Has Roman Reigns done enough to turn the fans?

SlickRic

So, do you think he has?

My 2c.

the fact that Vince is obviously going for a third coronation is fúcking hilarious. like, it genuinely is funny to see somebody so obviously out of his mind obsessed with creating his last big, bona fide mainstream cross-over star in Roman Reigns that he has bothered to try a fúcking third time to basically do his coronation angle.

for the love of Christ, he just doesn't care what we think :P

but I will say this, Roman being out of the main spotlight has helped him. I mean this in the sense that i haven't felt him constantly rammed up my ass for the last 2 years. but what I did realise when I saw his segment with Goldberg is, is that he really is never going to shake the perception that Vince is forcing him down our throats. those boos and negative reactions will always be there, leukemia or not, good promos or not, good matches or not.

Vince just needs to go full-on with it now at Wrestlemania. give Goldberg no offence. let Roman spear him again and again and again until he can't move. and have him step on Goldberg's chest with the title aloft as the picture fades to black.

the new, unequivocal Big Dog in the yard who will then be there to be shot at. just do it. you've got to let him try, fully off the leish and in full top-guy in the company mode with the title.

so, do you think Reigns can be the guy Vince envisions him as?

LineOfBeauty

The issue is that when you're forcing something on the fans then something is wrong in the 1st place. When that thing that people have already reject is thrown at them again in basically the same form then of course they will reject it again. The Goldberg matchup is smart because you aren't going to cheer Goldberg over him, but the Reigns project is a total failure when you need to search (and sometimes go beyond the roster) to find guys that the fans wont even ironically cheer instead of cheering your biggest star.

Bounty Hunter

Feel bad for Reigns (although not too much as obviously he is a top star that the WWE love pushing to the moon afterall) as has he done enough to win over the fans? Yeah probably, especially when you consider him beating cancer and how much the fans were behind him upon his return but before and after that the WWE have failed to do enough in the way they booked him to win over the fans imoa and I think it could have been so different and that he could have won over the fans if they had just handled him differently because he is good at what he does.

I hope his match vs Goldberg is short, as although I don't think the fans will sh!t on it or anything but if they drag it out there is a chance that they could show complete apathy for it. Both Goldberg & Reigns can get a reaction but i'd wonder if it isn't short could the fans reject them when given time to think about what they are being served up as it's not what anyone but Vince was asking for.

J. Marston

If he isn't going to be accepted after beating cancer, he never will be. There will always be a section of fans against him.

There's nothing wrong with him really, he isn't an arsehole and he's a very good performer. He's just dull and brooding. If he's gonna be the guy of this generation then you need to compare him to the guy of other generations. Hogan, Austin, Rock, Cena. All of them had a giant presence. Roman just has his blue steel impression.

At this point every fan knows he is The Project and WWE are brazen with that fact so there will always be a bit of anti-establishment pushback on him.

I think this Reigns vs. The Fans malarkey has been grossly overstated.

Wrestling has changed. Long gone are the simple days of Babyface vs. Heel. He's a massive draw as a face but also draws boos. It's Cena all over. A lot of the fellas that boo Reigns and booed Cena will **** themselves silly over a sideshow act like Orange Cassidy. None of this was a hindrance to Cena becoming a star with crossover appeal.

Reigns' big issue has never been boos from the smarks, it has always been with the character itself. When The Shield broke up, Rollins and Ambrose got a change of scenery - new music, new attire, expansion of character. However, Roman is still stuck with the same character and music he had in NXT eight years ago.

None of this is Roman's fault. When you listen to him in interviews he has charisma and good wit. It's a crime he isn't allowed roll with it. He's obviously a good looking fella and great in the ring. If you could build a wrestling prototype, Reigns wouldn't be far off.

Had he been given the same change of scenery as Rollins and Ambrose, I think Reigns' path would have been a lot different and we'd all be better for it - most importantly him.

LineOfBeauty

Deleted User wrote: »

I think this Reigns vs. The Fans malarkey has been grossly overstated.

Wrestling has changed. Long gone are the simple days of Babyface vs. Heel. He's a massive draw as a face but also draws boos. It's Cena all over. A lot of the fellas that boo Reigns and booed Cena will **** themselves silly over a sideshow act like Orange Cassidy. None of this was a hindrance to Cena becoming a star with crossover appeal.

Reigns' big issue has never been boos from the smarks, it has always been with the character itself. When The Shield broke up, Rollins and Ambrose got a change of scenery - new music, new entire, expansion of character. However, Roman is still stuck with the same character and music he had in NXT eight years ago.

None of this is Roman's fault. When you listen to him in interviews he has charisma and good wit. It's a crime he isn't allowed roll with it. He's obviously a good looking fella and great in the ring. If you could build a wrestling prototype, Reigns wouldn't be far off.

Had he been given the same change of scenery as Rollins and Ambrose, I think Reigns' path would have been a lot different and we'd all be better for it - most importantly him.

