Report: Alleged Skepticism On Roman Reigns

[Jack-Hammer]

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there's a lot of skepticism among WWE officials as Reigns being ready for a big WrestleMania push. The report further states that Reigns needs promo work and isn't that good on his own in lengthy singles matches, but WWE is in need of a new top babyface star and that spot is his. The report also mentions that Daniel Bryan is not WWE's type for the main event role, no matter how fans react to him, and there are still uncertainties regarding Bryan's future due to neck and elbow injuries.

That leaves Reigns and Dean Ambrose as the new top babyfaces. Ambrose is a better in-ring worker and delivers better promos but he fits less into WWE's mold of what they want their top babyface star to be. While Ambrose and Reigns both do strong merchandise numbers, with Ambrose's new hoodie being #1 during Thanksgiving, neither is doing numbers strong enough to be a top guy.

However, WWE will likely stick with the plans for Reigns' WrestleMania push as he's still considered the new top babyface.

So IF this is accurate, then fans aren't the only ones who have doubts that Reigns isn't ready. The stuff about Daniel Bryan isn't surprising as we all know that Vince just doesn't see Bryan as the type. Remember, Vince believes that a certain physical type should be the top guy. However, if fans push hard enough, want it badly enough and Bryan recovers, he'll be elevated back to the main event spot.

As far as Dean Ambrose goes, I don't know if he's completely "ready" for the spot, but he's far closer to being ready than Roman Reigns is in my eyes.

 

[TheICChampion]

I'm just ready to see anyone else in that top spot other than Cena or Orton. That being said, I'd personally prefer it to be Ambrose. With his gimmick being that he's crazy and willing to do anything to hurt his opponent he's a little more believable as the guy to take on Lesnar after Cena has his turn AGAIN. Besides, to be a top guy you need to hold your own on a mike and Ambrose is much more capable of a mike battle with Heyman, which is pretty much what we have in store for most of the weeks leading up to WrestleMania. Reigns isn't going to have a whole lot of opportunities to prove himself in a fight with Lesnar, so they're going to have to rely on promos for this match.

 

[GOOZEKING]

I really don't understand why WWE have this thing over what the face of the company should look like. It doesn't make sense to discriminate against anyone who is marketable. It's like they're cutting off their nose to spite their face. Then again, I suppose it's up to the roster to force them to have to change their minds. See Stone Cold. I like Reigns, but his inevitable win of the title would be much better when he and the fans are truly ready for it. Who knows?, maybe both will come about by WrestleMania season. I'd just love to see him be given the chance to get the strap she. the crowd it at fever pitch for it. 'Til then, continue getting some seasoning and experienced and getting more over. The Reigns we see today has untapped potential, but it would feel so contrived if he picked up the belt against Lesnar. A bit of a kick in the balls for the Zigglers, Rollins' and Ambroses' (among others) who have also seen meteoric rises

 

[Torgo]

Thank goodness. Reigns needs to mature. He is like a green apple, hard and sour. But, give him time and he will be great (probably).

Vince loves the guy, and I can see why. He has a great look, but what good is that if he can only cut brutal promos and do carbon copy matches. It's like a Ferrari with a 2 cylinder engine in it.

As far as Daniel Bryan is concerned,i and figured that all along. I knew Vince wouldn't like a small, hairy, guy. I'm happy with Bryan being on upper midcard to the maybe upper card. But if Reigns isn't ready, they are going to have to put Bryan in the spotlight. No one wants Cena vs Lesnar round 5(0000000). They also could figure something out with Orton vs Lesnar, which would be awesome and fresh.

Bottom line- Reigns, like a fine cheese, needs to mature. Give him a year or so, let him work on promos and ring work (with his cousin?) and then put him in the spotlight.

