Roman Reigns' Promos Aren't Doing Him Any Favors

[Jack-Hammer]

The past few times we've seen Roman Reigns on the mic, he's reminded me very, very, very much of John Cena when Cena is in full blown, no holds barred PG mode. What I mean by that is the cartoonish, happy go lucky, cornball joke telling way Cena sometimes delivers his promos. Cena hasn't really do that very much in the past couple of years. Really, the last time he did to any real degree was during his first program with The Rock.

Roman Reigns' backstage promo on Raw recently in which he compared himself to Superman, with all the "faster than a speeding bullet" stuff, the smiling, happy way he delivered them truly reminded me of Cena. Last night, he did a promo in which he referenced the Looney Toons with the "Sufferin' Succotash" line he delivered and he delivered it with the same happy go lucky style. I'm convinced more than ever that Vince McMahon want to turn Roman Reigns into as close to a clone of John Cena as he can possibly get. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Vince himself has been scripting Reigns' stuff.

I like Roman Reigns, I genuinely do, but I just do not see this working out in the way that Vince ultimately hopes and wants it to. It's 2015 and it's fair to say that a LOT of fans who want to see John Cena sorta step aside don't want to see him replaced by Roman Reigns, AKA Cena 2.0. IF that's ultimately where Vince is headed with Reigns and more than enough fans don't care for it, they'll let him know in no uncertain terms.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

I thought his "that was hard to say" and little wink at the end of his Smackdown promo was a funny way of breaking the fourth wall to his IWC detractors.

That said, it does worry me that he is pointed in the direction of goofy Cena. He isn't there yet, but it would pain me to see that. Not necessarily because I dislike Cena, but Reigns hasn't been built to be that type of character. He has been built up as this badass, and making him crack jokes isn't going to help his character, especially when he is already rough on the mic. The last thing you want to do is make a guy do something he hasn't been built to do.

 

[snazzy]

Perhaps I'm giving Vince and the WWE creative team too much credit but I don't believe they are stupid enough to think that this is how you get someone over. They've put many wrestlers over before with the right booking, so I cannot help but think they should damn well know what they are doing, after doing this for decades. Sure it's a bit different nowadays and wrestlers get themselves over rather than WWE getting wrestlers over, but they should know the scripting doesn't help.

That being said I see nothing but a swerve at Rumble and am willing to bet Reigns does not win, simply because of how they are handling him.

 

[MERPER]

The current champ doesn't speak, there is no reason his inability to cut a good promo needs to hold back his in-ring accomplishments and career.

Align him with a good manager (male or female) and let them speak for him. He can still say a sentence or 2 and that's it.

 

[WimpyKid4Life]

I liked the SD Roman Reigns promo. The jokes were hysterical while the delivery was on-point. Superheroes like Superman/Spider-man occasionally use comedic lines when dealing with a criminal to play Mind games with them and show how calm and collected they are. That's a form of bad-ass, the ability to toy with those "weaker beings" so to speak and the ability to show self-confidence in any situation. From " sorry not sorry", to " suffering soccaton" and "donkey dong with brains", it was funny wise-cracks that made me laugh and showcased Roman Reigns as this cool guy who isn't afraid of the top bad guys in the WWE. That wink to the camera was GOLD by the way. Then Roman Reigns gets down to business and tells Seth Rollins " I'm going to kick your ass" with an intense delivery and bad-ass mannerisms. Now Roman Reigns looked like a tough dude who you don't want to mess with. He quickly went from humorous to intimidating, which shows range and a multidimensional character. Solid promo by Roman Reigns. The Superman promo was targeted to the kids, so I can see why some didn' like it. That doesn't mean it was a bad promo. Roman looked and sounded enthustiatic and urbane, which is what one would look and sound like when comparing himself to an iconic superhero. Solid promo by Roman Reigns.

 

[Navi]

Well at least he didn't screw it up, but it was cringe-worthy to watch. Why did I have the impression that he kind of forgot his lines as well, and Rollins had to help him along when he asked "Well what are you doing out here?"

You look at Reigns and see this imposing figure of a Greek God in tactical gear, and then he opens his mouth and Sylvester the Cat comes out. It's quite the let down, and I really hope they stop doing it.

We've gone from Jim Croce to Superman to Sylvester, downhill the whole way.

 

[MartialHorror]

I didn't mind it, as Roman delivered it much more naturally than I would've expected. It was even a little amusing, but I hope this was just a one...er, two time deal? Roman works best as the man of few words. I like to think the "That was hard to say" line was ab-libbed. Rollins reaction was pretty hilarious.

It did feel a little Cena-ish. I remember when Ziggler was feuding with the Miz and his promos seemed kind of Cena-ish as well.

