It baffles me and frustrates me that WWE is so stubborn on this subject.
They have chosen Roman Reigns as their guy for the future. But he is simply not over. How can you build an era around a guy that gets booed out of every building they go to?
I hate every excuse WWE and some of the people on here give too.
"Well he sells the most merch." -- Big freaking deal. They also probably make more Roman Reigns merch than any other superstar. It has been the same with John Cena for years now. "He's the top merch seller"... yeah because when you go to get a shirt at an event, there are 5 different colored John Cena shirts to choose from, not to mention arm bands and other things.
"Well he gets a reaction wherever he goes. Doesn't matter if it's a good or a bad one, it's better than not getting one."
- While I do agree with that notion, in Roman Reigns case it's just simply not healthy. People are flat out pissed off about the continued push of this man without ANY CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT WHATSOEVER.
Does WWE think that they have NOBODY else on this currently stacked roster that could sell more merch or be a bigger star than Roman Reigns right now? Give me a freaking break.
They're putting all of their eggs in the Roman Reigns basket, and it's very frustrating to see.
Turning him flow blown heel is absolutely 100% the only right answer.
Have him tear through every one on the roster (like he's already doing) but in a bad ass way. Have him attacking people in the backstage area, like how Braun attacked him the other night.
Imagine if Roman had done that attack on someone like Finn Balor? Great heel heat for Roman, great comeback story and actual sympathy for Finn. No one is sympathizing with Roman after Monday.
Instead we have Roman in the backstage getting interviewed by Michael Cole about his match with Undertaker at Mania, shrugging his shoulders with his good boy act saying "listen I just come here and do what I need to do to be the best." Or some BS like that.
WHY?
He should have said "Hell yeah I retired the Undertaker. I would do it again if I had to. The Deadman was way past his prime, and at Wrestlmania I put him out of his misery. As for what's next? Well I'm putting the whole Raw locker room on notice, that this is my show, and that ring is my yard. I don't care if you're Finn Balor, Seth Rollins, or Brock Lesnar I will send your ass to join the deadman in the retirement home in heartbeat. Believe that."
WWE is so scared of turning him heel same with John Cena, which literally makes no sense. Have they not watched wrestling or their own product?? Every single big name that there ever was, excluding Cena (not really counting when he first came in as a heel. Plus Roman originally came in as heel w/ the Sheild), has been heel at one point throughout their singles run. And in almost every single instance, it has made that persons character more fresh, more entertaining, and more over in the long run.
The Rock: Rocky Miavia --> The Rock. He eventually got so over as the heel that he became one of the biggest Faces OF ALL TIME...... and they STILL turned him heel later on down the road. To corporate Rock and again later to Hollywood Rock.
Stone Cold: Turned heel at mania 17, maybe not the best heel run, but his character became more developed and we got to see a different side of him that was ultimately beneficial.
Hulk Hogan has done a big heel turn, Undertaker has been heel, literally every big name at one point or another has ran as a heel at some point in there career.
Look at the popularity of WWE/Professional Wrestling since the Cena era began.... probably some of the lowest times. Why? Because WWE thought it was a good idea if THEY hand picked ONE guy to be "The Face if the company" and then not change or develope his character AT ALL in about 13 years and counting.
Now WWE is setting up that very same pattern with their new "Face of the company" Roman Reigns.
It's frustrating from a fans standpoint because, yes I'm going to watch anyway. I've been watching for almost 20 years, I'm a fan, I'm committed. Plus there are enough characters and superstars right now that I do very much enjoy that I can stay tuned. But WWE could be WAY more popular if they changed up the way they look at things. Don't force feed us a bland Roman Reigns over and over and over again for the next 15 years. Turning him heel gets people talking. It could be a step in the direction of making Wrestling cool again.
Turning him heel also creates other big stars in the process. Roman as a dominant monster heel, could create huge face stars out of guys like Seth, Finn, AJ, Dean, Nakurmara, and others. I'm talking bigger than they already are.
I would also like to say, that watching a Roman Reigns match is not terrible. I absolutely despise the superman punch, but other than that I typically enjoy his matches. It's his character and the lack of development, and WWE's need for him to be this good guy with only a little bit of attitude that I hate.