How to get the fans behind Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns has been the most polarizing WWE superstar in recent memory. He's a face that keeps getting heel reactions. A lot of people hate him because he has been highlighted a lot more times than he should be but, on the other hand, some people still love him because of his "Big Dog" persona and his past affiliation with The Shield.
In all fairness, some of the criticism about Reigns prove to be true. He does lack the mic skills and his moveset is pretty bland and repetitive. He has been pushed down the throats of the fans and he has been in more main events than he deserves. However, some praise his work ethic and dedication to the craft. Kids love him too. People have asked him to turn heel, reform the Shield, make a new faction, get a new look, get a new persona and a revamped moveset, but none of those have materialized so far. So, how can you make the most out of Roman without losing his current fans but also recapturing the old ones and gaining more?
Put him in a meaningful feud
So far, all of Roman's feuds have been about being the better man and proving he is "The Big Dog". It always seems like he has a chip on his shoulder and he's out to prove he's better than everyone else. That is all good but it does not really fit his character anymore. Like it or not, he has been booked like a dominant force so there is literally no point in proving that it is "his yard" anymore. Throw him in a meaningful feud for once. This was teased when he had a controversial promo with John Cena but it was unfortunately short-lived. It could have been a great storyline, to be honest. Try and replicate that and you might strike gold.
Make him even more polarizing
One thing hardcore fans have been hoping for Roman is a heel turn. He can actually pull off a very cocky heel persona and even teased it a little bit at one point. Nothing came out of it though. However, realistically, that is not happening anytime soon because the WWE sees him as a top face guy. Why not go half way? The Rock and Steve Austin did this quite convincingly back in the Attitude Era. Roman is nowhere near the Rock or Stone Cold in terms of mic skills and charisma but he can definitely flip-flop between face and heel to keep fans guessing what he really is. He already gets mixed reactions anyway, might as well capitalize on it.
Push him without the title
What some fans hate is that Roman keeps getting a shot at the universal title even though he keeps losing to the champion Brock Lesnar. This makes him look like an entitled superstar that doesn't need to earn anything unlike the current WWE Champion, AJ Styles. Why not push Roman without any belt? It can still happen with a good storyline that does not end in a title shot. Just look at how they played out Gargano vs Ciampa. That was just pure gold but did not involve any belt at all. That way, someone new can enter the championship picture and fans finally get something new. Its a win-win for everyone.