5 major things that might have happened if Roman Reigns turned heel after beating The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33

In the main event of WrestleMania 33, Roman Reigns defeated The Undertaker in what was seemingly The Deadman's retirement match. The fact that Jim Ross was called back to WWE for the main event and that a non-title match headlined the show meant that it was in the final slot for a reason.

Roman Reigns' win over The Undertaker was predicted by a large section of the WWE fanbase. There were a few things that made the win and the match a bad look in hindsight.

Firstly, watching The Undertaker far past his prime in an underwhelming match was painful for most fans. Secondly, The Undertaker didn't even retire after that, so the entire idea of Roman Reigns winning seemed pointless. Thirdly, WWE didn't capitalize and turn Roman Reigns heel - choosing not to strike while the iron was hot.

Fans had been begging for a Roman Reigns heel turn for over two years at that point, and he ended up using the dialogue, "I'm not a bad guy, I'm not a good guy - I'm the guy" every week for at least a month.

While WWE finally pulled the trigger on Roman Reigns' heel turn over three years later in 2020, there would likely have been a much better outcome if they did so post-WrestleMania 33.

Here are five things that would have happened in the alternate scenario with Roman Reigns:

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#5. Roman Reigns would become WWE's biggest heel...for a while

Roman Reigns on the RAW after WrestleMania 33.

The RAW after WrestleMania 33 proved one thing - Roman Reigns was WWE's biggest heel, whether the company felt so or not. He was drowned in jeers through the opening segment and stated that he went on for far longer than what was scheduled.

It was perhaps one of the most memorable moments in RAW history, and it had been years since any Superstar was booed the way Roman Reigns was.

Had Roman Reigns turned heel after WrestleMania 33, WWE fans would have been able to get all of the jeers out of their system, and Roman Reigns would have been the biggest heel in the company - but only for a while.

Once he would have developed a better and more authentic personality, his status as WWE's biggest heel would have faded quickly.

#4. Roman Reigns would have become the babyface star that WWE wanted

Roman Reigns after losing to Shane McMahon at WWE Super ShowDown.

It was clear from 2014 onwards that WWE wanted Roman Reigns to become John Cena's successor. By late 2015, John Cena had finally begun his transitional phase from a full-time Superstar to a part-timer.

It was well-deserved, but you're probably familiar with how WWE butchered Roman Reigns' push in 2015. While the intention was for Roman Reigns to become the new face of WWE at WrestleMania 31, it all went wrong, and at Royal Rumble 2015, he was booed out of the building.

The biggest obstacle that Roman Reigns faced wasn't even his own fault. Vince McMahon wanted him to become a carbon copy of post-2008 John Cena, so it seemed like Roman Reigns was set up to fail.

But a heel turn would have helped Roman Reigns develop the personality and character that we're seeing now. It would have been a role that he would have been comfortable with, and a new Roman Reigns with more personality and attitude would have translated well as a babyface.

#3. Braun Strowman would have benefited from Roman Reigns' heel turn

Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns.

Post WrestleMania 33, Roman Reigns' first feud was against Braun Strowman. The Monster Among Men destroyed Roman Reigns in what seemed to be an attempt to get back sympathy for the latter.

To nobody's surprise, it backfired. Braun Strowman had already begun to gain momentum, and fans enjoyed his path of destruction in 2016-17. Had the feud happened with the roles reversed, Braun Strowman would have likely become WWE's biggest babyface at the time.

It would have benefited him greatly in the long run, with the RAW after WrestleMania 33 being the perfect time for Roman Reigns to turn heel and Braun Strowman to turn face.

Braun Strowman turned face in late 2017 at the October TLC pay-per-view. It was a month after his failed bid to win the Universal Title from Brock Lesnar. And while fans still cheered him, WWE would have done better if he turned face half a year earlier.

Braun Strowman's push would have been executed much better if Roman Reigns had turned heel after WrestleMania 33.

#2. Roman Reigns' rematch with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34 may have had a different outcome

Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34.

A Brock Lesnar win is never an upset, but his victory over Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 34 was considered a big one. Even before WrestleMania 33, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that WWE wanted Brock Lesnar to have a year-long Universal title reign to build to a WrestleMania 34 main event.

Even then, it seemed clear that WrestleMania 34 was intended to be a coronation for Roman Reigns, with the original one at WrestleMania 31 not panning out. Shockingly, Brock Lesnar won the match, and the speculation then became that WWE wanted Brock Lesnar to break CM Punk's 434-day World Championship record.

He eventually broke it and lost to Roman Reigns at SummerSlam 2018. But had there been a heel turn after WrestleMania 33, then the WrestleMania 34 main event's outcome may have been different.

Roman Reigns would already have turned babyface by then, and if momentum was on his side, it's unlikely that WWE would have held off on a WrestleMania coronation.

#1. Roman Reigns' feud with John Cena would have had an entirely different dynamic

John Cena roasting Roman Reigns.

In 2017, John Cena had a feud with Roman Reigns. While it was a match that most fans felt would be saved for WrestleMania, WWE felt that it was better to have a marquee match at No Mercy instead.

In the whole build to the match, there was no physical contact. But there was a verbal burial done by John Cena. If you recall the August 28th episode of RAW, John Cena humiliated Roman Reigns to the point of no return:

It was clear that Roman Reigns wasn't comfortable in his role, and John Cena called him out on it in front of millions of people. Had Roman Reigns turned heel after WrestleMania 33, he would have been much more confident, and his verbal back-and-forth with John Cena wouldn't have been so one-sided.

Roman Reigns was always going to win the match, but the entire dynamic of the rivalry would have been different and better had he been a heel.