5 ways in which Bray Wyatt has rejuvenated Roman Reigns as a babyface
The feud with Bray Wyatt has changed audience perception about Roman ReignsWhen Roman Reigns’ push at the Royal Rumble did not sit as well with the audience as the WWE would have liked, they were presented with a tricky situation to say the least. While completely back-tracking his push was likely never an option, the audience reaction was so hostile that the WWE were forced to reckon with it nonetheless.Although since then, the WWE think-tank has played its cards rather soundly.By opting to hold back on Reigns’ purported push at Wrestlemania 31, they bought time to steadily inch him into the good books of the audience. The positive reaction that he engenders for the most part today testifies to the progress that the company has made with respect to establishing Roman Reigns as a babyface.At the epicenter of this progress however, dwells the ‘new face of fear’ Bray Wyatt. It is arguable that much of the increased audience acceptance towards Reigns has been manufactured off the back of the feud with Bray Wyatt; a fact that the WWE seem well aware of given that the storyline did not culminate at Battleground. With the future looking bright as far as Reigns is concerned now, here is a look back at 5 ways in which the feud with Bray Wyatt has helped rejuvenate him as a babyface.
#1 Established Heel
Renowned equally for his gift of gab and shrewd mind for the business, the retired Jim Ross’ opinions are thoroughly respected in the industry even today. As he recently pointed out in his blog, a good heel should look to manufacture genuine heat from the audience so that the babyface gets put over as a likeable character by juxtaposition. He alludes to how too many heels are preoccupied with obtaining cheap pops today, thus compromising on the true purpose of a heel.
In keeping with the same vein of thought however, one Superstar who has undeniably established himself as a heel in the truest sense of the word is Bray Wyatt. From the cryptic promos to the deranged in-ring demeanour, Wyatt has created a niche for himself as a dominant heel in the eyes of the audience. It presents little surprise then that a storyline involving him and Roman Reigns has considerably furthered the WWE’s cause of establishing Reigns as a top babyface in recent weeks.