Roman Reigns has gotten amazing on the mic, and is simply awesome.

[AegonTargaryen]

Just to make this clear, I'm not claiming he's amazing on the mic like The Rock, Austin, Punk and those guys. Just saw the opening segment from Raw.

You watch him walk, his gait, the mannerisms, the body language, his intonation throughout that segment from Raw, versus KO's voice and intonation, and you watch him smile and smirk so APTLY and precisely, his timing, all of it..it's all resonant of a Naturalness, confidence, composure, and finesse that is awe-inspiring.

Roman Reigns is truly who he has been saying he is, with or without the WWE World/Universal title on his shoulders, that being, The Guy.

We all have our AJ Styles', Seth Rollins', and Kevin Owens'.

But what Roman Reigns the person/wrestler/character symbolizes is this big strong man- stoical, resilient, calm and composed, and beautifully arrogant and cocky with stuff like "No rush, no rush ,take your time, I'll wait" and "Here's a little spoiler alert, by the end of the episode, I'm gonna be kickin' your ass".

I love Seth Rollins, but Rollins even though a superior in-ring technician doesn't offer (as any other wrestler doesn't either) is this amazing combination of Size, Speed, Strength, Look, Intensity, and Power. In other words, Rollins is Shawn, Reigns is Taker+Rock+Batista all rolled in one. (I compare him with The Rock , because of those arms, and his tattoos and the great looks). Notwithstanding, if wrestlers were Symbols, then Sting and Taker are freakishly awe-inspiring, Cena is the poster-boy for capitalism and consumerism, The Rock was/is the ultimate entertainer, Seth Rollins is Jesus, and Roman Reigns is a Stoical God reflecting faith, strength, endurance, perseverance, beauty, intensity and metallic and radiant smiles.

Roman Reigns exudes confidence, conviction, faith and awesomeness. But now, Roman Reigns is amazing on the mic(may be he always was or was meant to be anyway), and perhaps even "better" than many others. I know some of you are going to revolt, and may be vehemently disagree. But I'm not saying he's the best talker in the world, or on the same level as The Rock, Austin, Shawn Michaels and CM Punk. He doesn't need to be.

But Roman Reigns speaks and talks like Roman Reigns. And that's all he needs to be and do. Take this excerpt from the Raw segment featuring Reigns/Jericho/KO:-

KO:-So I'm a joke Huh? Yeah? You know that's funny because the only joke I see around here is when you walk around calling yourself "The Guy". I think that's hilarious".

Roman Reigns:-That's no joke. I am The Guy and the thing is around here...(Crowd boos)...(and he just smiles and smirks).

I'd like you to go and rewatch that segment and check his smile. It's sort of cute and brilliant because one can infer Reigns thinking, "Oh look. I compelled the crowd to boo me, and I love it" and the timing was so precise. Reigns, in other words, is a Natural.

Conclusion:- Reigns is amazing. You can debate all you want about his repetitive moveset or the number of superman punches/clotheslines(I used to do that once, until the day I watched his match with AJ Styles for the title, to realize how dumb I'd been to not have known that I needn't view him from the same lens as I view Seth Rollins or AJ Styles.)

Because Roman Reigns wrestles like a hybrid of Undertaker and Batista, with size, strength, speed and power. Those clotheslines are beautifully agile. His suicide dive over the top rope where he leaped onto Styles, was a thing of BEAUTY, and I have vivid memories of Taker doing the same. His powerbombs and the Razor Ramon move he does, are good. He wrestles like he should, just as Rollins and Styles wrestle like they should, for men of their size and strength.

All in all, I'd say Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are sheer awesomeness. I just like Reigns so much more, for the aforementioned reasons.

NOTE:-Before any of you, as I foresee some of you(especially GSB) question my sexuality, quasi-mock me, or make reductionist statements like "The OP has a crush on Roman Reigns" or "The OP is gay, Roman Reigns still sucks", know this:- I'm only gonna be laughing, because only and only I know what the truth is.

