Roman Reign's push

[#1druid]

I want to start this off by saying I love the shield and have seen great improvement from Reigns over the last year. However I feel his push is adversely effecting Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton, Batista and Daniel Bryan. Rollins and Ambrose have been portrayed as the lesser members of the shield since survivor series and Reigns pretty much always makes their comebacks since they've been babyfaces, he's shown as the strongest, which i don't disagree with, but he's now being shown as always the last man standing whether against the Wyatts, Evolution, or any other adversary. I don't dislike him but he's making the other members look less powerful and it translates to a smaller crowd reaction and will hurt them after the break up, in my opinion. He has the powerhouse finisher, a signature move and he's the one that does the work in their team finisher. I think creative needs to do more to make Ambrose and Rollins more integral to the team.

Batista and Orton are top tier heels and now they just feel like Triple H's henchmen to me. As veteran's they should be putting younger talent over but in a single's capacity. My opinion on a evolution reunion would be as faces in a one night only situation, where one or two make the save for another leading to a six man later in the night, Evolution is a huge down grade for two huge stars. I don't even like Batista but he obviously deserves more than being put back in a faction that broke up in 2005. Obviously Triple H is still front and center for the feud so he's not being hurt by the feud. I have no problem with Triple H as many do but you'd think as head of creative he wouldn't sacrifice two top stars to put over a guy who might not even pan out.

Bryan's effect obviously is indirect in that all of the top heels are taken in another feud leaving him to face Kane, who despite being masked again, is not a top tier heel and has been beaten by Bryan quite a few times in the last few months, making this a huge downgrade for Bryan after his spectacular Mania. They need to keep his momentum going and in my opinion Bryan should be feuding with some combination of Evolution members, either one, two, or all of them, in my personal opinion, an acceptable downgrade would have been a heel sheamus in a redemption storyline. Have Bryan and Sheamus team against Orton and Batista with the stipulation where if Bryan and Sheamus winning Sheamus gets a title shot and if batista and Orton win it's a Mania rematch, and Bryan wins it for their team and then offers Sheamus a handshake and leads into Sheamus turning on Bryan with a huge heel beatdown. Bryan can talk the next week about how beating Cena, Orton, Triple H, and Batista was never enough for him because at the end of the day 18 seconds could never get out of his head and all he wanted was to make sheamus tap.

Obviously i just went on a sub rant but my point is Reign's has the look of a top star but with average ring work and below average mic work it's not certain he'll amount to the next Cena as they appear to think he will. I like Reigns but sacrificing 5 stars, 3 of which could be labeled up and comers, and wasting the star potential of two future hall of famers seems like a huge gamble to me.

 

[Hakushi]

I believe that ultimately, when the split happens, Reigns will almost immediately be in the WWEWHC picture while Rollins/Ambrose muddle around the mid card for a while. I enjoy all three members, but would rank Reigns 3rd as far as all around of the three. His size and recent in ring improvements will take him up the ladder sooner rather than later.
I do share some of the OP's frustration, but it is numbed somewhat by my belief that all three will be around for a long time and Rollins/Ambrose should actually have the more "interesting" careers/feuds. I feel they can match up with anyone on the roster big or small.

 

[nWoForever1138]

Roman Reigns is destined to be John Cena's potential successor according to industry experts and insiders alike. I actually can't wait to see it happen, I think he has tons of potential.

 

[JJ15776]

Roman Reigns is destined to be John Cena's potential successor according to industry experts and insiders alike. I actually can't wait to see it happen, I think he has tons of potential.

To be fair, people thought the same thing about, among many others, Mr Kennedy and MVP. While Reigns may well be a main eventer and multiple time word champion, especially early after the split from The Shield, I really don't see him as the John Cena face of the company type. If he has that type of charisma, he's done a very good job of hiding it. At best, I see him as more of a successor for the Batista/Sheamus type secondary face.

