Roman Reigns is best suited in previous role, WWE legend says

Modified Apr 05, 2025 20:51 GMT

Roman Reigns performs on SmackDown [WWE/Courtesy] — Roman Reigns performs on SmackDown [Image credit: WWE.com]

Roman Reigns is arguably the most notable WWE Superstar of this decade. For most of his professional career, and since introducing "The Tribal Chief," Roman worked as a villain. Mark Henry feels Reigns was best suited for that role.

This Friday on SmackDown, the OTC showed some character traits that were seen when he was the biggest heel in the company. For instance, he ridiculed the Chicago crowd for not being very bright. He also intimidated Paul Heyman when The Wiseman stood up to him.

Speaking on the Busted Open podcast, the WWE legend addressed these details from the Roman Reigns segment. Although Roman continues to add these layers to his persona, the fans love him fiercely. He has also leaned towards the babyface side of the spectrum for the last several months. Nevertheless, Henry claimed Reigns was born to play the bad guy, as "royalty":

"That's what royalty does. Roman Reigns views himself as a Tribal Chief. Everybody that loves pro-wrestling, the first thing that he says to them is, 'Acknowledge Me.' Kiss my a**. I want every last one of y'all [to do it]. He's not trying to prove that he deserves your respect. He's telling you to. What does that say?" Mark Henry said. [From 7:13 to 7:58]

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Check out Mark Henry's comments in the podcast below:

Veteran WWE manager Jim Cornette believes the OTC could face a major challenge after WrestleMania 41 from within the Anoa'i family.

What is next for Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman on WWE SmackDown?

To make matters worse for Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman stood up to him when Reigns demanded Heyman refuse to go through with CM Punk's favor.

Mark Henry wondered if The Tribal Chief caught his Wiseman's subtle hint at a betrayal.

The WrestleMania 41 Night One main event will be a Triple Threat grudge match between Reigns, CM Punk, and Seth Rollins. According to Bully Ray, Heyman could turn on his favorites as part of an unprecedented storyline.

Please credit the Busted Open podcast and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use the quote from the first part of this article.

About the author

Joel has been a WWE news writer at Sportskeeda for the last 2 years. Always having a penchant for writing, he worked as an independent screenwriter and a copy/content writer for almost 2 years before joining Sportskeeda.

Joel’s pro-wrestling knowledge comes from hours of watching it from a young age. His favorite wrestler is Shawn Michaels, but if he could go back in time to The Attitude Era, he would like to manage Chris Jericho and advise him to cut his hair and portray a character similar to Javier Bardem in the movie “No Country for Old Men,” something which Jericho later pulled off in 2008.

Besides Michaels, Joel is also a fan of Eddie Guerrero, Randy Orton, Edge, CM Punk, and Brock Lesnar. His current favorites are Roman Reigns, Gunther, and Drew McIntyre.

Joel is a team man and works closely with his colleagues, conducts thorough research, and only relies on top pro-wrestling sources for information. His well-researched news reports have received close to 10 million reads till date.

When not following pro wrestling, Joel can be found designing built spaces, auditioning for films, working out, spending time with family and watching movies.

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Edited by Sayantan Niyogi