Roman's Fallen Empire - The 'Big Dog' needs to be put down
It has been a rough ride for Roman Reigns since he split from The Shield back in 2014, and the last few months may have been his toughest yet.
Reigns was handpicked as the new face of the company and went on to win the Royal Rumble in the January, following The Shield's implosion.
While he was a popular member of the roster as part of a stable alongside Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, the fans did not buy him as 'the guy' and vocalized their disapproval at the decision to have him headline WrestleMania 31.
Not even The Rock could save Roman from the chorus of boos that he was greeted with following his Rumble victory.
This was a clear sign that Reigns was not yet ready for a main event spot, but that was ignored by the company and they persisted with Reigns' push. In fact, they are still persisting with this push despite it being received negatively for the past four years.
Four years! It is completely baffling that this is still continuing.
Reigns has headlined the last four WrestleManias as a babyface despite the fans' overwhelming rejection of him as 'their guy'.
This past Mania saw Reigns challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship in a match that people were convinced the 'Big Dog' would win. Yet shockingly, Lesnar retained in a shocking twist that was seemingly done for shock's sake.
Honestly, what is the logic behind this decision? Sure, the Reigns haters enjoyed the result at the moment, but what has it done for the main event scene moving forward?
Lesnar remains Universal Champion and has once again taken a break from the WWE, taking the title with him and leaving the main event stars on Raw without a top title to fight for.
Whereas, Reigns is pretty much done, especially after the Greatest Royal Rumble event, how can anyone take him seriously as a threat to the title after yet another defeat to Lesnar, and moreover, who would want to see Reigns challenge Lesnar again?
The creative booking of Reigns over the past four years has killed any investment fans had in him, but the failure of the 'Roman Reigns experiment' cannot be put completely on the shoulders of the creative team.
If we're talking about Roman Reigns the performer, even his most loyal fans would struggle to argue that he has improved in recent years, despite working with some of the best workers on the planet.
The majority of Superstars on the current WWE roster would love the opportunity to work with the likes of Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker, and learn how to be a main event star from performers that have been there and done it.
But what has Reigns added to his skill set following these feuds? He is still the same Roman Reigns that he has been for the last few years.
He has the same gear, same move-set, same tedious promo style, still wrestles the same style of matches. This can't be put down to the storylines he has been given, this is down to Roman Reigns the performer.
Simply put, the fans are bored of Roman Reigns and it is having a negative effect on the rest of the roster. Any fresh, exciting Superstar that is pushed into the main event scene has a ceiling because the top spot is reserved for the 'Big Dog', no matter what the crowd response to them is.
The likes of Braun Strowman and Samoa Joe have a far greater connection with the fans than Reigns does, yet they are always cast aside when it comes to the biggest shows of the year to make room for Reigns.
The past three WrestleManias have all ended flat, and the common denominator in these closing matches is Roman Reigns.
You would think that Vince McMahon and the WWE decision makers would see this and understand the need for change after three years of apathy towards Reigns, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Reigns being chosen to close the show continues, even at the debacle that was Backlash 2018, when he was in an ultimately meaningless match against Samoa Joe.
The 'Roman Reigns experiment' has failed and will continue to do so without change. Pushing him as the valiant underdog does not work, because the fans are aware of the fact that he is Vince's chosen one.
Presenting him as anything else results in a disconnect between Reigns and the audience and has impeded WWE's overall storytelling over the past couple of years.
Reigns calling out Lesnar for being "Vince's boy" prior to WrestleMania 34 was absolutely ludicrous when it has been clear for a long time that Roman is, in fact, Vince's boy. So why not tell this story with Reigns?
Using last Sunday's Backlash as an example, a match between a heel Roman Reigns and a face Samoa Joe has the potential to be outstanding.
The fans love Joe and wanted to see him beat up Roman Reigns, but as soon as Joe started working a heel-style and the audience telegraphed the inevitable Roman comeback victory, they disengaged from the match and it ended in disaster with many people leaving before the match even finished.
Reigns has shown in the past that he is capable of putting on great matches, but even he looks disillusioned with his current direction. He is long overdue a change and Vince needs to stop his stubbornness and give the audience a Roman Reigns character they can buy into.
The 'Big Dog' persona is all but dead at this point and needs to put out of it's misery, but a new heel persona that acknowledges the fans' attitude towards him instead of ignoring it could lead to Reigns becoming the megastar that Vince so desperately wants him to be.