 

[JDHale]

They're going in the opposite direction with Reigns than where they should be heading. My 12 year old sister watching Smackdown knew that it was a Looney Toons reference, but it wasn't amusing to her which is surely the only direction they could have been going with that. She didn't know why Reigns was saying it and asked why he wasn't being serious because Ziggler lost his job and he didn't do anything. Of course she still thinks it's real so having 'Comedian Reigns' or 'Cartoon Reigns' come out when three superstars and one her favorite lost their jobs and she wants Rollins to be punched in the mouth only to get "Sufferin' Succotash" it wasn't what she, I'm guessing the casual fans by her reaction and/or the hardcore fans like him any better. Then when he finally did attack, it gave her more of a "About time!" reaction then a "Yay go Reigns beat him up!" reaction, and I'm guessing quite a few of the younger audience who thought getting fired was serious would have reacted the same too.

They need to stick with Reigns being the serious, get the job done Bad-Ass guy in my opinion. I can't see him winning the Rumble after them two promos, which is a pathetic reason but say it is Lesnar that leaves with the title, is Reigns going to reference Spongebob to mock the person who broke the streak? If Rollins wins are we gonna get the Looney toon reference recycled? I dread to think what would happen in a build to a Cena/Reigns main event, Reigns would go along the lines of "John you may be a record breaking champion, but I'm.. I'm Batman." I'm sorry for being stupidly over the top but it was to prove a point. Leave comedy to people who can do comedy, and leave Reigns to do what Reigns can do. That's just my thoughts on it, but if they carry on with these then maybe Reigns will in a much worse position than I thought he would be with winning the Rumble as it is right now. Hoping it turns out good for him!

 

[John McCass]

He need better promos. He used phrases like 'donkey dung'. He must cut promos on his own words.

 

[bioshock]

I don't know how they even put that stuff on tv. Its bad enough when a comical joke like Santino is doing promos like that, but when a supposed legit top star is,its just uh bad, looks very bad. I doubt kids would even find promos like that entertaining.

If kids want Looney Tunes, or Superman they either going to watch the cartoons, or movies, there not looking for it watching WWE. I just cant imagine what some of these wrestlers think when they see promos that stupid, heck they look like promos with no heart, no emotion. And why? Even in the PG era of the 80s they never had promos so stupid, not by anyone. This stuff is as dumb as Cena's goofy PG promos, and crap like the Gobble Gook.

And they wonder why fans turn away from WWE. No one going to tune in and watch when they read about promos like this. Just glad I don't watch Smackdown. Raw was bad enough with his Superman promo.

 

[L@RISANO]

In a report on the main site, it says that according to Meltzer, Vince McMahon himself is writing the scripts for Roman Reigns at this time.
Now, I don't know how true that is, but it is clear they are attempting to make Reigns into a Cena 2.0, and I can't quite comprehend why they'd do such a thing.


Ideally, Reigns should have become a One-Man Army/ One Man Hound of Justice, and that is where I thought he'd stay after the SHIELD broke up and he got to keep the attire and music, etc...


Guess we'll just have to wait and see, and for fans like myself, hope that someone can change Vince's mind on this decision, because it ain't doing Roman Reigns any favours...

 

[rmp0012002]

Definitely not helping. He's suppose to be a badass but when you're giving a promo like you're talking to two year olds it puts doubts in people's minds. The WWE really needs to go back to more managers as it can really help guys like Reigns that struggle with these long scripted scenes. There is just too much scripting in wrestling these days.

 

[Darkshadow1234]

Ive said this since day one. Roman Reigns is not Main event material. He doesnt have IT. He is one of the worst wrestlers on the roster. He doesnt deserve the push he is getting.
He is terrible on the mic, terrible in the ring and has no charisma.
He can barely wrestle a 10 min match.

I don't get all the love affair with reigns. He is nothing special. He reminds me of lex luger. Except Lex luger was way better.

I'm not a fan reigns. Nor will I ever will be.
Reigns is becoming cena 2.0.
WWE is wondering why fans hate their product. Bc it sucks
Stop forcing people to like someone.

Reigns isnt main event material. Maybe in 5 years. But not now.
Reigns hasn't developed yet. Or shown why he deserves to be at the top.

Rock, stone cold, angle, sting and cena worked their way up. From the mid card to Main event developing their skills.
Reigns hasnt done that.

I hope reigns doesnt win the rumble.

I hope bryan or ziggler win.

 

[Bockwinkel's Class]

Perhaps I'm giving Vince and the WWE creative team too much credit but I don't believe they are stupid enough to think that this is how you get someone over.

You're right: You ARE giving them too much credit; because they ARE, in fact, that stupid. When a complete moron like Kevin Dunn is overseeing creative there are no limits to the amount of stupidity that can be unleashed. As for Vince, he's the genius that treated us to the Gobbledygooker.

They've put many wrestlers over before with the right booking

And they've put even more straight down the shitter with terrible booking (see Cesaro).