 

[MasterDebator]

This alleged inside report seems less like an accurate inside scoop and more like the collective manifestation of fan-boys who are anti-Reigns. While nothing in wrestling is ever set in stone, I'm still unconvinced that Reigns won't be winning the Rumble to go on to face Lesnar. In fact, I credit WWE (if they go this route) with having back-to-back Wrestlemania main events featuring "new" wrestlers that could potentially carry the torch in lieu of Cena.

Reigns reminds me of a football player who is initially drafted for size and athleticism rather than football acumen. The prevailing opinion can sometimes be that you can't teach size, so therefore, draft the sumbitch and teach him how to harness his size to make him a football player. WWE will (hopefully) work on Reigns' promos, but will breathe easy knowing they don't need to teach him to be a dastardly good-looking male wrestler with generational acumen and a zeal for the business.

Also, who else is there? Ambrose? Reigns' pops > Ambrose's pops. Reigns works just as well in the ring. Ziggler? He's the only guy I could think of in terms of crowd reaction. Randy Orton? Y'all do nothing but complain about how stale and overrated he is. Bryan? Yeah, this is my Christmas wish, too, but the dude is (supposedly...) hurt and unable to compete.

That leaves Reigns. Deal with it.

 

[Stan Hansen]

I don't get it, what's the rush? Is Cena suddenly going to drop himself down the ladder? Are they doing to stop shoving his merchandise onto the shelves? I don't see that happening at or after WM31. Is Cena leaving? Taking time off? Taking a limited schedule? I don't see any of that happening either.

Reigns is not and will not be ready by WM 31 to be the top face of the company. It's painfully obvious. He has far too many issues to fix in such a short time. He can't talk, can't work a good match on his own, pushing him to the moon this early could be a killer moment for his career.

Why can't he be a heel? His current character, look, and attitude all fit that better than him being a face. Him being a face just seems out of place to me. I personally think that Reigns could be a damn good heel and it would allow him time to work on his promo skills and ring work. It will give him time to work on his in ring psychology and connecting with the crowd. Give him a big Mania moment this year as a heel turn, give him a mouthpiece and let it work itself out. Let him grow his character and his ring work and work towards a big face turn when he's ready.

I don't see Lesnar coming back after Mania, the company will need a big time monster heel. Reigns fits that bill as good as anyone.

I know people see Rollins as being the company's main heel going forward but I think he would work as good or better as a tweener. Rollins will be able to do whatever the company asks him to do in my opinion. Whether that be face, heel or something in between. I think he has the ability to pull it off.

 

[Radical Canadian Goose]

I can understand the skepticism on Reigns. He is not really my pick to face Brock at Mania because he still seems a little green. As for other options, I'm not really sure. Ambrose doesn't seem to be Vince's type either. Rollins, still not really Vince's type, but for one I can't see him turning face before Mania. Orton? Meh, I'd love to see a Lesnar/Orton match but not really feeling it as a Mania main event. I could see Ziggler getting a Bryan-esque storyline. Ziggler is not included in the Rumble match, because he is defending the IC title at Rumble vs Harper. The fans go crazy when #30 hits and instead of hearing Zigglers music it is a returning Randy Orton. Boos all around. It doesn't matter if Orton or Reigns win the fans boo either one, because they wanted Ziggler. Fast forward to WM31 Ziggler needs to run a gauntlet on the preshow. He defeats Harper, Big Show, Kane and Mark Henry to make the Main event a triple threat match. Ziggler, Brock and Reigns or Orton. Ziggler pins one of Reigns or Orton becomes the new champ.

Sorry, but that's my only option. As I don't see either Reigns or Ambrose ready just yet.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

The report also mentions that Daniel Bryan is not WWE's type for the main event role, no matter how fans react to him, and there are still uncertainties regarding Bryan's future due to neck and elbow injuries.

...

That leaves Reigns and Dean Ambrose as the new top babyfaces. Ambrose is a better in-ring worker and delivers better promos but he fits less into WWE's mold of what they want their top babyface star to be.