I believe that ultimately, when the split happens, Reigns will almost immediately be in the WWEWHC picture while Rollins/Ambrose muddle around the mid card for a while. I enjoy all three members, but would rank Reigns 3rd as far as all around of the three. His size and recent in ring improvements will take him up the ladder sooner rather than later.
I do share some of the OP's frustration, but it is numbed somewhat by my belief that all three will be around for a long time and Rollins/Ambrose should actually have the more "interesting" careers/feuds. I feel they can match up with anyone on the roster big or small.

I agree with this. Reigns will be the star in the immediate aftermath of the Shield breakup, and probably win a World title almost immediately. But I wouldn't be surprised if he's the third biggest star to come out of the group when it's all said and done, 20 years from now.

As for the OP...well, there's a lot to digest there.

1)When the Shield first showed up, Ambrose was the star at the expense of the other two. Hell, he was the US champion(still is) while Reigns and Rollins were relegated to being a tag team. Then Rollins seemed to break out, he got some more mic time, he got more chances to show off his flashy moves. Then Reigns started to break out, his dominant Royal Rumble performance, he seems to be getting more comfortable in his role. Look, it's impossible to have a group of three guys with all of them looking equal...right now, Reigns is at the head of the group, but let's not act like Rollins or Ambrose are weak. Rollins in particular always has a few spots in their matches where he shines. Ambrose shines anytime the camera is on him. They both hold their own with anybody.

2)Evolution...well, obviously this reunion is extremely temporary, and it's not like they're a full time stable, they're just three guys teaming up. They only have a name and music because of the stable 10 years ago. So let's not get carried away and act like they're sticking them in a stable or anything. It'll be broke in up after Extreme Rules or, at most, the PPV after that.

2a)And I really don't see how this is any different than them putting over guys in is singles competition. They're putting over all three members of The Shield, all three not just one, as a group. Would it be better if Batista was putting over Rollins and Orton was putting over Ambrose in singles competition? I don't get that part.

2b)Well, I'm not sure how much say Triple H has in creative, but I do know that all three members of Evolution have been front and center so far, so I'm not sure why we're assuming that will change and the other two will be hurt while he won't be. But that just goes back to comparing the beginning of that paragraph with the end, saying they should be putting guys over but then saying they shouldn't be sacrificed. You can't really have it both ways, I'm afraid.

3)I would say Bryan hasn't been hurt at all by Reign's push, considering Kane with a mask on is a completely different animal than the Corporate Kane that has been beaten by Bryan. And after the attack on Monday people are going to want to see Bryan beat Kane again anyway, so it's not like this is boxing or MMA where you need to come up with legitimate challengers to sell the matches and make the champion look good, this is about the storyline. Personally, I love this storyline with monster Kane and Daniel Bryan.

3a)Well, I'm sure he will get his challenges from all the guys in Evolution in the next few months since, again, Evolution isn't going to be around long.

3b)Sheamus? Yikes. Aside from the weird stipulation you laid out, Sheamus really doesn't have anything to do with The Authority and Bryan is still feuding with The Authority...but I do think a heel Sheamus would be a fine challenger in, say, September, when Bryan is done with The Authority, if he's still champion at that time.

So, yeah, I would say that you're really overreacting here. Reigns has been made to look strong, and he's certainly getting the appropriate reactions, but it's not like they've been sacrificing any of the other people mentioned just for him.

 

[whoopin' ass]

He is the latest big man that wwe is hoping to make a star. There was Batista, Sheamus, etc who wwe pushed to the moon because they were the next big thing. Question is will they follow through or will they back off as usual. Seeing as he is related to The Rock, I think they will try harder than usual with him but it all comes down to him in the end and if he can stand the spot. There have been a lot of guys who wanted to be top dog only to stumble when given the chance.

 

[TheVolFan52]

I like reigns, I really do. Seth Rollins and Dean ambrose or better in almost every facet though. I hope reigns gets a big push when they break up but him over rollins is laughable. I hate that wwe has pretty much said "this is the guy we are going to go with" and the fans have just accepted it. He is great and has tons of potential but the "next cena?" If you boo cena, then you better boo reigns, because when cena got his push he didn't shove 2 way more talented peers to the mid card like reigns will. Reigns is probably the best example of a "product of the system."

