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What can the WWE do to make Roman Reigns popular?

4K views 58 replies 55 participants last post by  SyrusMX 
#1 · (Edited)
I don't want this to just turn into a Roman Reigns bashing thread, so I'm almost hesitant to ask the question, but in your opinion, where do you think the WWE went wrong with Roman Reigns and what can they do to repair the damage?

On paper, his rise to the top looks like it should have worked: you'd think that almost winning the Royal Rumble in 2014 (and losing out to a very unpopular superstar, breaking a Royal Rumble elimination record) and coming back the following year to win the 2015 Royal Rumble would've helped to get him over. People usually love that try-and-try-again shit. I guess at the time the fans were just more interested in Daniel Bryan. Even the endorsement of The Rock at the end of the Royal Rumble didn't help Roman. If anything, it just made The Rock slightly less popular.

The booking of Roman's road to winning the championship aside, his big Wrestlemania 31 match against Brock Lesnar should have made him somewhat more popular, on paper at least. In one corner you've got supposedly the biggest heel in the company, who everybody should dislike: a part-time performer who (in some people's opinions) undeservedly ended the Undertaker's prestigious streak and went on to decimate the WWE Champion, John Cena, in the most one sided championship match I can recall. The trouble here, though, is that people weren't really that pissed off about the streak ending; after the initial shock, people just moved on. All the people I know who swore they'd stop watching WWE when the streak ended are still watching now. Plus, the WWE overestimated (or totally misjudged) how the crowds would react to Lesnar demolishing Cena at Summerslam. It turned him into their most popular performer. We'd been wanting to see Cena get owned like that for years. So, if the WWE were trying to set up Lesnar up as the ultimate heel for Reigns to defeat, they screwed up big time.

The result of that first Wrestlemania match should, too, have made Reigns more popular. He'd survived a lengthy beatdown from Lesnar, only to have his championship moment stolen from him by a representative of the Authority (and former stablemate) Seth Rollins. Just like in Daniel Bryan's title chase in 2013, Roman had been screwed out of his big moment. We should have been rooting for Roman; the guy who'd slogged his guts out for the title shot only to have it slip through his fingers on the grandest stage of them all. Instead people went the other way and were pleased that he didn't win the championship. Suplex City, Bitch!

Since then, they've done plenty to endear us to Roman Reigns: like Daniel Bryan, he's been repeatedly cheated out of his championship reigns (first by a Sheamus MITB cash-in, then by having to defend it in a Royal Rumble) yet nobody is really siding with him. Even when he defeated Triple H, the company's biggest heel, he didn't get a great reaction. On paper, we should be rooting for Reigns to finally have the title run he's worked so hard for, but it hasn't panned out that way. So, what can the WWE do to turn Reigns into a champion that people want to see?
 
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#2 ·
Have him keep the Shield music, attire and gimmick and put him in WM main event two years in a row. It's gonna work dammit!

 
#3 · (Edited)
Make him look stronger.

-Have him beat Brock clean
-Not lose a match clean for the next decade
-Bury the over faces
-Main event the next 10 WM's and win all of them to keep the Roman Empire going strong.
-Become the 2 in 23 and 2
-Insert him into every hot angle. Roman is THE guy, he needs to be the focal point of every hot angle.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Stop giving him these awful scripted promos and catchphrases

"I can... and I will"

"Believe That"

"I'm not a good guy... I'm not a bad guy... I'm DE GUY!"

What next?

"Taste it (lifts fist) soon YOU will Eat Defeat!"

:Rollins
 
#13 ·
Have someone knock Reigns down the pecking order HARD.

Reigns needs to have his 'good fortune', take a massive slide. He needs to have a prominent role in mid-card for the next few years, has to take hard loses but also learn hard lessons. The audience needs to see his growth, in-ring, promo-wise.

But that's almost impossible because he's been booked like Goku, and already 3 time champion. For him to magically be 'human', would be as absurd as his initial Superman booking.
 
#9 ·
Its pretty easy, but it will require time and effort.

Have Roman Reigns "quit" WWE. Drop the title, and just leave. WWE can remove all traces of his existence from their website, their history books, etc.

Then introduce this new guy, push him to the moon, and have him antagonise and beat all the popular guys clean. Preferably he can be a good looking dude who can't really wrestle.

Then 4 years from now, put him in a program with Rollins and Ambrose, maybe in a triple threat for the title, and have the guy beat up the both of them singlehandedly as the crowd boo. Then out of nowhere a guy in full riot gear and a mask jumps the barricade, spears this dude and Rollins pins him for the title. Then he takes off his mask... its Roman Reigns.

