, he is Roman Reigns. So let him be.

I like what Roman has been doing since the Royal Rumble. He has shown more aggression and at Fastlane he showed that he can do more inside the ring as well, and that is all good. However, you want fans to buy into Roman being ready for Mania match, then make him do something like that. Let him be the badass who kicks people's ass. He should have speared the hell out of Kane and Big Show at ring side instead of laughing when Bryan tagged in and won the match. Unfortunately, they are hellbent on making him likeable instead of the badass who can take on Lesnar.

May be I am getting too worked up over the small details. My point is, don't try too hard with Reigns. Don't try and make the crowd accept him. Instead, just unleash him and hope that his work can convince the people. Don't keep drumming the fact that Reigns is the guy.

 

[Dave]

Someone has been working with him, that's for sure. Not only has he been better in the ring, his promo skills have on a bit, too. Now don't get me wrong, I am far from a believer at this point. But at the very least I can see him having a decent match with Lesnar at Mania. I do think there is a lot of work to be done with Reigns but maybe he can go on to be successful in the WWE, and I don't mean at the behest of the WWE and Vince McMahon.

I am still very much unconvinced about his longevity but he has certainly been putting people in the ir place and working hard to show that he can do it on the biggest stage of them all. Good on him.

 

[#1druid]

Last night's pandering was terrible for everyone involved but it shows how desperate they are. Remember Daniel Bryan's push? "B+ player, too short, beard, too small" now for reigns it's " this man is a god! He cured cancer! And single handedly stopped black oppression! And with one stern look broke down the Berlin Wall! Who stopped hitler? Roman reigns!" Believe that!" This is pathetic they're trying to get him over by using the guy people actually want to endorse him. I'm starting to think vince is terminal and these last few years have been a screw you to hhh because he'll have to clean up the mess.

 

[Bockwinkel's Class]

I dont like him so I was bummed he won. He is throwing a few new moves in doesn't change the fact the he looks like a total joke next to Lesnar. He doesnt look mean, he cant out wrestle him, he cant out power him. Nothing against him....but Brock is from another world. While Db looked weak, he could out wrestle and would be a achievement if he would have beat Lesnar. But if Roman beats Lesnar for the title, to me it looks worse then Arquette winning the title. The problem is you cant really have any new guys beat Lesnar for the title since Lesnar just killed the streak and has not bean beaten. So there really is no one who can look good against Lesnar.

The whole point of building up Lesnar to be a monster is precisely so a new guy can beat him and get the rub for slaying the dragon. It's the only point of having monster heels in the first place. It's the reason every monster heel in the history of wrestling has been built. You don't waste the rub on someone who doesn't need it.