Paul Heyman breaks character to say why Roman Reigns is a villain; says he resents everyone he protects

Roman Reigns has been a heel in WWE ever since his return in 2020. His appearance with Paul Heyman cemented his role as a villain in the company. Now, Heyman has broken character to open up on the reality behind Reigns' Tribal Chief persona.

As The Tribal Chief, Reigns has proven that he knows exactly what he is doing. He’s brought the entire Anoa’i family under his control, with even The Rock acknowledging him. Throughout though, he seems to have taken on the role as the leader grudgingly. He has appeared to show that he has the responsibility of all those who acknowledge him on his shoulders, something that he’s not too happy about.

Speaking to Barrett Sports Media about the inspiration behind his character, Paul Heyman explained that Roman Reigns based it on Marlon Brando’s character from Apocalypse Now. There, Brando was jaded with having taken on the responsibility of everyone and had the accountability to be their leader. So he resented them a lot and in his diary, had written, asking for them all to be killed.

“Then as everyone relies on Kurtz, on Brando on this island for guidance, for wisdom, for substance, for food, for shelter, ‘You will lead us to the promised land to the Island of Relevancy,’ He feels the burden of the responsibility, of the obligation, of the accountability to be the leader of all these people. He resents them so much that when Martin Sheen kills him and opens up the book, Kurtz had written, ‘Drop the bomb. Kill them all.’" [00:56 - 1:34]

He compared that to Reigns and said that The Tribal Chief felt the same way about everyone who acknowledged him.

"He resented those that looked to him for guidance that he wanted to give them in the beginning and then that obligation became too much for him to bear. That's where the villainy of Roman Reigns comes in because he says 'Acknowledge me as your Tribal Chief,' and once you acknowledge him, he says, 'Someone else I'm responsible for.’” [1:35 - 2:00]

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Roman Reigns may be going through a change soon

With The Rock in WWE, Reigns has seemingly stepped back despite The Great One having acknowledged him. Cody Rhodes’ feud against Reigns has become more and more focused on The Rock instead.

The star has shown frustration at the focus The Rock has gotten, so it remains to be seen if Roman Reigns continues to stay under his thumb.

With that being the case, fans will have to wait and see if there’s been any change in his character or if there will be in the coming weeks.