GSB is welcome to do that, though, since he's the most hilarious person here and I'm still laughing at how he posted, "Tell me something, why don't you ever post about women?" (To satisfy his previous query, I'd really like Eva Marie and Carmella both, at the same time, and also that Australian chick from NXT drives me crazy.).

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Good to see some positivity regarding Reigns. Him and Rollins always go back and forth on who I like more. Right now I think they're a bit too similar. Reigns has his act pretty much nailed down short of a heel turn, but Rollins looks way too generic now since he came back, he stopped dying his hair and went for the crappy boring grey tights.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Reigns has improved and I think one of the reasons why he's improved is because he's been out of the main event scene. He's been put in a position much more in line with his ability: that of being a solid mid-card champion. I'm of the opinion that he was rushed into a spot that he simply wasn't ready for and was done so with a booking style that a lot of modern fans just aren't really into.

But no, Roman Reigns still isn't "The Guy" "The Big Dog" or whatever other little moniker he and virtually nobody else seems to call him. Here's the thing in my eyes, and in the eyes of a lot of people, he's never going to be "The Guy" in the same vein as John Cena for a couple of reasons. For one reason, he's just simply not as good as Cena is. It took quite a long while for Cena to ultimately prove naysayers wrong and even to this day, there are still a few hardcore holdouts who try to insist that Cena "can't wrestle" despite over a decade plus of hundreds of brilliant matches against all manner of opponents from physical behemoths to athletic dynamos to cagy technicians to wild brawlers and pretty much everyone else in between. Maybe Reigns will be along the same line as time goes by and I do agree that he hasn't gotten some of the credit he deserves as he's put on a lot of entertaining matches.

Another reason, however, why I don't think he'll be "The Guy" in the same vein as Cena is because a lot of modern fans are burned out on the "Super Cena" style formula of booking and don't want to go through another decade of ultimately seeing one single "superhero", for lack of a better term, being the overall centerpiece of the company. Whether they're right or wrong, like damn near everything else in wrestling, is subject to opinion and point of view. Over the last few years, WWE hasn't used the "Super Cena" formula nearly as much as they once did, it's still used every now and again but maybe only a few times a year at most. Personally, I'd rather WWE adopt the strategy of having a number of top tier guys ready to step in and step up much like we saw during the Attitude Era; while the Rock & Stone Cold were generally "The Guys" during the AE, they weren't built up to such an insurmountable way as WWE has done with Cena. At any given time during the AE, aside from Austin & Rock, you had guys like Taker, Jericho, Foley, Triple H, HBK and Angle able to step into the main event spot without any of the "credibility" criticisms that so many wrestlers have faced in WWE over the last decade. If one of those guys was injured or needed time off, WWE had several viable options for main eventers and I'm of the opinion that it's a strategy WWE should move back to rather than putting most of its collective eggs in a single basket.

 

[Navi]

Let me start by saying I am a huge Shield mark and was for a long time a Roman Reigns fan. I went off him when he started his singles run and was rocket propelled into the main event. He clearly wasn't ready for it, and I think a lot of the fans agreed.

Like JH said he is perfect where he is right now, a mid card champion. If they want to shove him into the main event I can't see it going well for him, again, unless he goes full heel. For some reason the WWE doesn't want that, and quite honestly I don't care if he does or not. Now quite apathetic towards him.

You compare him to the Rock. Can I just ask you a question? The Rock went on from wrestling and became one of the highest paid actors in the world, with a string of money making movies to back it up. Do you think that Reigns has the same charisma, talent and where with all to copy what the Rock has accomplished? I don't see it, Reigns in my and it's a personal opinion is boring and not like the Rock at all. The only thing that they have in common is that they are related.

In saying all that though, Reigns will be the headliner for the foreseeable future and the WWE will have to sink or swim with him. If he does well then good for him, wish the guy no ill will, I just can't get into the Reigns act anymore, think I'm burned out.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

To satisfy his previous query, I'd really like Eva Marie and Carmella both, at the same time, and also that Australian chick from NXT drives me crazy.).