Of course, none of this is realistic at all as paying a dude to be off tv for years makes no sense, but still. His pop would be immense.
 
#11 ·
I disagree with all of these posts.

I don't watch wwe anymore, but the one time he got a favorable reaction was when he beat down Triple H. A overpushed hack who dominated the main event scene too long that fans wanted to see receive a beatdown. Who else fits that criteria?

John Cena.

Have Roman destroy Cena. Then continue as a bad ass Stone Cold type character. Have him push the PG era to the limit. Have the Authority trying to censor him at every chance. Reigns starts swearing and the Authority arrest him.. Anything that pushes the policitally correct bullshit to the limit. Spearing Steph at Wrestlemania got him a few cheers. Keep it up. Spear Shane next.

Put him in matches where he wins and the Authority are out of power. A match against HHH where Steph is banned from ever appearing on tv again if he wins would do wonders for Reigns credibility with fans.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Wrestlemania:
- Beat Taker clean at WM 33 and retire him.

- Beat Lesnar clean at WM 34 and we never see Brock again (end of contract).

- Beats Cena clean at WM 35 in a passing of the torch match.


Summerslam:

- Beats Styles and Nakamura clean in a 2 on 1 handicap match

- Destroys Usos and Ambrose in a brother v brothers (one vs all) fued

- Beats Goldberg in his return match.


Others:
- Hooks up with Eva Marie and taps her ass during his entrance every week.
 
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#21 ·
They can't. The boos will be there regards of what he does now because it's become the norm, cool and a natural response to him.

The most important time to get him over was the day the shield broke up. The following week, the authority should have injured him keeping him off TV for about a month. Have him return in a smark city and the roof would have came off; possibly as the authority were giving Ambrose a beating.

Different music, video, clothes. Then when he saves Ambrose by clearing the ring he should then powerbomb Ambrose and say "I'm not a good guy, I'm not a bad guy, I'm gonna be the guy" there you have a Samoan badass; doesn't have Ambrose as his bitch and he's kept far away from the usos
 
#24 ·
Can't understand why some are saying have him beat this wrestler or beatdown that indie darling when what would that really achieve aside from similar treatment as any Cena/Hogan booking while generating more dislike from casuals or haters?
Turning Heel again why? He had one good reaction over taking down HHH purely because of the Authority angle but against any other wrestlers it won't have the same effect because chances are, if he hasn't already rolled over them in a feud, then neutrals will be rooting for a loss not a victory because they're fans of their Indie darlings.
The best RR can do is develop his OWN character that works around his natural rl personality/character but turned up loud because that's what Austin did with his Stone Cold character and Rock did with his micwork.
 
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#56 ·
This current version will never be "popular", in my opinion.

That said, you could make him much, much more tolerable if, for a change, you'd let other guys shine. You give other guys strong booking, people perhaps will be thrilled to see angles that do not involve Reigns, and cut the guy some slack. I mean, nowdays I don't have any reason to watch WWE besides their main events, the sole thing they put (little) effort in. If I also have to see a performer I don't like dominate that main event scene, how could he ever get popular?
 
#58 ·
Nothing. I supported the guy and gave him the benefit of the doubt, but he has actually regressed, I even appreciate Cena compared to Reigns because at least he can work a mic and a crowd and has solid routine, despite not being all technical.

Like it or not, Cena is the only big time player that has stepped up after Stone Cold and The Rock. The only other guy who I personally see who could do this is Bray... if they use him right. Find me a better man on the mic, with such a powerful character, and who is also great in the ring. Bray Wyatt has been the guy all along, they are just too stupid to do it.
 
#4 ·
I think they need to let him have this current title run for a few months, eventually lose it (by being pinned clean for once) - then remove him from the main event scene again for 3-6 months.

Put him in some more interesting feuds like he had with Bray Wyatt, they could even have Cena return to win the IC title to bring some attention to the title (like he did with the US title) and have Reigns go over Cena for the IC eventually
 
#7 ·
Have him constantly mention how raucous the crowd is while beating everyone in sight and going over the part timers, it'll work eventually.

In all seriousness, turn him heel and give people a kayfabe reason to boo him and/or tone down his protected booking a bit. People might warm to him if he's moved in a different direction.
 
#14 ·
Not sure if he's beyond repair already.
Every man and his dog knows that no matter what they do with him, he's still Vinces chosen one and that's what has hurt him so much.
Maybe take some of the focus off him, give others a chance to shine and a bit of the spotlight.
Stop trying to force it! Cena continues to get mixed reactions at best after a decade of force feeding the fans the perception that he's the best and we should like him. It never worked! So why would doing the exact same thing with Reigns end with a different conclusion? It won't and we're seeing it already.


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