Grinds My Gears: Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns, until recently, was one of the most polarizing figures in a wrestling audience. It was clear from the position he was put in, that he was being backed by WWE management for big things, and as a reaction, many wrestling fans reacted negatively to Reigns going over their picks. However, while some wrestling fans disliked Reigns' character and push to the top, Reigns continued to be one of WWE's biggest merchandise sellers, overtaking the previous face of the promotion John Cena in the process.
Roman has generally been picked on by the more "ardent" wrestling fans in two areas, he isn't particularly strong on the microphone or charismatic and is perceived as being weak in the ring. Fans seem to constantly nail down these points as to reasons why they don't think that he deserves to be the top star of the biggest wrestling promotion in the world.
The Crux
The irony of this point is to compare Roman's skills in those two areas against others that have taken the place atop the podium in the past that these same fans love and cherish. Two that stand out are Bret Hart and the Rock. Using the example of Bret Hart as one of the best technical wrestlers in the world, ascended to the place of World Champion right after the era of Hulk Hogan was coming down.
The then WWF was transitioning into smaller wrestling champions due to steroid allegations that had affected the companies performances and seemed to be sinking the ship. Undeniably, Hart was one of the best technically gifted wrestlers to step into the ring, however, anyone watching a Hart promo would see that in a company filled with larger than life personalities, Hart was the equivalent of warm lettuce. Yet these fans still love Hart.
On the flip side, The Rock is one of the most beloved wrestlers from the Attitude Era, taking the top spot with Stone Cold Steve Austin and main eventing Wrestlemania after Wrestlemania. The Rock is considered as one of, if not, the best promo's in the history of the WWE, especially during his time at the top.
The Rock would pop off a speech mainly filled with catchphrases and have the crowd hang on every word that he said. However, wrestling ability and move set was not Rock's forte. The two moves that the Rock generally finished his opponents of were essentially a Rock Bottom, which was essentially a Side Slam, and the People's Elbow, which was a basic elbow drop with an insane amount of theatrics. For a generation that slammed Hogan's Atomic Leg drop as hokey, the Rock sees the leg drop and up's the ante with this move.
Similarly, the same fans that have panned Roman for years have often chanted "You Can't Wrestle" at John Cena. This comes at a time when almost everyone in the business, from Jim Cornette to Bruce Prichard, to AJ Styles, have all spoken about how good the leader of the C-nation really is.
What do we do next?
With Roman Reigns announced for Raw, and many wrestling fans feeling more sympathetic since he announced that he would be taking time off to treat the Leukemia he had been battling with. We may yet see the best of Roman to come.
With the return of Roman leading into Wrestlemania season, hopefully, the WWE can turn their flagging product around in the face of new competition from promotions like AEW as well as rumoured discontentment amongst members of the roster backstage.
Prior to Roman leaving, many stories had emerged how Reigns had been the Locker Room leader before he was forced to take time off due to his health, and you only need to go back and watch as he made his way backstage after the announcement to see how many of the other wrestlers in the locker room looked up to him to see how much of a force he was there.
There is truly hope that Roman Reigns can get his health right again and become the star of this generation that he seemed destined to be.