Roman Reigns is going through an interesting phase in his career right now. Being the ‘Chosen One’ added tonnes of pressure to his shoulders and fans immediately jumped to the conclusion that he was getting the easy route to the top. These factors got mixed with some botched promos that WWE tried to get Reigns to deliver proved to be disastrous for the Samoan Superman.
To make matters worse, Reigns got himself suspended for violating WWE’s wellness policy and he took big steps in the backward direction once he returned. Now the task of rebuilding him is rested upon the shoulders of WWE’s creative team. In this slide, we are going to take a look at some of the booking decisions that might work out for Reigns.
5: Send him to the Indies
WWE sending their superstars to the Independent scene is something that could shake up the entire business at this point. And if Reigns is included in the list of those superstars sent out, then the internet is surely going to break. Reigns, as we all know, started off his career in the WWE. He is yet to know the struggles in the independent scene, the way the business works in different promotions and the amount of work that needs to be put in.
If WWE sends out Reigns to the Independent circuit while keeping him on contract at the same time, it would provide Reigns with a great opportunity to explore himself and endear himself to the hardcore part of WWE’s audience. His skill set will improve and as he will be treated as an outsider, he will have no trouble finding a gimmick as well.
4: Letting him hang with the legend
Brock Lesnar is considered to be a legitimate threat in the WWE due to various different reasons. He is probably the only performer that found an equal amount of success in both UFC and WWE. But then again, another factor that shot him to the mainstream limelight was Undertaker’s streak. Even after almost three years, Lesnar gets heat for ending the streak and this is because of the legendary status of Taker.
No matter who steps in the ring with Taker, their career will be split into the pre-Undertaker and post-Undertaker period, and this is something that WWE could try out with Reigns. As Taker is only a performer that comes out for huge matches, a showdown with Reigns will automatically attract attention. End the match with a vague finish and Reigns will have enough gas in him to survive for a long time, or just put him over clean because Taker’s career is in its twilight right now.
3: Flipping the script
The biggest problem that WWE fans have with Roman Reigns is the ‘superman’ push that he gets. Fans feel that Reigns is getting all the opportunities without deserving it and they also feel that he is being shoved down their throats. And using the same emotion as a storyline will be a great way to turn the tides in favor of Reigns.
Reigns could come out and deliver a shoot promo where he can talk against WWE for forcing him to follow the script. He could then make it clear that he no longer wants to follow the WWE script and wants to travel a path of his own. A shoot promo like this adds unpredictability to the Reigns character and since the WWE creative is the biggest heel faction in the entire Wrestling business, Reigns is bound to get cheers when he goes up against them.
2: A midcard champion
This is the path that WWE currently appear to be taking. This week on Raw, we saw Reigns draw battle lines with Rusev and Reigns also felt the United States Championship belt during the segment. Reigns and Rusev feuding over the United States Championship looks set to be the path that WWE would choose and it could work well for Reigns.
His ‘undeserved’ main event level booking is what aggravates the fans and the argument will be killed if he stays in the midcard for a while. Reigns could be a great midcard champion and after all, with John Cena being a recent United States champion, it wouldn’t be a big step down for the Samoan.
1: The new leader of Club
This is the usual ‘turn Reigns heel’ slide without which the list would not be complete. Reigns has natural heat with a large part of WWE’s audience and whenever someone has natural heat, the best idea would be to turn them heel. If WWE is having hesitation to push Reigns as a lone heel, they could make him the new leader of the Club. Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows are missing a leader for the pack after AJ Styles got drafted to SmackDown.
Reigns is certainly not on the level of AJ Styles when it comes to being a leader, and this adds an extra layer of hate towards him. And unlike AJ Styles, Reigns could be a silent and vicious leader as he lacks in the promo department.
How did Ric Flair spend $1500 at a pizza place? More details here