Women are more than just sex objects. You are a disgusting monster. Go wash your hands and underpants.

On topic. Roman is fine. A good wrestler, who is very good with his mannerisms, but still somewhat uncomfortable on the mic. Him coming out for a talking segment really takes the air out of that segment.

He is however getting better writing and booking for who he is and what he can be compared to his huge downfall from two years ago. His biggest problem is that too many audiences can't let go of the past. It's hard to blame them though, the past was pretty awful. Otherwise, his current run since Mania has been decent.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

You compare him to the Rock. Can I just ask you a question? The Rock went on from wrestling and became one of the highest paid actors in the world, with a string of money making movies to back it up. Do you think that Reigns has the same charisma, talent and where with all to copy what the Rock has accomplished? I don't see it, Reigns in my and it's a personal opinion is boring and not like the Rock at all. The only thing that they have in common is that they are related.

Oh Dear. I did try to be explicit with the square brackets when I said Rock because of the arms(they have the almost same skin tone, and their arms are huge, sort of similar? Even though Dwayne's arms are probably bigger, also the tattoos, on the arm. Now I'm not a Tattoo person and I don't know T of Tattoos, but I can discern that both Dwayne and him have a somewhat similar tattoo, at least it appears to me.

Point being, He's really goodlooking, in that he's like The Rock, with the nice arms and tattoos. He's like Taker because of the hair, and more importantly the flying clotheslines, the over-the-top-rope leap. Both Reigns and Taker are perhaps two of the only big/tall men who're beautiful and agile with those clotheslines. And Reigns is similar to Batista in terms wrestling, with the spear, powerbombs and stuff.

That's the only factor using which I compared him with Rock, and yes, they're related.

And the reason I compare him with past greats is not to steal anything away from Reigns' own originality, but to emphasize how NOT EVERYONE can be what Reigns is, a nearly total package, when he has great arms and tattoos reminiscent of The Rock, and the beautiful agility and speed of the Undertaker, and power/size/strength of Batista.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

Women are more than just sex objects. You are a disgusting monster. Go wash your hands and underpants.

This was at once predictable, unpredictable and hilarious. Please have that extra cookie, burger, pastry or whatever it is that'd satiate your soul. You deserve it!

But just to be clear, Women are God's most beautiful creation, and have beautiful psyches and souls, and ought to be loved, adored and pampered, especially beautiful women.

I'd love to have Carmella in my lap and stroke and brush her hair and call her 'Babygirl', 1000 times.

On topic. Roman is fine. A good wrestler, who is very good with his mannerisms, but still somewhat uncomfortable on the mic. Him coming out for a talking segment really takes the air out of that segment.

He is however getting better writing and booking for who he is and what he can be compared to his huge downfall from two years ago. His biggest problem is that too many audiences can't let go of the past. It's hard to blame them though, the past was pretty awful. Otherwise, his current run since Mania has been decent.

Exactly, too many people can't let go of the past.

May be still slightly uncomfortable. But from what I saw on Raw, this was the best I've seen him in a talking segment, totally comfortable and natural.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

But no, Roman Reigns still isn't "The Guy" "The Big Dog" or whatever other little moniker he and virtually nobody else seems to call him. Here's the thing in my eyes, and in the eyes of a lot of people, he's never going to be "The Guy" in the same vein as John Cena for a couple of reasons. For one reason, he's just simply not as good as Cena is. It took quite a long while for Cena to ultimately prove naysayers wrong and even to this day, there are still a few hardcore holdouts who try to insist that Cena "can't wrestle" despite over a decade plus of hundreds of brilliant matches against all manner of opponents from physical behemoths to athletic dynamos to cagy technicians to wild brawlers and pretty much everyone else in between. Maybe Reigns will be along the same line as time goes by and I do agree that he hasn't gotten some of the credit he deserves as he's put on a lot of entertaining matches.

