Opinion: This is the Roman Reigns we've been waiting for WWE to give us for years - and it's Batman
Hey kids! Sully here. I'm about to try and convince you that Roman Reigns, as a character, has finally hit that spot where we always wanted him to be. And he hit it at the end of tonight's SmackDown Live.
By the way, I just have to warn you - I'm about to make a bunch of comic book and other references. In other words, it's gonna get a tad bit geeky. Which I know the majority of you won't mind because you're pro wrestling fans and we're as geeky as it gets. But, you know, just in case...
During Roman's WWE push to be The Guy in WWE, they started out so well. Being the sole survivor of his 2013 Survivor Series team was a big boost, as well as his performance in the next year's Royal Rumble, where he not only broke the record for most eliminations but nearly won the thing, as he was the last man eliminated by the eventual winner, Batista.
Basically, WWE was setting him up to be hardcore, and he was doing a good job at it.
The break-up of The Shield was the start of his problems with the audience. While the crowd supported him because Seth Rollins' betrayal was so heinous, it became more and more evident that Reigns was being groomed as the company's top star - and that didn't sit well with the audience.
It's not that Reigns didn't have what it takes to fill that role. He actually did, even then, and still does. The problem was that he was pushed way too quickly, way too hard. WWE was trying to turn Reigns into a superhero. The problem was, they were trying to turn him into the wrong one.
WWE already had a Superman. Even with his increasingly limited schedule, John Cena still filled that role WWE wanted. Fans gravitated toward Cena because he filled that earnest "boy scout who could give you a beating" role so well.
What WWE really needed out of Roman Reigns, was a Batman.
He's a good guy, but he'll also punch you in the face until you're unrecognizable as long as he gets the truth. If he needs answers, he'll hang you from the rooftop by a single bungee cord, screaming "SWEAR TO *ME*!" until you spill your guts, as the Dark Knight did in Batman Begins. Like the world's greatest detective, Reigns used the evidence at his disposal to find a canary - Buddy Murphy - and tossed him around the room until he sang.
I don't want to give WWE any ideas and suddenly have Roman showing up on SmackDown with bat ears and a secret identity. But, it feels like they're finally using him correctly now.
While nobody wanted Roman to go through having to fight leukemia, the fact that he did and he earned the respect of the crowd essentially gave WWE a chance to do a "soft reboot" on him. Now that the crowd's not booing him, he's got a chance to mold his character into what it needs to be to entertain the masses.
SmackDown Live tonight saw him putting the clues together to find out who attacked him. He put the clues together to figure out Buddy Murphy was involved, then did the WWE equivalent of hanging him over the side of the building until he got the answers he wanted.
It was amazing.
On top of all this, Roman looks the most comfortable he's ever looked during the segments. He looks like he's having fun like he's part of a mystery story. He looks like he's getting the chance to play Batman, and it shows.
Now, if WWE can just keep this up...
Do you think WWE can keep this up? Well, I wanna know! Jump into those comments and tell me what you think!
See WWE Smackdown Results, Highlights of event, & more on WWE Smackdown Results page