 

[Radical]

Ive said this since day one. Roman Reigns is not Main event material. He doesnt have IT. He is one of the worst wrestlers on the roster. He doesnt deserve the push he is getting.
He is terrible on the mic, terrible in the ring and has no charisma.
He can barely wrestle a 10 min match.

I don't get all the love affair with reigns. He is nothing special. He reminds me of lex luger. Except Lex luger was way better.

It is fine if you say you don't think Roman Reigns is main event material (even though he HAS already been part of main even matches that were successful, when some Superstars have never once been in a main event, singles match or otherwise) but fine, if you don't think he's main event material, that's your opinion. If you want to say he's one of the worst wrestlers on the roster, I guess that's your call too. Even I admit he's not the most technically sound wrestler but what he does do, he does well.

But he doesn't deserve the push he is getting? So far, he does, because he's worked his ass off with The Shield and he's a major part of that breakup shooting off 3 singles stars to be. He GETS a good reaction when his music hits and he enters the arena. Doesn't matter if you don't like it, he is getting reaction from others actually attending the shows. And part of that reason is because he HAS charisma. Charisma isn't just mic work. He has a good look for a wrestler and his attire is pretty unique so he stands out a bit more and perhaps people like that about him.


That said, he is not strong on the mic. I don't think anybody would say he is but there is room for improvement. Batista wasn't great on the mic, a lot of people said he sucked on the mic all his career, a lot of them at least said he got better but he still became a pretty big star.


So Reigns is deserving of this push right now because he's worked hard to get to the position he is on the card and in the storylines and fans are reacting well to him.

Now, does that mean he needs to get pushed to win the Royal Rumble this year? No. But he still deserves to get a chance for fans to keep supporting him, those who are and allowing him a chance to get over more. IF fans start souring on him in big numbers and he can't improve on the mic fast enough then he will likely get dropped down the card fairly shortly after WrestleMania whether or not he wins the Rumble.

But for now, Reigns is in the right position he should be. The only problem is he needs to work on finding mic work that works better for him, approval-man Vince and, of course, the WWE fans.

 

[L@RISANO]

You're right: You ARE giving them too much credit; because they ARE, in fact, that stupid. When a complete moron like Kevin Dunn is overseeing creative there are no limits to the amount of stupidity that can be unleashed. As for Vince, he's the genius that treated us to the Gobbledygooker.

Pretty much, and as I have said elsewhere... the only loser in such a situation will be Reigns himself. I am pretty sure, that like us, he himself knows that the script he is getting, is beyond awful.


If Reigns fails to get where the WWE want him to in the time they deem he requires to get there... then they will just de-push Reigns and go for the next fashionable guy that catches Vince's eye, without realising that they've actually done a whole lot of nothing to endear him to the majority of fans during his singles push...

 

[FreezeIzGAWD]

Why don't you people just admit that you don't like Roman Reigns and you HONESTLY don't have a real reason so you are making one up?

SERIOUSLY.....

At first he was the member of Shield who was the weak link in most IWCers eyes and Dean Ambrose was the chosen one. Well that didn't workout but of course that was Vinces fault so then Roman became to green and delivers bad promos and he's too much like Cena and you hate the green on his pockets.....

Yes people have actually written that.....

I mean it's just any and everything. The funny thing is you people are sooooo biased that it's ridiculous. You don't even try to hide your hypocrisy. Daniel Bryan delivers some of the WORST PROMOS EVER but y'all give him a well at least he's trying. The Miz has the corniest and most overrated promos of ANYONE in the HISTORY of wrestling and y'all swear he is GOLD.

I REALLY AM SERIOUS. Will someone please send Me a link to one of Mizs CLASSIC PROMOS because I have NOT HEARD ONE! This is not a JOKE! I swear all I ever him say is REALLY in repetition. Will ANYONE PLEASE SEND ME A LINK OR COPY OF ONE OF HIS PROMOS THAT YALL THINK IS ACTUALLY GOOD?

It's just funny to Me. The Kid isn't a finished product. He is finding out what works for Him and yet you guys are ripping him to shreds for NOTHING.

You say you want new stars formed and yet instead of embracing them when the E tries to make then y'all boo them from the outset.

I hear people saying DB should win the title from Brock this year.

Uh didn't he do that last year? So when Cena wins year after year it sucks and he is a Super Cena but running the EXACT SAME THING BACK when it's a vanilla midget is GREAT BOOKING!!!!

I like Reigns. I hope he gets a chance to develop but he WONT....

AND YOU BUMS ARE THE REASON....

SMDH!!!!!

 

[Navi]

Why don't you people just admit that you don't like Roman Reigns and you HONESTLY don't have a real reason so you are making one up?

Oh cool your jets for Heaven's sake. I don't know what everyone else thinks of Roman Reigns but I like him. Just because I like him though it doesn't blind me to the fact that he isn't a good promo artist. That's okay he will learn in time, hopefully.