Oh, no no. I have no such notion of him being "The Guy" in the vein of Austin, Rock, and then Cena, carrying the company or anything. If you compare him with KO or Jericho, Roman Reigns is "The Guy" in terms of how he's built, how he looks, the intensity, the size of his arms, the toughness(assumed), which as compared to KO and Jericho, clearly sets him apart. IMO anyway. He's "The Guy" in that sense.

In this thread, I meant to emphasize how he has something which Jericho, KO, Rollins, Styles, and pretty much everyone on the roster, including Randy Orton and Brock Lesnar don't have..

The combination of looks, size, speed, agility, power, and appeal(in terms of how Hollywood actors such as Johnny Depp may have an appeal for a diverse audience) .

For example, Seth Rollins may be said to have "looks" and speed and athleticism, but not the size or power, since like Shawn Michaels, Rollins is more built to be a guy who's huge when compared to the general population, but not so big as compared to Reigns, Lesnar, Goldberg, HHH, and Batista.

Brock Lesnar has size, speed, athleticism and power, but not the looks, the overall appeal of, if you will, a Superstar would(and Brock doesn't give an F about it, I'm aware). The Rock, however does.

That's why Roman Reigns is important, for that combination.

Another reason, however, why I don't think he'll be "The Guy" in the same vein as Cena is because a lot of modern fans are burned out on the "Super Cena" style formula of booking and don't want to go through another decade of ultimately seeing one single "superhero", for lack of a better term, being the overall centerpiece of the company. Whether they're right or wrong, like damn near everything else in wrestling, is subject to opinion and point of view. Over the last few years, WWE hasn't used the "Super Cena" formula nearly as much as they once did, it's still used every now and again but maybe only a few times a year at most. Personally, I'd rather WWE adopt the strategy of having a number of top tier guys ready to step in and step up much like we saw during the Attitude Era; while the Rock & Stone Cold were generally "The Guys" during the AE, they weren't built up to such an insurmountable way as WWE has done with Cena. At any given time during the AE, aside from Austin & Rock, you had guys like Taker, Jericho, Foley, Triple H, HBK and Angle able to step into the main event spot without any of the "credibility" criticisms that so many wrestlers have faced in WWE over the last decade. If one of those guys was injured or needed time off, WWE had several viable options for main eventers and I'm of the opinion that it's a strategy WWE should move back to rather than putting most of its collective eggs in a single basket.

I think going forward, with the creation of the Universal Title, and wrestlers of all sorts of size, shape, talent and style and international appeal being currently employed and pushed- ranging from Shinsuke Nakamura, Bobby Roode, AJ Styles, Seth Rollins to Kevin Owens, the WWE may not really go with the Cena formula that much.

I'd prefer both formulas actually, with Roman Reigns or Seth Rollins being "The Guy" on a particular brand for a while, or a whole gamut of them forever competing. Competition is great. Long title reigns/Superman booking, should really be rare, and interesting, such as Punk's reign.

We have a good reason to be happy because IMO, Roman Reigns offers one thing, and Seth Rollins, who to me is almost a modern incarnation of Shawn Michaels, offers another.

It's like 1997 and WWE(F) is fucking cool, with Bret, Shawn and Taker. Roman Reigns is somewhat complex because he's like Taker in someways, and like a mainstream guy like Cena in another, and yet he can't be a poster boy, or for a range of reasons, hasn't, as you state "not being ready" and fans not wanting another Superman.

We can still enjoy the wrestling part, because back in '97, nobody cared if Taker couldn't speak much, they loved the matches against Bret and Shawn.

Reigns does just that, he brings the size, speed and power, whereas the AJ Styles' and Seth Rollins' bring the in-ring technicality and speed and psychology.

It makes for some of the most beautiful wrestling matches, as evidenced when you watch Shawn vs Taker from Wrestlemania, or Taker vs Bret, or Reigns vs Styles.

I can't wait for the big Reigns vs Rollins singles feud.

 

[enviousdominous]

His biggest problem is that too many audiences can't let go of the past. It's hard to blame them though, the past was pretty awful. Otherwise, his current run since Mania has been decent.

