WWE News: ECW legend speaks about Reigns heel turn
Hardcore legend Tommy Dreamer, popularly known as the heart and soul of ECW, recently gave an interview to TSN in Canada to promote House of Hardcore 14. In that interview Dreamer spoke about Ryback’s current situation with WWE, Roman Reigns and how social media changed wrestling. His full interview can be read here. The major talking points of his interview are below:
Dreamer on Ryback’s current situation with WWE:
"I give him respect and props for voicing his opinion, but I look at wrestling from a regular business model. We're here in Toronto and Jose Bautista is the big conversation. 'They should re-sign him.' Well, he's batting about .220 right now and he's 30-some odd years of age, so maybe the Blue Jays are right in not re-signing him. It's different in that that sport is based on athletic ability. However in wrestling, it's based upon what somebody feels – and that somebody would be Vince McMahon – about how he can draw money off of you. There is a way, business-wise, to say if we put everybody's shirts out there, whose shirts are they going to buy? And that's how we can make the decision. To me, if Zack Ryder is the number-one shirt seller, guess what? He should be pushed."
Dreamer on Social Media’s effect on wrestling:
"Social media has changed the face of professional wrestling. You think about two years ago, it changed the main event of WrestleMania. To me, the guy in WWE is Dean Ambrose. That's who the people are so well behind and could be the face of the company. There's a lot of other guys. Roman Reigns, for me, is also a great choice for where he's at because he always gets reactions.”
Dreamer on Roman Reigns and his heel turn:
“What will happen, to me, if you turn him heel, then they will start cheering for him. Wait until Seth Rollins comes back. That can be (Reigns') big heel turn. It's funny because on social media on Mondays and Tuesdays, when everybody is talking about it just like we are, (Reigns' heel turn) is a pop culture hot topic. To me, whatever happens with the (current) AJ Styles and Roman Reigns feud, the moment Seth Rollins comes back, Seth Rollins could be the biggest babyface WWE will have of all-time. 'Hey, I want my title back, Roman Reigns.' Guess what? He has just turned heel because no one is going to cheer him against Seth Rollins."