In other words, "stupid is as stupid does" remains the WWE's motto.

WWE management has such incredibly narrow vision that if a guy isn't a 6'3"+, 245 lb+, photogenic, verbally charismatic near-rockstar persona then they just don't have their next "top babyface".

They're content to utter idiotic comments about guys needing to grab the "brass ring" when in reality, there's no brass ring to grab unless you are genetically blessed.

Meanwhile, they had an incredibly well-received main event at WrestleMania last year that was built on the backs of strong in-ring talent, a good storyline, a bonafide underdog and a feel good moment that had the fans absolutely besides themselves.

Seriously, what a bunch of fucking idiots.

I've got nothing against Reigns...I think the guy's a diamond in the rough, and he really just needs more experience. I like what he shows in the ring. People learn and grow WHEN THEY ARE ALLOWED TO. I really don't believe that the WWE is the place for that to happen for guys anymore unless maybe they get it in NXT.

The funniest part of this is that their two most likely performers to have the complete package are actually two heels. Seth Rollins is the true MVP this year. He's the heel version of what Daniel Bryan was last year. Match after match of solid, quality work. He's good looking, and he can deliver on the mic. Similarly, Bray Wyatt is good in the ring, the fans respond to him, and he has awesome delivery on the mic. It wouldn't take much to turn him face, either.

The problem with the WWE is that they are a slave to perfection...never recognizing that the Cenas, Austins, Rocks, and Hogans of the world come along only so often.

 

[ZUMBOdriver]

I'm not suprised that people backstage are skeptical on Reigns. They should be. It doesn't mean the potential isn't there, but it is simply too soon. The problem is there is no time to wait for Reigns to be ready.

Nearly ten years ago, they pushed Cena to the main event too soon and let him learn on the job. My guess is they will do the same with Reigns this coming year. It's common knowledge Reigns is their guy. Like it or not, that's who its going to be. That's how they operate.

They also seem set on giving Roman Reigns a "Wrestlemania moment" title win. Oh brother, what a tired cliche. But if that's what they want to do, that's fine. Couldn't it wait until next Wrestlemania though? A lot of people you ask would say that Reigns needs more time. Saving his big moment for next Wrestlemania would give Reigns the time he needs to really prepare to carry the torch, if that is truly the plan. It will be in front of what I'm pretty sure would be WWE's biggest crowd ever, next year in Dallas. Sounds like it has the potential to work out pretty well if given enough time, but maybe they don't have time to spare.

I'm sure the WWE would actually like to give Roman some more time, but there doesn't seem to be a choice. Something tells me John Cena's part time days are coming soon. Dude's always working injured and early reports of his work in the new Judd Apatow movie are positive. Couple that with WWE's plan to shoot Reigns to the top, seems like the writing might be on the wall for Cena to scale back his WWE schedule.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

IMO Roman Reigns just needs to beat Lesnar, he doesn't need the belt. Why? Because he's not ready to be the man. Just beating Lesnar can give him a super rub. They still have Rollins, have him cash in after the match and then have Reigns chase the belt 'till Summerslam or Wrestlemania. Simple as that. Give him the title when he really is ready. No need to rush.

Rollins can easily keep them busy for a year feuding with Bryan, Orton, Cena, Y2J.
Reigns can win the IC title or US title down on the line, work his mic/ring skills and become a complete wrestler.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

Thank Goodness, that means someone in WWE actually has half a brain! At this point it seems WWE is stuck in their ways & is dead set on making Reigns the new John Cena whether we all like it or not. But the least they could do is build him up properly & have him get some more experience before cramming him down our throats.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Reigns & I would love to see him as a top tier main event talent some day but he's simply not ready yet. Heck, the guy has only had one singles match on PPV. A guy like Sheamus was arguably more proven than Reigns when he was rushed into being the WWE Champion back in 2009 & where is Sheamus now? Well when he isn't busy being injured, he's a glorified mid-carder.

