Roman Reigns' WWE character is influenced by a massive burden he is currently facing, reveals veteran
Roman Reigns is set to headline another WrestleMania, and it's a testament to his sheer dominance as a heel in WWE. Paul Heyman recently opened up about Reigns' villainous persona and revealed that his client was actually facing a massive burden in maintaining his spot at the top.
Since returning in 2020 and capturing the Universal Championship, Roman Reigns has been genuinely unstoppable as a kayfabe bad guy. The Tribal Chief has beaten every major babyface during his record-setting world title reign and, in the eyes of the fans, has transformed into one of the most ruthless heels in history.
According to The Bloodline's Wise Man, however, Roman Reigns was a hero who had to change his ways to keep hold of his throne. The 57-year-old even spoke about the burden that Reigns faces, as you can view below on the SI Media podcast:
"It's the portrayal of a hero that was pushed too far and that went too far and had accomplished so much that once he reached that level that nobody else could have attained, he felt the burden to stay at that level. The responsibilities and the obligations and the accountability of being at that level, and everybody depending on you, weighs on him to such a degree that the things he would do to retain the position on a consecutive level." [16:30 - 17:30]
It's mind-boggling that Roman Reigns could realistically cross a thousand days as champion if he does walk out of WrestleMania without losing.
Heyman explained that Roman's unmatched run, which has spanned multiple years, resulted from meticulous planning and execution that seems to have also changed The Bloodline leader in the process.
The Samoan superstar has evidently been unforgiving in his approach and, as per Heyman, has decided to go to any lengths to remain the Undisputed Champion in WWE.
The WWE manager continued:
"There is a reason he is approaching a thousand days as the champion in WWE. That's because it's an uninterrupted pursuit of greatness and the very top, not only day-to-day but micro-moment to micro-moment. That you can't even be that long of a moment where Roman Reigns does not define the fact that he is the absolute undisputed, uncontroverted, #1 star in the entire industry, and the burden that places on a human being is so extraordinary that the lengths he will go to and the depths that he would stoop to, to keep that position micro-moment to micro-moment has led him down a villainous path." [17:31 - 18:40]
Paul Heyman compares Roman Reigns to other great pro wrestling villains
Paul Heyman was admittedly biased while talking about Roman Reigns, as they've been together since the superstar's heel turn. Paul believed that Roman had transcended the traditional heel-face dynamic and had reached a level that few of his predecessors or peers had achieved.
Heyman has closely studied several iconic heels of the business and picked out one common trait they all had, which Roman Reigns also seems to have developed in recent times.
"Just because you're biased doesn't mean you're wrong, and we've never looked at this portrayal in the classic pro wrestling, sports entertainment confining definitions of heel and babyface," said Heyman. "We've looked at this character as a villain. He is a villain. We even went so far, at one point, as wanting to describe him as an antagonist, and the opposition would be the protagonist. All great villains, at least the ones I've studied obsessively. All great villains don't see themselves as villains." [18:41 - 19:33]
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