Opinion: The biggest problem with Roman Reigns
As a longtime WWE fan, a rather intriguing observation that I, as well as several other WWE fans, have made is that of Roman Reigns being accorded a push of astronomical levels.
Bear in mind, that by no means is Reigns a bad choice--so to speak--however, the manner in which the promotion has chosen to book his ascent to the top of the WWE food chain, has been less than desirable, to say the least.
Now, Reigns is undeniably a phenomenal athlete, who seems to have both the size as well as the functional attributes to ensure that he delivers top-notch matches when they count the most.
However, the question that arises--irrespective of the aforementioned strengths of The Big Dog--is that why would the vast majority of the WWE Universe choose to rain down thunderous boos on this young man every time he takes the dais.
The reason behind the majority of fans turning against Reigns, is most likely the fact that he is booked to win every single time--a clean win at that! If you are to carefully examine Reigns' career thus far, most of The Big Dog's losses have come when his opponents use nefarious means (outside interference, foreign objects, etc) so as to defeat him.
Additionally, Reigns has been featured as "The Guy"--the most important WWE Superstar--continually over the past few years. Reigns has headlined several WWE events, and defeated big names such as The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, John Cena and several others clean on the biggest stages in the WWE.
Meanwhile, guys like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe who had one of the best WWE Championship match of this year at the same event were found somewhere in the mid card. Besides, Reigns has also been headlining WrestleMania since 'Mania 31--continually at that!
Couple that with the fact that Reigns' main events spots at 'Mania have come largely against part-time performers such as Brock Lesnar, Undertaker and even Triple H--and the entire fiasco of the fans turning against Reigns seems to make a bit more sense.
The WWE Universe seems to cheer several other Superstars day in and day out, however, when it comes to the promotion's resident Big Dog, they change their tune rather abruptly. Let's face it, the fans want to see someone other than Reigns essay the role of the WWE's top babyface--in regards to which a few notable names such as Braun Strowman, Finn Balor, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose come to mind.
There are also so many other talented superstars such as Sami Zayn, Elias, Kevin Owens, Bobby Lashley etc. who also work hard to get into main event picture; only to end up losing to Roman Reigns time and again. For instance, granted that Lashley beat Reigns at Extreme Rules--however, the WWE almost immediately pulled the trigger on Reigns avenging his loss to Lashley, with The Big Dog defeating Lashley clean on an ensuing episode of Monday Night RAW.
That brings us to Reigns' weekly portrayal by the company, which has had its ups and downs thus far--what with The Big Dog destroying everyone in his path, even the top-tier performers, week in and week out.
Regardless, Reigns has worked tremendously hard for everything he has achieved thus far in the WWE. Now, by no means to we mean to downgrade this wonderful athlete's accomplishments in the realm of sports-entertainment.
Nevertheless, while the WWE is right in according a huge push to one of its top Superstars today, one would be remiss to not abide by the old adage--one that goes, "Anything in excess is bad."
Whether you love him or hate him, Reigns is perhaps a promoter's dream come true. The Big Dog has the look down to a T; and can speak with such confidence and conviction that could make the most notorious alphas wallow in doubt. Speaking of which, his in-ring abilities seem to be improving at a steady rate--something which has gotten him a considerable amount of credit from both fans and experts alike over the past few years.
All in all, the problem is not Roman Reigns but the way he is booked. The way he jumps to title matches abruptly surpassing other talented full-time performers. It's hard to blame WWE for pushing someone as talented as charismatic as Roman Reigns--however, the organization would be remiss if they do not give more opportunities to other performers.
This, in turn, would most definitely ensure that the company is in a state of homeostasis. With a firm foundation, the current pack of WWE Superstars could then take the company to new, greater heights of success.
A great way in which the WWE could ensure that the fans once again accept Reigns with open arms, is by booking him to lose the occasional match--clean, at that (sic)--to a top Superstar such as Finn Balor, Braun Strowman, etc.
Reigns could eventually get the win back from them, however, the top of the WWE food chain would then look competitive--which is what most fans want.