It would have been much easier for us to forget the past if the WWE hadn't gone so balls out with Roman's push. Making him the World Champion to get him over was a long-shot that missed by about a mile and a half.

We probably would have never gotten Stone Cold if Vince was on an ether induced high and had made The Ringmaster the World Champion. So now we're stuck with The Ringmaster.

Seeing Roman and Seth make nice is a good way to get some of the crowd back on his side. The triple-team on AJ at Survivor Series was a great touch as well.

I gotta' admit, I'm kind of thinking that there's hope for The Ringmaster yet.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Roman is still absolutely terrible on the mic and in the ring. I'd love to know where this "improvement" is, because it's sure not in either of those areas. Roman is not believable as a top star and is barely believable as a midcard guy.

 

[StaRRStruck]

Roman's overall comfortability has went up massively since being suspended prior to the Brand Split. Like above posters have stated, Roman's spot has allowed him to flourish much more than when he was being propelled into the Main Event scene. As for being "amazing" on the mic, I kindly have to disagree.

Amazing is a strong word even in the midst of guys like KO and Y2J instead of Austin or Rock. Roman has definitely improved, in big part he has learned how to hit a punchline in his promos lol. But they're are still many superstars who are far superior to him, no matter how much you say his mic skills match his persona.

I like where he is going in terms of mic skills, but imo he is still the weakest of the Shield on the stick. Rollins has some solid delivery and is a little above average while Ambrose while corny has moments have greatness on the stick.

 

[Vanilla Midget]

I noticed this too. He's certainly a contender for the Slammy Award "most improved."

Did anyone notice that when Owens stuttered on the mic, Roman actually quipped. I doubt the stutter was planned, so Roman's response must have been organic. Good for Roman, he's learning to act.

The crime is he's doing this entering the top feud on Raw. He should be learning as midcard champion, which he's only been for two months, and is already a three time world champion.

Oh well. I don't know if Reigns is the belle of the ball quite yet, but they'll push him like he is. He's still not great, so undoubtedly the OP sees it as amazing when he improves slightly. You can throw sugar on shit and it's still crap that's gotten a bit sweeter.

 

[Navi]

Oh Dear. I did try to be explicit with the square brackets when I said Rock because of the arms(they have the almost same skin tone, and their arms are huge, sort of similar? Even though Dwayne's arms are probably bigger, also the tattoos, on the arm. Now I'm not a Tattoo person and I don't know T of Tattoos, but I can discern that both Dwayne and him have a somewhat similar tattoo, at least it appears to me.

You know I would never have thought in a million years that arm size and tattoo's would be enough to compare him to the Rock. Why not the Uso's then as they are all Samoan and have similar tattoo's? But I can see that the fact that they are all related would be enough to compare them.

Point being, He's really goodlooking, in that he's like The Rock, with the nice arms and tattoos. He's like Taker because of the hair, and more importantly the flying clotheslines, the over-the-top-rope leap. Both Reigns and Taker are perhaps two of the only big/tall men who're beautiful and agile with those clotheslines. And Reigns is similar to Batista in terms wrestling, with the spear, powerbombs and stuff.

That's the only factor using which I compared him with Rock, and yes, they're related.

You do seem to focus more on his looks than anything else and quite honestly that's why he's done so well. Women love him, men not so much. But in saying that, this is not a modeling competition or a beauty pageant, looks will only get you so far, being able to wrestle is what keeps you in the business. And yes he is improving and will continue to do so. He did not deserve the push he got though and that is why there is such a backlash against him. It really showed just how inexperienced he was. GSB is right, fans have long memories and it will take time for him to overcome it.

And the reason I compare him with past greats is not to steal anything away from Reigns' own originality, but to emphasize how NOT EVERYONE can be what Reigns is, a nearly total package, when he has great arms and tattoos reminiscent of The Rock, and the beautiful agility and speed of the Undertaker, and power/size/strength of Batista.

