WWE
Did WWE Pull a Heel Move for a Face? Roman Reigns Guarded by The Shield (Opinion)
If you haven’t been paying attention to the wrestling world in the last 48 hours; you wouldn’t know that on Sunday, the WWE Universe (at least half of it) let out a collective groan. That is because, after a four-year war, Roman Reigns FINALLY toppled “The Beast Incarnate” Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Universal Title.
In what was easily one of the biggest matches, with one of the most mixed reactions in the history of the company; it took Reigns several Superman Punches and three Spears to get the task done. But, by the end of the night, Roman Reigns was standing tall, holding onto the very thing he had fought long and hard for.
The match, however, took an interesting turn early on, as “The Monster in the Bank” Braun Strowman appeared just after the bell rang, and proclaimed that he would cash in as soon as the match finished. Looking slightly disturbed by the proclamation; Reigns and Lesnar would then clash, with Reigns striking first. After several devastating blows, Roman Reigns would go for a pin, only for Lesnar to kick out at two.
It would also be in the midst of his attack on Lesnar that Reigns would inadvertently lead to Strowman being taken out of the picture; as he would go for a spear on Lesnar, who sidestepped the attack, throwing Reigns into the path of Strowman.
Strowman quickly recovered…
…and looked to attack an incapacitated Reigns, until Lesnar attacked him from behind. After brutalizing Strowman with a chair, Lesnar went to attack Reigns with the chair; only to be met with a spear and a pinfall. Afterward, fans thought Strowman would recover and still cash in his “Money in the Bank” contract; but that would have to wait for the next night.
Strowman made it clear that whoever was the winner of the Reigns/Finn Balor Universal Title match on Raw would have to face him after. Strowman kept his word, as he cashed in his contract…
Only to have Seth Rollins and the returned Dean Ambrose run to ringside, with The Shield’s theme blaring through the Barclays. Needless to say, the Brooklyn crowd went crazy at the reunion. They attacked Strowman before the bell rang to make the match official, which negated the cash in. They also proceeded, after some fighting back from “The Monster Among Men” to powerbomb him through the announce table.
There they stood, ringside, united; Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. The Shield. A feel-good moment to end Raw. But, it raised a question for this writer…
Did the WWE just pull a heel move for their face champion?
I know, I know, but let me explain my reason for asking.
First, let’s think about this for a second: in the history of professional wrestling; with its rich history of having stables run amok in companies, when has a face (good guy) champion ever really had a stable to help him keep a title?
I mean, sure, we can say “look at the Attitude Era, they did it”, but then again, every face during the Attitude Era was technically an “anti-hero”. They could have been a good guy one week, and a bad guy the next. No one would have really batted an eye about a turn, short of if they were a super face.
In the WWE, you had Triple H, who was an anti-hero, Bret Hart, who became an anti-hero. The Rock, who transitioned into an anti-hero, The Undertaker, who became an anti-hero. Vince McMahon and the McMahon family were just naturals at flipping between being good and bad.
But, whenever a title was involved, there was never a face champion backed by a stable. It was just unheard of, so why pull the move now?
Protecting Roman…
It’s very possible that Vince McMahon is trying everything necessary to get the fans behind Reigns. He and WWE Creative are going the routes they know will work, i.e., bashing Lesnar in the weeks leading up to SummerSlam. Trying to shine a more positive light on Reigns in comparison to Lesnar; having Reigns be the guy who “shows up to work every week, unlike the other guy”.
Have him reunite with Rollins and Ambrose to reform The Shield, which almost guarantees that Reigns will get cheered. It is an obvious attempt to garner more fan support for their new face of the company. Something they shouldn’t really have to do since Reigns is a homegrown product of the WWE machine.
But, unfortunately for them, there is still a vast majority of fans who aren’t buying it. And yes, I have covered this before in a previous article, but, that’s a conversation for another time. Long story short, the WWE pulled the trigger on Reigns far too early and incorrectly. And here we are years later seeing the end result of what should have been an easy transition to the new face.
Instigating and inciting heat…
Had the WWE played their cards right, and not had Rollins be the one to turn on The Shield; they could have easily built up Reigns under the tutelage of Triple H and Randy Orton. Two individuals who make being a heel look as easy as drinking a cup of water. Both also have had successful runs as faces, and have a pedigree (no pun intended) in grabbing the fans on the mic.
Had it been Reigns who turned, it also would have potentially led to an interesting babyface run for both Ambrose and Rollins as a team; who would have had to face the onslaught of three powerhouse personalities in Triple H, Orton, and Reigns.
When Reigns finally won the WWE World Championship, that first promo… Well, it really didn’t help him. It left many with a bad taste.
However, the promo that made Roman Reigns land on the bad side of many was the post-WrestleMania promo that followed his victory over The Undertaker. All it took was four words to draw the ire of the WWE Universe.
“It’s My Yard, Now…”
Since then, Reigns has become the most polarizing figure in the WWE in recent years. And while it’s mostly the male adult fans who are booing him, it is the children (and women) who cheer him on. Even more so than John Cena, who still to this day gets nearly booed out the building when his entrance theme hits.
But, don’t think that because The Shield has come to back their Shield-brother that this is going to lead to a heel turn. The WWE is very adamant in keeping Reigns as a face, and have no intention (for the foreseeable future) in changing that. Expect a turn from either Rollins or Ambrose before expecting one from Reigns; especially with Ambrose looking like a baby Triple H at the moment.
In conclusion…
With the WWE doing everything in its power to try to get more fans behind Roman Reigns, it’s not too surprising that they would pull; essentially, a heel move in order to garner more support for “The Big Dog”. The endgame is to get more fans to cheer Reigns, and if last night proved anything, they just might be on to something.
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