5 ways WWE tried to get Roman Reigns over and failed

#4 John Cena raising Reigns' hand at No Mercy 2017

Passing the torch

John Cena has played the role of the aging veteran on his last legs to great effect over the last couple of years. This take on his character has shown him at his most compelling and has led to some of his best matches in the WWE.

Everyone in the WWE Universe knew that Reigns was Cena's successor, but WWE never truly made it official. That changed, as the two were put on a collision path in 2017 as they faced off in a match at No Mercy.

The entire build for the feud was designed to get Reigns over, by letting their promos have a 'shoot' feel. However, Cena more often than not obliterated Reigns on the mic and said that he could do this job better part-time than Reigns could full-time.

As expected, Reigns won the match between the two. While the match felt rushed and perhaps a little underwhelming, Cena raised Reigns' arm after the match as a show of respect and showered Reigns with praise on Raw Talk after the pay-per-view stating that the future of the company was in good hands. Whether it really improved Reigns' standing in the eyes of the WWE Universe or not was debatable.