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Roman Reigns has certainly been the poster boy for WWE in the current era. Therefore, it is odd that since his return from leukemia, he has just been kept out of the title picture by the company. One assumes that Seth Rollins is the face of RAW and hence, Reigns was kept at bay. But even on SmackDown Live (results here), he's working his own program.
In this piece, I will try and answer the question that everyone seems to be asking right now. Why is Roman Reigns no longer in title contention? Why is he at an arm's length from the prized WWE title?
Please weigh in with your comments in the section below, folks. I'd love to hear what you guys have to say.
Let me offer my own insights into this situation...
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#5 WWE does not want him to be booed
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Roman Reigns is everything that one would want from a top guy, and this is precisely why WWE is always so high on the man. He's a very dependable hand in the ring and can put on great matches when his opponent is competent. But there's always a risk whenever Roman Reigns is involved in any WWE segment.
Fans often see Roman Reigns as the symbol of everything that is wrong with WWE at the moment. Even though he is a trained performer who does whatever WWE asks of him, all of the faults of WWE's creative team are heaped upon him by the fans. And this is why they are always likely to boo Reigns and hijack his segments.
For him to get yet another title shot would just make him a heel, who's actually a babyface. I don't think WWE wants that complication for now.
#4 KofiMania is way too hot right now
Kofi Kingston has waged an 11-year old war against convention and emerged victorious much to the delight of the WWE Universe, by becoming the current WWE Champion. Kingston, in all likelihood, will be waging another war against Kevin Owens very soon. There is no need for Roman Reigns to be inserted into this picture.
If Roman Reigns were to go up against Kofi Kingston right now, fans would abandon the product at once. It would not be unlike preparing a grand meal and then ruining it by adding just one ingredient that just spoils the taste altogether. WWE is riding high on WrestleMania momentum and will not want to spoil things.
Moreover, WWE does not usually like booking face vs. face programs, except for special circumstances like Rollins vs. Styles. WWE is riding high on KofiMania and the future is blazing with promise at the moment.
#3 Roman Reigns doesn't need a title to garner heat
There are two ways that the WWE Championship works- it can either elevate a performer or it can be elevated by the performer. Someone like Jinder Mahal needed the WWE Championship to ascend to the next level and get a reaction.
But if you look at someone like Roman Reigns, he's already been the top star of WWE for many years now and therefore, always gets a reaction from the crowd. Moreover, he's in a program with Vince and Shane McMahon, two men who always get a reaction.
Therefore, I would go as far as to say that Roman Reigns does not need the title for now and Kofi Kingston needs it a lot more than The Big Dog. Therefore, the WWE Championship picture is ideal with regard to how things should ideally be.
I know that nobody's complaining about Reigns not being Champion right now.
#2 WWE needs to create new stars for now
Last year, when the injury bug struck WWE, Vince McMahon attributed the same as the reason why the ratings were declining. He likened the situation to when a major actor has to step down from a TV show. WWE has learned its lesson and knows that it has to fortify its ranks so that no such situation arises again.
WWE has the deepest talent roster that it has had in its rich and illustrious history. And therefore, even if Roman Reigns or a star of his stature gets injured again, there will be a contingency plan in place. And there are so many stars from the mid card and even the lower mid card who can step up to the plate and deliver big time!
Moreover, Vince McMahon did promise us new faces, didn't he? Having Reigns in the title picture again would be going back on his word!
#1 His stock has fallen
There was a point when John Cena was transitioning into a part-time role and WWE needed a new star. Well, Roman Reigns was chosen as 'the guy' by the WWE brass.
And he did a commendable job too, but his microphone skills let him down then. Like it or not, he's not the same star he was when he defeated The Undertaker or even when he held the Universal Championship last year.
The time away to deal with his treatment actually caused him to become an afterthought and others like Seth Rollins proved that they could carry the division in Roman Reigns' absence. Roman Reigns is still very much one of the biggest stars in the company, but he has taken a backseat to some other guys who're a lot more in the spotlight at the moment.
A parallel for this could be when Goldberg took off in WCW, and other stars like Sting took a backseat during the streak.