You can take any wrestler on the roster today and compare them to former greats, Reigns is not the exception to the rule. What I will say and probably what bothers me the most is his lack or originality. Since the Shield broke up, two years ago, he hasn't changed. Same gear, same music and only recently did he start walking down the ramp instead of through the crowd. And now we are getting snipets of a Shield reunion when he and Rollins are together in the ring. I would love to see them reunite, but not like this. It's actually taking away from the moment when we hear the Shield music hit and the three of them walk through the crowd. It just won't be that special.

Shit even the Uso's who just turned heel not so long ago, got rid of the crazy tribal outfits they wore and they look more like gang members now. They have really toned it down and it suits the gimmick. Reigns really has no gimmick other than being a former Shield member. The other two have moved on, he hasn't.

 

[ShinChan]

I thought that Roman Reigns is underrated to that rocketing push he got at Royal Rumble 2015. But you are just overrating him now.

He has gotten better since leaving the main event scene. But he is still just passable on the mic. Ambrose and Rollins are still better than him on mic. He is good in the ring, I know. But he isn't comparable to Rock or Undertaker in any form. He is better than Batista though.

Now, let's move on to what I don't like.

(i) Same attire as Shield
(ii) Same entrance music
(iii) Him in the main event scene every now and then.
(iv) Getting booked as a Superman who can go through every obstacle

I will still prefer Ambrose or Rollins in the ring over Reigns. They both are better than him, be it in-ring skills or mic skills.

And now he's again in the main event scene by getting a match against Kevin Owens for the Universal Title.

On another note, Thanks a lot for providing me a bunch of good adjectives.

And please do meet Roman Reigns once in your life and say him that he's amazing. He will feel good.

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

If Roman was 4 inch shorter and 50lbs lighter there is no doubt in my mind he would be well received but unfortunately he's not. The idiot smarks that go to the shows have this delusion in their head that bigger guys can't wrestle, or that good wrestlers have to wrestle a certain way. They make fun of Vince for having a fetish for big guys but they are the same way with smaller guys. They don't understand what makes a good professional wrestler.

Timing and working a crowd is what makes a great wrestler. You have to know when to do what and how to get that crowd eating out of the palm of your hand. And Roman does just that. Everything he does draws a reaction, everthing he does means something. Thats a good wrestler.

Goldberg had this skill, Hogan did, Lesnar did, Austin did, The Rock did, Warrior did etc. etc., they all knew how to work the crowd and how to time what they did. And it's no coincidence that they are the biggest stars of all time. THATS the definition of being a great wrestler.

Find me one significant match that Roman has been involved in where the crowd wasn't into it. You can't! You know why? Because he can actually freaking wrestle!

I admit that his mic work needs some work, but it was great on Monday and I think it can be great if he didn't get fed such corny lines. The guy is naturally charasmatic, he just has to have the right material.

 

[OYDK]

So I read this thread, and than I went and watched Monday Night Raw expecting a dynamite promo from Reigns... I didn't notice anything different. He's still saying his one-liners. You can clearly see him trying to formulate something to say in his head at times, and the early exchange between he and Owens was kind of awkward. Neither really knew where to go with the segment.

Has he improved on the mic? A bit. He's still a FAR cry away from being one of the better mic men in the business which is what he needs to be if he wants people to accept him as "the guy".

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Roman Reigns is fine on the mic, but he still sounds scripted.

They should let him write his own promos.

That would help more than anything. That's the problem with most wrestlers actually.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Ive noticed his improvements on the mic when he feuded with Rusev. Granted he is not on his cousin or in Cena level but he is just fine. When you add that he gets really great in the ring you can say that he is really top dog in WWE for a reason. And you got to admire that, out of all 3 members of The Shield he has come longest way. People at beggining always said Ambrose and Rollins are great and he is just enforcer. Now he easily surpases Ambrose and is there with Rollins. Reminds me on Batista on Evolution. You could always say that HHH is present and Orton is the future but you could never guess when they started that Dave would be top dog for quite some time. Shame that he doesnt get the same reaction Batista did. But kinda think its a good thing for him, kinda makes him work harder to get better. So we got this version now instead of "Suffering Succotash" from two years ago.