 

[StingerSplash22]

I think Reigns has given us no reason to not like the push he is receiving. As somebody else pointed out, the other two members of the Shield have had their times to shine as well. Hell, ask 20 wrestling fans who is gonna be the best of the trio and I bet it would be something like 8 votes for Reigns, 7 votes for Ambrose and 5 for Rollins. They all have something to really like about them. The fact is, somebody has to go first and I have no problem with that being Reigns.

As for the impact on DB, why does everything have to be about him? Are you suggesting that rather than building the next main event players they just hold off and let DB beat everybody? Every PPV doesn't have to have the champion facing the biggest threat to the title. If that is what Bryan needs then he is a failure as a champion. Hell, all the Bryan marks should be thrilled because the fact that he is facing Kane just means that he keeps the strap for another month.

 

[Headman]

I like the Shield as a group much more than I like Roman Reigns as an individual. Maybe they can make a big star out of him, but they should play it slow with him. The Shield as a unit is an attraction. There's still a lot of life in the group. It would be a shame to break them up just to push Reigns. It would be even worse if Reigns flopped.

 

[obamartins]

To be fair, people thought the same thing about, among many others, Mr Kennedy and MVP. While Reigns may well be a main eventer and multiple time word champion, especially early after the split from The Shield, I really don't see him as the John Cena face of the company type. If he has that type of charisma, he's done a very good job of hiding it. At best, I see him as more of a successor for the Batista/Sheamus type secondary face.

The difference between Roman Reigns & Mr. Kennedy/MVP is that while they may have had the support of a writer or another wrestler, Roman Reigns has the full support of Vince McMahon & Triple H (according to Wade Keller & Dave Meltzer)...the ONLY two people who matter ultimately.

Roman Reigns may not replace John Cena as the face of WWE but he's defiantly getting the The Rock/Randy Orton treatment...he's being groomed. Bottom line is he is the chosen one.

 

[MoRtAnDaD]

This is one of those rare case where the entire stable is super talented. From a stereotype.... yes Reigns is the one that has the advantage.

But i truly believe that someway or another, the 3 of them will ended up on the main event, maybe not at the same time. But i can see they are going to have their time to shine as main eventers.

What reigns have to be the top face, ambrose have it to be the next big heel. Rollins on the other hand....i can see him doing both....even if his style is naturally FACE, he shown that he can be a convincing heel. Probably the most versatile of the 3.

 

[deadman talking]

i have no problems with him being the next wrestling big shot, i just hope they dont completely forget about rollins and ambrose. they are pretty damn impressive.i enjoy them more right now than roman. theyve been mentioning him taking over hope it aint premature

 

[cmedge]

We all see that Reigns is being groomed to be a top guy. Daniel Bryan is just holding it until Summerslam or so until a top heel will hold it until Wrestlemania and Reigns will win it at Wrestlemania and hold it for a very long time. I really love Reigns, he's surprised me and has become my favourite out of The Shield. He's improved the most out of everyone in The Shield. He's the biggest and most menacing member of The Shield he's a scary guy, I really like that in a top guy. He looks like a legit tough guy and an ass kicker. I love The Shield and I hope all the members of The Shield become top guys. I'm really glad that they are still together and I'll enjoy them while they are still together until they inevitably disband.

 

[bigben929]

Reigns is a Triple H guy... He will probably end up like Sheamus, who if you remember is also a Triple H guy. A few World Title reigns, a match on every PPV. Rollins and Ambrose will probably eventually also get a title reign but if they do a split that involves them all fighting, we know that Reigns is gonna go way over. That is gonna take some time for the other two to get back from.