He has appeal and after years of being on top of the card that's always going to come with some cache even if you flop on top. But how much of a star he actually is, is very difficult to measure. At least with Cena you had ppv buy rates to measure him by, Reigns entire run on top has coincided with the Network model (which has failed). Ratings are down, you can't blame that solely on Reigns, or even just WWE, but with Reigns as top guy they've chased off millions of people from their fanbase.

He isn't a star on the level of Cena and the mixed reactions to him come across far more as the fans rejecting company booking rather than rejecting the person or character.

CastorTroy

Roman was away from the main event long enough for fans to not mind him getting a shot, then they did that whole Corbin storyline which outstayed its welcome by months. And now, with a perfectly good gimmick PPV he could've won in, they went and just handed him a Mania title shot for no reason.

LibSuperstar

Reigns will be fine. He has a strong enough fanbase to have been a top merch and ticket seller in the last few yrs. Those not on keen on him likely will never be won over.

DM_7

Reigns should be more like Brock and just booked like a complete bad ass. His attitude and actions in the ring would initially see him as a heel but ultimately people would buy into him more. He should not be in any sort of competitive feud with likes of Corbin.

In 2020, the old face and heel dynamic does not have to be in play for everyone. Book certain people strong and let the fans decide who they want to shout for like they do for sports teams or sports people.

Sometimes someone will get over to the point they have almost everyone behind them and sometimes the opposite, obviously if you get that or think you can get to it then use it. But there is room for more of a grey area and Reigns is well placed to be that kind of performer.

Chuck Noland

Turn him heel and give him a good manager! See if he goes from boo’d too cheered naturally!

Just cuz Cena was Allways a baby face while on top doesn’t mean it’ll work for everyone.

Hhh
Austin
Rock
Michaels
Taker all had great heel runs aswell as face runs

jaykhunter

Not for me, and I dont know if he can turn the fans without a radical change. He's cemented and still positioned as "the worse alternative", hence him being the last person eliminated in multiple Royal Rumbles. Add to it he's still wearing/leeching off the success of the Shield with his outfit and theme, his character doesn't have much range. He's just the same guy a bit worn down by years of being pushed too hard and fans spitting him back up.

Royal Rumble
2020: Drew last eliminates Reigns to win
(2019: Out)
2018: Nakamura last eliminates Reigns to win
2017: Orton last eliminates Reigns to win
2016: Triple H last eliminates Reigns then Ambrose to win
2015: Reigns wins
2014: Batista last eliminates Reigns to win

If WWE want a different result they'll have to try something different. No organic growth or time to breath, no creative risks = no thanks.

p.s. needs more dog food

CastorTroy

Chuck Noland wrote: »

Turn him heel and give him a good manager! See if he goes from boo’d too cheered naturally!

Just cuz Cena was Allways a baby face while on top doesn’t mean it’ll work for everyone.

Hhh
Austin
Rock
Michaels
Taker all had great heel runs aswell as face runs

Cena had the whole rapper heel period. He was a heel that got over naturally. I said before that Reigns needs a heel run to try and get fans on his side

connemara man

Roman is someone you'd stop to watch but wouldn't come back to again.

Has a great look, a fun moveset, has an aura about him. But there's no character to speak of, he's scripted to the point he shows no personality.

I'd never boo him if I saw him live I'd well nothing him,

SureYWouldntYa

He’s got a 4th title match which you could call a coronation, madness to have even a 2nd really

If he was against an unbeaten Fiend you’d wonder why build him up months just to obviously feed him to Reigns

This year I’d have much preferred to see Reigns against another current guy in his prime or is at least full time, guys like Styles or Rollins

Alternatively make him the top guy you want him and the champion, and have the new guys like Drew and Aleistar Black trying to take him down at Wrestlemania

It would be a hell of a lot more interesting than the chant we’ll probably hear at Mania or the Raw after, “same old sh1t”

OneEightSeven

He's just going to be a less popular and less successful version of John Cena. Hated by men, adored by women and kids and there aren't many of the latter watching these days. A younger Vince McMahon would have given up on both him and Cena, as he did with Lex Luger, but he's gotten very stubborn in his old age.

Society has been rejecting the goody-two-shoes babyface since Hogan in the early '90s and still favour the antihero type, hence McGregor's popularity. Roman could have the ability to carry the company and go mainstream, but it's not going to happen under Vince. He wants one thing, while wrestling fans want another.

B.A._Baracus

It's all hindsight now, but that time where he eliminated numerous guys from the rumble years ago was the right time to launch a rocket to him. He was getting some reaction from each elmination.

SureYWouldntYa

B.A._Baracus wrote: »

He was getting some reaction from each elmination.

He got an organic reaction that night because he wasnt Batista, but pulling the trigger on him then would have left things in the same place since that was Daniel Bryans time

Chuck Noland

CastorTroy wrote: »

Cena had the whole rapper heel period. He was a heel that got over naturally. I said before that Reigns needs a heel run to try and get fans on his side

Allways face “while on top I said” Cena was mid card with the rapper gimmick. He exploded so they pulled the trigger on him then iirc