And he isn't ready to be the face of the company, not yet anyway. He is very new to the business, and just because he has the look that McMahon likes, it means squat if he's inexperienced. Personally I have no idea why they are in such a rush to push him. Let him have another year, Cena isn't going anywhere soon, let Reigns get that experience so he can truly shine as the top dog. Pushing him too fast might just ruin him, and that would be a shame.

There is nothing wrong with Roman Reigns, well until he picks up the mic and starts to talk. He is hotter than hell, but then I'm a woman, and we like hot guys.

 

[Navi]

I just read a report on the main page which doesn't look good for Reigns. There is a report that say's the scripted promo's have "him in quicksand", and apparently they aren't helping him get to the next level.

Not fair really if Vince is writing the damm promo's is it? It will be interesting to see if HHH can step in and stop this bullshit, considering Reigns is one of his boys from NXT.

 

[MartialHorror]

I remember hearing that Triple H was responsible for those lackluster satellite segments that Reigns did while out on injury and that Vince was displeased with the crowds dead reaction. So maybe that's why Vince is doing this?

But I don't mind these promos as much as everyone else is, just because Roman did a good job at selling them.

 

[kadroan]

The past few times we've seen Roman Reigns on the mic, he's reminded me very, very, very much of John Cena when Cena is in full blown, no holds barred PG mode. What I mean by that is the cartoonish, happy go lucky, cornball joke telling way Cena sometimes delivers his promos. Cena hasn't really do that very much in the past couple of years. Really, the last time he did to any real degree was during his first program with The Rock.

Roman Reigns' backstage promo on Raw recently in which he compared himself to Superman, with all the "faster than a speeding bullet" stuff, the smiling, happy way he delivered them truly reminded me of Cena. Last night, he did a promo in which he referenced the Looney Toons with the "Sufferin' Succotash" line he delivered and he delivered it with the same happy go lucky style. I'm convinced more than ever that Vince McMahon want to turn Roman Reigns into as close to a clone of John Cena as he can possibly get. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Vince himself has been scripting Reigns' stuff.

I like Roman Reigns, I genuinely do, but I just do not see this working out in the way that Vince ultimately hopes and wants it to. It's 2015 and it's fair to say that a LOT of fans who want to see John Cena sorta step aside don't want to see him replaced by Roman Reigns, AKA Cena 2.0. IF that's ultimately where Vince is headed with Reigns and more than enough fans don't care for it, they'll let him know in no uncertain terms.

Yeah it wouldn't surprise me if Vince is behind it. I wish they would let Reigns be Reigns. I don't know who booked Reigns when he was in The Shield, he just kicked ass and didn't try to talk so much.

Batista made it big 10 years ago. Him and Reigns are similar, big athletic guys who aren't the best talkers. If they just have to use a blueprint, use Batista's.

 

[Prince Vee]

Well at least he didn't screw it up, but it was cringe-worthy to watch. Why did I have the impression that he kind of forgot his lines as well, and Rollins had to help him along when he asked "Well what are you doing out here?"

You look at Reigns and see this imposing figure of a Greek God in tactical gear, and then he opens his mouth and Sylvester the Cat comes out. It's quite the let down, and I really hope they stop doing it.

We've gone from Jim Croce to Superman to Sylvester, downhill the whole way.

I totally agree with you mate. He doesn't need to cut promos tbh. Well why does he need to. Just let him feud with the guys and get to the ring and give them a badass look just as how is ring gear is. And well maybe he can give more stares... that's well enough till he grows

 

[kumarjtk]

why u guys bother about roman. WWE definitely make a kids and womans favorite wrestler. Bcoz they are in pg mode and do lots of charity works. After cena they definitely need another cena type guy.
So dont blame roman or wwe. U guys worried about ambrose or bryan or other iwc darling. Or go and watch ur favorite punk private video. Dont watch wwe.

 

[evadavid787]

I heard about the suffering succotash line before I saw it. When I went back and watched smackdown on dvr, it was so painful I turned the volume all the way down. His lines come out so slow because he is trying to remember them before he delivers them. I was cringing...maybe this is intentional. They are trying to push reigns so hard and so obviously with McMahon written lines that the fans will turn on him before the rumble so when Daniel Bryan wins there is no blowback. Lol!

 

[Reflection]

He'll get better with time. When The Rock once posted a photo of himself and Roman Reigns with the caption Future WWE Champion, I thought that was a stretch, but look how far Roman has come. I don't find his promos nearly as bad as some of my fellow members do. If given a chance to come up with his own dialogues, I'm sure he can do better; like that one time he said "When Roman Reigns' in the house, you're damn right Cena sucks!" But then again, you don't want someone saying stuff like this on a kids show, so can't blame the writers either.