So at this point I'm hoping WWE plays it sort of safe & holds off on Reigns getting the belt at Mania this year. I think the smartest thing to do would be to continue to push all three Shield guys heavily, with all three picking up big wins at WM 31 & then depending on how each one is progressing and/or if one jumps ahead of the pack in terms of sales & being more over than the others, then WWE could go ahead & pull the trigger with one of them winning the belt at WM 32.

 

[FromGlasgow]

He hasn't had any kind of a chance to prove himself yet in singles matches, He went from being with the Shield to shortly afterwards getting injured then straight to main eventing Wrestlemania, The guy needs at least a year to develop, Theres plenty of others now who can take that spot better than Reigns can at the moment, Build him up first and get him ready for main eventing Wrestlemania 32 instead theres no point in rushing.

 

[rmp0012002]

I just don't see Reigns with the move and skillset to be moved up to the champions position yet. He worked well in a tag setting with the Shield but he didnt come over from NXT with all the skills they try to teach you for a singles wrestler. As a singles guy it all on you.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

I thought it was pretty obvious that Dolph Ziggler had scooped Reigns's spot. Beating three men for the win at Survivors, having the announcers put him over the top after his TLC match, the talk of him becoming "the man" in WWE in this week's sit-down interview with Cole - it seems set in stone. Reigns is simply is not ready (a mere three months (!) singles experience, only one notable match, poor mic work) and so they're pushing it back a year and seeing how Ziggler runs with the ball. Zig is a very popular industry veteran, one of its best workers, and has already headlined pay-per-views and been world champion twice without ever truly having the rocket pack strapped to him. He's a far safer bet.

 

[Navi]

I'm not a wrestler and know nothing about the wrestling business. I'm just a fan who's been watching for over 25 years. Even I can tell Roman Reigns is not ready for the big time yet.

Yes he is great looking, has the build, charisma, intensity needed to be the top dog, but he's lacking other skills that are sorely needed. He's can't work a match more than 5-8 minutes. Once he does a couple of his signature moves, the punches and the kicking of the guys's head from outside the ring, it's mostly laying around in headlocks for awhile. The he starts hulking up, delivers the Superman punch and the spear and it's over.

He did have good matches with Del Rio and Orton, but they carried him thorough them. He has to add more to his repertoire and how to tell a story. The one thing that he really needs work on is as everyone has said is his mic skills. They are non existent. I was really hoping that the time off would give him a chance to work on them, but it's clear that he just isn't comfortable on the mic. Like I've said before he puts emphasis on the wrong words, and when he screws his face up, it just looks terrible.

One day Roman Reigns will come into his own, and his title run will be something to see. I don't want him to win this year, because I feel if he does he will ultimately lose. The backlash will never go away no matter what he does, and I don't think he has the fortitude and the experience of a John Cena to ignore it and keep going. It is something that could really hinder him going forward.

There is no reason to rush into this, it's not like he's the only face on the roster, and there is nothing wrong with having someone else like Orotn, Ziggler even Ambrose take the title off Lesnar. Reigns needs a good feud with some meat on the bone to get going. Time will tell if he can actually fulfill what they want him too, no point ruining the guy in the process.

 

[kadroan]

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there's a lot of skepticism among WWE officials as Reigns being ready for a big WrestleMania push. The report further states that Reigns needs promo work and isn't that good on his own in lengthy singles matches, but WWE is in need of a new top babyface star and that spot is his. The report also mentions that Daniel Bryan is not WWE's type for the main event role, no matter how fans react to him, and there are still uncertainties regarding Bryan's future due to neck and elbow injuries.

That leaves Reigns and Dean Ambrose as the new top babyfaces. Ambrose is a better in-ring worker and delivers better promos but he fits less into WWE's mold of what they want their top babyface star to be. While Ambrose and Reigns both do strong merchandise numbers, with Ambrose's new hoodie being #1 during Thanksgiving, neither is doing numbers strong enough to be a top guy.