 

[Dragon Chief]

Don't worry about Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose being affected by Reign's push, they both have the talent, potential as well as passion to become greats on their own. The three wrestlers can only achieve so much as The Shield, even if Roman Reigns looks like the one getting most of the benefits from the group, he will still have to establish himself as a top talent after he parts ways with group, just like the other two. It may take Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose a longer time to get to the top but they will get there in due time, if that's where they want to go.

 

[Cena's #1 In My Heart]

I like reigns, I really do. Seth Rollins and Dean ambrose or better in almost every facet though. I hope reigns gets a big push when they break up but him over rollins is laughable. I hate that wwe has pretty much said "this is the guy we are going to go with" and the fans have just accepted it. He is great and has tons of potential but the "next cena?" If you boo cena, then you better boo reigns, because when cena got his push he didn't shove 2 way more talented peers to the mid card like reigns will. Reigns is probably the best example of a "product of the system."

I feel your pain. I don't think we have to worry about Ambrose and Rollins getting buried by Reigns as much as you have to worry about the crowd turning on Reigns. Some of you say he receives chants.. yeah.. small section chants, he's also received small section boos when doing certain cookie cutter heroic acts. The same type of stuff that draws Cena chants will fall on Reigns. He's not going to be entertaining enough and well polished enough in the ring to be in the position they want to put him in. He does a few spot moves, and that's all he's worth right now. (and his look)

Definitely want to see Seth Rollins coming out of this looking like the Evolution of CM Punk and Shawn Michaels. And he easily can as long as the WWE doesn't kill him with the Reigns thing.

Anyways I clearly like Dean and Seth over Roman. And as a fan of those two, the thought of Roman Reigns being the one to breakout and surpass the other two just pisses me off. Thus I CAN NOT get behind Roman Reigns. I'm sure I'm not the only fan who feels like this. It's the heavy wrestling fans out there who will hate the way he was pushed over the other two and they will spread their hatred amongst the crowd leading to another John Cena/Batista/Orton or even Sheamus situation. As in their suppose to be huge face stars but parts of the audience or all of the audience in some cases have turned against them.

Why does The Shield even have to break up? If you want Roman Reigns to be liked, you better just let him remain friends with The Shield kind of like how certain groups stick together throughout the years. Doesn't mean they always have to be "The Shield" though. They can just have a friendly relationship.

If you really wanna break them up though I think Reigns best shot at staying over for the long haul is for him to go heel on The Shield. Give the deep wrestling fans time to warm up and get used to him and realize that he is a legit threat as a heel. Then he can be a face... but you can't just put a guy out there with a nice look and a couple impressive moves and expect them to be a likeable star. He has to prove he has what it takes to get it done. A meanstreak sorta speaking.

 

[kadroan]

I want to start this off by saying I love the shield and have seen great improvement from Reigns over the last year. However I feel his push is adversely effecting Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Randy Orton, Batista and Daniel Bryan. Rollins and Ambrose have been portrayed as the lesser members of the shield since survivor series and Reigns pretty much always makes their comebacks since they've been babyfaces, he's shown as the strongest, which i don't disagree with, but he's now being shown as always the last man standing whether against the Wyatts, Evolution, or any other adversary. I don't dislike him but he's making the other members look less powerful and it translates to a smaller crowd reaction and will hurt them after the break up, in my opinion. He has the powerhouse finisher, a signature move and he's the one that does the work in their team finisher. I think creative needs to do more to make Ambrose and Rollins more integral to the team.

Batista and Orton are top tier heels and now they just feel like Triple H's henchmen to me. As veteran's they should be putting younger talent over but in a single's capacity. My opinion on a evolution reunion would be as faces in a one night only situation, where one or two make the save for another leading to a six man later in the night, Evolution is a huge down grade for two huge stars. I don't even like Batista but he obviously deserves more than being put back in a faction that broke up in 2005. Obviously Triple H is still front and center for the feud so he's not being hurt by the feud. I have no problem with Triple H as many do but you'd think as head of creative he wouldn't sacrifice two top stars to put over a guy who might not even pan out.

