Why did fans hate Roman Reigns before becoming The Tribal Chief? Exploring reason for hatred

Roman Reigns' journey to becoming The Tribal Chief was challenging, but ultimately rewarding. He has become the face of WWE's newest era and has succeeded in becoming one of the biggest stars in wrestling history. While many like him now, sort of, that wasn't the case when he became The Big Dog.

After The Shield broke up in 2014, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose continued being a tag team before being a singles star. All three members have their characters: Seth Rollins as The Architect, Dean as the Lunatic Fringe, and Roman as The Big Dog. However, it was Reigns who was immediately pushed into the spotlight and placed in a World title picture, and it was quite evident he was still adjusting to the new position.

Many fans took issue with how Roman was quickly portrayed as an unbeatable star with a seemingly legendary status, despite still not having accomplished anything yet. WWE's booking with Reigns was viewed by many as predictable and for being a main eventer already.

One main issue with Roman's persona before becoming The Tribal Chief was his promo skills. It was evident that he was still adjusting to the microphone, and it was on full display when he faced John Cena.

Many fans disliked Roman Reigns as The Big Dog due to his booking and how his character was forcibly portrayed as a dominant star. This is why his heel turn in 2020 as The Tribal Chief worked well for him.

Roman became more comfortable and confident with his character, and his promo skills have improved. Additionally, his presentation as a Main Eventer has been highly convincing.

Did Roman Reigns prefer playing the heel or as a face?

Payback 2020 was when Roman's reign as a dominant champion began

Although Roman was mainly a face after his time in The Shield, he always knew he wanted his character to be different. Fortunately, he had patience for his eventual heel turn.

While talking with Ryan Satin on FOX Sports, Reigns revealed that he always wanted to turn heel. He revealed that even in The Shield, they agreed to keep him as a bad guy while Seth was the face. He stated that although being a good guy worked out for him at first, it didn't last long.

He then pitched to be a bad guy so he could tackle a different level of character work. However, he was turned down, but he stated it was fine as it all worked out with perfect timing.

What is Roman Reigns doing now?

Since becoming the Universal Champion in 2020, Roman Reigns hasn't dropped that title and even became the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. He still leads The Bloodline with Solo Sikoa, Jimmy Uso, Paul Heyman, and most recently, The Rock. He is set to defend the title against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40.

It will be interesting to see what else will happen with The Tribal Chief in the coming weeks.