However, WWE will likely stick with the plans for Reigns' WrestleMania push as he's still considered the new top babyface.

So IF this is accurate, then fans aren't the only ones who have doubts that Reigns isn't ready. The stuff about Daniel Bryan isn't surprising as we all know that Vince just doesn't see Bryan as the type. Remember, Vince believes that a certain physical type should be the top guy. However, if fans push hard enough, want it badly enough and Bryan recovers, he'll be elevated back to the main event spot.

As far as Dean Ambrose goes, I don't know if he's completely "ready" for the spot, but he's far closer to being ready than Roman Reigns is in my eyes.

WWE is stubborn. Reigns got good crowd reactions over the past two weeks so I'm sure WWE is going to run with that.

It'd be dirty if Brock wasn't going to renew with the WWE and the WWE leaked the news before the Reigns/Brock match so fans could get behind Reigns in the match like they did Brock when he faced The Rock at Summerslam in 2002 since fans knew The Rock was leaving.

 

[Mustang Sally]

WWE is stubborn. Reigns got good crowd reactions over the past two weeks so I'm sure WWE is going to run with that.

Could be, and it might prove to be a mistake if the company has decided to forget about the 3 months Roman was gone, and proceed as though he was here all along.

Imo, he needed those 3 months to mature as a performer, both fighting and talking. Watching his lousy match against Fandango the other night, I figured we could forgive the ring rust that had developed; a little more time in combat would (hopefully) take care of that. It was a little tougher to deal with the interview he did with Renee Young; even not hearing what he sounded like, I could tell the cadence of his speech was off; it looked odd to see a professional TV performer looking directly at the camera, yet seemingly not knowing where he was going with his speech. No matter how much they want to depict him as the strong, silent type, a top performer needs to be able to bring it on the mic.

Still, even as we're talking about him headlining WM31, all we've seen or heard so far is a comeback match against Fandango.....we don't truly know what they're going to do with Reigns by next April. But I think pretending his 3 month absence never happened might present some big problems, particularly since he was far from a polished performer in the first place.

 

[The Warlord]

If Reigns and the WWE were smart they would have sent him to acting school... Or at least have a few acting classes during his recovery. To be the top star...your mic skills are most important. Always has been in Vince world... Always will be.

 

[Navi]

Could be, and it might prove to be a mistake if the company has decided to forget about the 3 months Roman was gone, and proceed as though he was here all along.

Imo, he needed those 3 months to mature as a performer, both fighting and talking. Watching his lousy match against Fandango the other night, I figured we could forgive the ring rust that had developed; a little more time in combat would (hopefully) take care of that. It was a little tougher to deal with the interview he did with Renee Young; even not hearing what he sounded like, I could tell the cadence of his speech was off; it looked odd to see a professional TV performer looking directly at the camera, yet seemingly not knowing where he was going with his speech. No matter how much they want to depict him as the strong, silent type, a top performer needs to be able to bring it on the mic.

Still, even as we're talking about him headlining WM31, all we've seen or heard so far is a comeback match against Fandango.....we don't truly know what they're going to do with Reigns by next April. But I think pretending his 3 month absence never happened might present some big problems, particularly since he was far from a polished performer in the first place.

I couldn't agree more Sally, his interviews are painful to watch. You know it's interesting. Everyone, including myself thought this break would do him some good. Considering he was getting boo'd before he left, you would think that absence makes the heart grow fonder, wouldn't you? Apparently in the case of Roman Reigns it's worked against him.

Sure the fans are glad to see him back, but hardcore fans will be up in arms if he does go against Lesnar and wins the title. His mic skills which he needs to be the top face have to improve and improve a lot. His in ring skills have to do the same. Bottom line is he's not ready, and this absence has made it not only obvious to fans but to the people that count, WWE officials. They are out of their minds if they go forward with their plans, after seeing what happened to Batista last year.