Bryan's effect obviously is indirect in that all of the top heels are taken in another feud leaving him to face Kane, who despite being masked again, is not a top tier heel and has been beaten by Bryan quite a few times in the last few months, making this a huge downgrade for Bryan after his spectacular Mania. They need to keep his momentum going and in my opinion Bryan should be feuding with some combination of Evolution members, either one, two, or all of them, in my personal opinion, an acceptable downgrade would have been a heel sheamus in a redemption storyline. Have Bryan and Sheamus team against Orton and Batista with the stipulation where if Bryan and Sheamus winning Sheamus gets a title shot and if batista and Orton win it's a Mania rematch, and Bryan wins it for their team and then offers Sheamus a handshake and leads into Sheamus turning on Bryan with a huge heel beatdown. Bryan can talk the next week about how beating Cena, Orton, Triple H, and Batista was never enough for him because at the end of the day 18 seconds could never get out of his head and all he wanted was to make sheamus tap.

Obviously i just went on a sub rant but my point is Reign's has the look of a top star but with average ring work and below average mic work it's not certain he'll amount to the next Cena as they appear to think he will. I like Reigns but sacrificing 5 stars, 3 of which could be labeled up and comers, and wasting the star potential of two future hall of famers seems like a huge gamble to me.

At first, I wanted a WM XXX rematch with Bryan/Orton/Batista because it made sense.

I wasn't a big fan of the Kane/Bryan feud. However, with Bryan's honeymoon and father passing, this is a great fill in feud until Bryan is back full time. Putting off Bryan vs. Evolution gives more time to have the feud rightfully build up, rather than thrown together at the last minute.

 

[Hem]

I don't think Reigns is really hurting Ambrose nor is he hurting Rollins simply because those two are not "Face Of The Company" material. Very few guys fit that criteria and Roman Reigns is a fit. I agree that Rollins and Ambrose are EXCELLENT workers and I specially enjoy the work of Rollins as I feel he has found his spot on the mic and in the ring to a near perfect position. Ambrose is the future of heels and I feel like that is a very valid statement but I just fell Wade Barrett V2.0 written all over Ambrose with their being high backstage like but the guy ends up falling flat.

I hope all three succeed and to an equivalent extent. I feel Rollins is an excellent replacement for the spot where JoMo was slightly before he left, the spot monkey who is just on the verge of being in the main event. He kind of makes me think of the position Jeff Hardy was in, the underdog of sorts going against the two main guys and winning the big one similarly to how Hardy did. Reigns is obviously the next big thing who however is still inexperienced and will only further benefit as long as the Shield stays in tact.

 

[tehblogger]

I disagree; Rollins has been booked really strong in a lot of Shield matches as well - especially since their face turn, and as for Ambrose, his promo quality and in-ring intensity will always stand him in very good stead. Reigns has been given the really big spots, sure (Survivor Series/Royal Rumble), but Ambrose's character doesn't need them anyway, and if they are trying to build Reigns a The Next Big Thing v2.0, it makes sense. Rollins I think will wind up as a much much better version of Jeff Hardy (which should be pretty awesome, since Hardy at his peak was unbelievably over and had some decent matches also).

 

[The Eighties]

I'm not sure it's hurting Rollins or Ambrose as Rollins actually comes off as the point man while Reigns is the closer. Ambrose on the other hand has surprised me in that I didn't think he could pull off being a face at all but he's actually been doing well since they turned.

I actually think the one that could suffer the most from the abundance of "OMG Reigns is amazing" stuff that WWE are doing is Roman himself. Fans have shown in recent times that they will ruthlessly shit on someone they don't rate and feel is getting over-pushed because he fits Vince wet dream criteria. I personally like him but I don't think he's ready yet and I also think he could be exposed if they jump too quickly with him.

