5 possible reasons why Roman Reigns is out of WWE TLC 2017

If you haven’t heard by now, you’re in for a major spoiler for WWE’s next PPV: Roman Reigns, the man that Vince and company are trying desperately to make into their next marquee star, will be absent from TLC 2017.

Instead of there being a dream Shield reunion this Sunday, the WWE Universe will be given an even bigger treat than anyone had ever anticipated. Kurt Angle, WWE Hall of Famer and Olympic Gold Medalist, will be taking Reigns’ place in the main event match at TLC. This will mark Angle’s first match in a WWE ring since 2006.

Though much of the discussion over the last 24 hours has focused on Angle being ready to wrestle in a WWE-style match, there still remains considerable debate on why Reigns has been pulled from the event.

Even though all WWE events have a disclaimer indicating that the card ‘is subject to change’, it isn’t really in WWE’s interest to pull a Superstar like Roman Reigns from a match without good reason. Given how important Reigns has been, is, and likely will be to WWE’s long-term creative direction, it would take a major problem for WWE to take Reigns out of any WWE PPV, much less one built on the Shield’s reunion.

Below we propose five reasons why Roman Reigns has been removed from WWE TLC 2017.

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#5 Injury

Being one of WWE's most heavily-promoted stars is a taxing and draining experience, to be sure

One of the popular rumours circulating is that Reigns has been pulled from TLC 2017 due to an injury. Though there has not been any confirmation of such as of yet, this is a very plausible reason nonetheless.

If you watch Reigns wrestle, you’ll notice that he does a lot of John Cena-style power moves. In particular, he does that sunset flip into a one-arm lifting Powerbomb, which gets a strong reaction from the audience whenever he does it.

That said, doing such a move could come at a price, and Reigns could be dealing with nagging shoulder or back injuries leading into TLC. Given WWE’s continued determination to crown Reigns as the new top guy in their company, there’s logic in keeping him fresh, especially since the first third of 2018 is their biggest and most important period from a booking standpoint.

#4 Family/Personal Reasons

Reigns has an extensive family, and many of his family members are reaching an age where health starts being a concern

Another reason why Reigns might’ve been pulled so suddenly may be due to personal reasons. These situations tend to be considered private and are rarely given further explanation, out of respect for the wrestlers that request them.

Reigns wouldn’t be the first WWE superstar to be rumoured or reported to have left WWE events recently due to family or personal reasons. Nia Jax was said to have left WWE programming over personal reasons a few weeks ago, and Kevin Owens left a WWE tour of Argentina due to personal reasons as well. In the latter’s case, the reason was not disclosed, which only added more curiosity as to why he left.

There’s always the possibility that Reigns – who despite being a magnet for fan hostility, is still human like the rest of us, after all – is having some personal or family issues that are too serious or important to ignore.

WWE isn’t a monstrous place where wrestlers must give up their entire lives just to be Superstars; they are granted time off if a personal situation requires it, and that just might be a possibility for Roman Reigns in this case.

#3 Illness

Reigns was removed from a WWE PPV due to illness once before

This is the most convincing rumour circulating at present over why Roman Reigns has been pulled from TLC 2017.

Several reports have suggested that there’s currently an outbreak of either viral meningitis or mumps (or both) in the WWE locker room, and several men and women have already fallen to them and are thus incapable of wrestling at TLC 2017. Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas two such names, and there have been reports that Reigns has contracted either meningitis or mumps as well.

Although there used to be a time when wrestlers were forced to work even when sick (Vince McMahon apparently never believed in sick days, and lost his mind when people so much as sneezed in his presence), that doesn’t appear to be the case nowadays.

If Reigns is indeed ill, we wish him a speedy recovery. Regardless of how you feel about him as a performer and character, getting diagnosed with a virulent illness is never a pleasant experience.

#2 A Ratings Ploy

Even as a member of the newly-reformed Shield, Reigns is a magnet for 'go-away/X-Pac heat'

The fall season is normally the one during which WWE’s creative success and popularity on television takes a nosedive. Competition from other sports, new reality TV show line-ups, and other entertainment media all hit WWE hard. In fact, many of the lowest-rated WWE of the past decade or more have taken place between September and December.

So it stands to reason that WWE would, out of desperation, make a random last-minute switch on their card to make it more attractive to potential buyers.

Many reports as of late have indicated that many WWE shows – both televised and not – have failed to sell out, and when the Young Bucks had fans tell them that they didn’t have to pay for their tickets to RAW, it was an indication that WWE’s business isn’t doing well at all.

Thus, to try and ‘shake things up’, as Vince McMahon is wont to do, he decided to switch Reigns (a wildly controversial wrestler) and Bray Wyatt (a gimmick wrestler who has suffered abysmal booking) with Kurt Angle and A.J. Styles, respectively.

Those two wrestlers have greater name appeal, which might help WWE attract more viewers. Angle wrestling is a major announcement in itself, and a lengthy Styles vs. Balor match could steal the show and lead to a major boost in fan interest for the company.

#1 To save the actual Shield six-man match for Survivor Series

This entire feud makes more sense if it culminates in a traditional Survivor Series elimination match

When WWE had the Shield reunite, it was clear they were planning on booking them in a classic Shield six-man tag team match like they used to years ago. But the storyline between the Shield, the Miz, the Bar – which became a multi-man match – looked like it was leading to a confrontation one PPV too early.

Survivor Series is fast approaching, and it’s on that show that WWE has historically put multi-man elimination matches and high-profile team or stable-based matches.

It’s possible that the sudden decision to remove Roman Reigns from TLC 2017 is a strategy to entice fans of the Shield to tune into Survivor Series and watch the big match between the Shield and their opponents on one of the Big Four shows as opposed to on a random B-show PPV.

This way, removing Roman Reigns – whom Vince never wants to see lose in clean fashion – would allow the heel team to score a big win and gain some momentum going forward. If they booked the heel team to win, then that could lead to a bigger match at Survivor Series, which would, in turn, see the Shield come out victorious.

In doing so, more or less everyone wins. The Shield (and especially Roman Reigns) score a decisive victory on a major show, Survivor Series gets a real marquee event, fans of the Shield get to see one of the most popular stables in recent memory relive their glory days, and Vince can salivate over his new top guy being cheered again (albeit almost solely by association with his more popular Shield brethren).

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