The only problem is there isn't really anyone else, there is no Daniel Bryan waiting in the wings.

 

[Navi]

If Reigns and the WWE were smart they would have sent him to acting school... Or at least have a few acting classes during his recovery. To be the top star...your mic skills are most important. Always has been in Vince world... Always will be.

He did take acting classes according to reports, but they either didn't work or he just needs more time. Time I might add is not on his side right now.

 

[snazzy]

He did take acting classes according to reports, but they either didn't work or he just needs more time. Time I might add is not on his side right now.

Or he's still being given heavily scripted promos and being policed on what to say instead of being more organic.

His personality is fine, I've watched a few videos that indicate as much and assure me it's simply the scripted nature of his promos rather than him. Some people are more comfortable with their own words, I highly doubt the wrestlers with great promo skills were also given scripts (CM Punk, Cena, Rock, Austin; CM Punk has said that he refused to be handed any scripts).

For reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG02bo5ayzI, Roman had me in stitches
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrSL58mFywk, again great facial expressions and emphasis on words
Also if you can be bothered, him playing WWE 2k15, was very relaxed, came across very well: http://www.twitch.tv/teamcoco/v/3616342

 

[LBGetBack]

Regardless, it's exciting that the prospect of guys like Reigns, Ambrose, Rollins, Ziggler, and Bryan(if he can get healthy) taking over the top spots exists.

The Cena-Orton era was/is the WORST/longest reign of boredom in WWE history.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there's a lot of skepticism among WWE officials as Reigns being ready for a big WrestleMania push. The report further states that Reigns needs promo work and isn't that good on his own in lengthy singles matches

I would mostly chalk this up to the facts that

He is miles away from being ready. Miles

Needs a ton of work on his promos

Can't do much outside of an 8 minute match.

....Oh wait.


The WWE brass (apparently) thinks these things about him because these things are correct, and painfully evident. This didn't stop them with Cena when he was christened "the man" (though his promos were in a different universe quality-wise than Reigns are)

A huge part of the problem is the WWE's need to script promos. It's supposed to "protect" talents, but it makes them look like fucking idiots more often than it helps them. Reigns blatantly forgot his lines and froze up during his TLC promo. Thing is, Reigns is an athlete, not a fucking actor...So why is he trying to memorize lines?

I think if they just let him speak from his own mind/heart he would improve a lot.

Too bad they won't. Good thing they got guys like Rollins on the roster to get decent matches out of him during his run.

 

[mkw1962]

As much as I hate to admit it Roman is not quite ready to be the man, but he will give him time. I think they should let him continue his feud with Big Show up until Royal Rumble. Let Roman enter the Rumble very early so he can get some lengthy time and show his stuff, Roman can dominate and win the match.Let John beat Brock at the Rumble than while these two prepare for Wm 31 you won't have to worry so much about the mic war between Paul and Roman. At Wm 31 if Roman is still not ready let John win and have Seth cash in his money in the bank brief case. You can have Roman enter feuds with guys like Kane, Bray, Luke and even work towards a U.S. title match with Rusev. Another idea could be have him tag with Randy and they can go for the titles. In all let Roman win some other titles while he gets ready to be the MAN. Have him work on the mic with his cousin Rock that might help.

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

My personal opinion/speculation on the "WWE look" stuff, is that yes Vince prefers a Hulk Hogan / John Cena type. But he is not completely stuck on it if it comes to another guy making money. I mean, Vince has pushed guys like Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Edge and CM Punk pretty hard over the decades. And even smaller guys like Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Eddie Guerrero and Daniel Bryan have had their time at the top. So while I think Vince definitely would prefer Roman to be the guy, he would have no problem with Ambrose taking that spot, at least temporarily until Roman is ready. Personally, I feel like Triple H might have more of an issue with what a top guy should look like than Vince.