I read JR saying he could see Reigns vs Lesnar for the title at Mania 31 and I can see WWE going for that, but I really hope not. I'd spend the next 18 months having him work with guys like Sheamus, Barrett, Cena, Cesaro, Triple H and Orton, grooming him for the big WWE title win at Mania 32.

He could be the next big thing but he's only 28, there is no rush, let him develop longer and he may actually be the guy WWE want him to be, go too soon and I think fans will crucify him. Rollins and Ambrose will be fine either way as they are much more rounded talents that have their shit together already, even if WWE book something as stupid as having Reigns beat them in a 2 on 1 handicap match at some point.

 

[L@RISANO]

I'm not sure it's hurting Rollins or Ambrose as Rollins actually comes off as the point man while Reigns is the closer. Ambrose on the other hand has surprised me in that I didn't think he could pull off being a face at all but he's actually been doing well since they turned.

I actually think the one that could suffer the most from the abundance of "OMG Reigns is amazing" stuff that WWE are doing is Roman himself. Fans have shown in recent times that they will ruthlessly shit on someone they don't rate and feel is getting over-pushed because he fits Vince wet dream criteria. I personally like him but I don't think he's ready yet and I also think he could be exposed if they jump too quickly with him.

I read JR saying he could see Reigns vs Lesnar for the title at Mania 31 and I can see WWE going for that, but I really hope not. I'd spend the next 18 months having him work with guys like Sheamus, Barrett, Cena, Cesaro, Triple H and Orton, grooming him for the big WWE title win at Mania 32.

He could be the next big thing but he's only 28, there is no rush, let him develop longer and he may actually be the guy WWE want him to be, go too soon and I think fans will crucify him. Rollins and Ambrose will be fine either way as they are much more rounded talents that have their shit together already, even if WWE book something as stupid as having Reigns beat them in a 2 on 1 handicap match at some point.

With the match against HHH rumoured for SummerSlam, I can see that going ahead to signal Roman Reigns as a Singles Superstar.

However, I do agree with you that he does need to be built carefully, and not just through Strong booking, but keeping him away from being a 5 moves of doom type of guy who only does a limited set of moves in every match.

I'd let him beat HHH at SummerSlam to end the Authority storylines...and then as the Eighties has said above, let him work with some Main Event guys like Orton, Sheamus, Batista, even Cena... before giving him a shot at the Main title.

As for Rollins, I see a guy who can be a Fan Favourite going forward. Surely a new Jeff Hardy type more than anything.

Ambrose is the guy I am most concerned about. I have no doubt that if booked properly as a Singles, he can definitely be a Top Heel...but as someone else said...it is possible he might end up more like a Wade Barrett than a Bray Wyatt...although his Mic Work means that the company has a guy who can probably replace CM Punk somewhat,lMO.

 

[WarroBODFan]

Even though I'm a huge Reigns fan, I agree that his push needs to be treated with kid gloves.

Through the years, fans have slowly become more smarky, and I worry at times that because Reigns isn't the guy 'they've' chosen to take the mantle as a main eventer, or even face of the company, that there will be some sort of resentment. Especially if he's a Vince/HHH guy, which of course someone like DB/Punk was not. If he waits a bit longer, pays his dues a little more and keeps this upward curve of progression (idiotic when people say he can't cut a promo), I think even the more critical type fan would accept him and the work he's put in. I don't see why he can't be a huge success, as long as they don't screw around with Rollins and Ambrose too much.

The Shield as a collective are still red hot, and are still being booked to the moon and stars. This does not simply mean that when the split does happen, that Reigns needs to be 'immediately' pushed to the moon. There will still be plenty of stuff for all three guys to get involved with, and most likely feuding with each other, or Reigns V Rollins & Ambrose.

I believe Reigns facing HHH at Summerslam is a superb matchup, and Reigns needs opportunities to prove he's more than a 5 moves of doom type of wrestler. But it does not necessarily mean the Shield will have split up by then. Far from it. I don't see many people suggesting that they stay together for a significant amount of time, even if they're branching out into singles competition. It's something we rarely see, but why not now?