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WWE: Can a Heel Roman Reigns Still Be ‘The Guy’?

By AJ Balano

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With rumors of Vince McMahon’s high on Roman Reigns wearing out, would a converted heel turn or a completely different heel work in the role of “The Guy”?

Historically, in WWE, “The Man”, or “The Guy”, however you want to look at it, has predominantly been a babyface. It’s generally the formula for success in any wrestling promotion: the face of your company should be someone who crowds would pay good hard earned money to come see perform and buy merchandise from in droves.

On occasion the rules are bent a bit to include edgier characters who live in shades of grey to reflect the times, as it was during the late 90s when wrestling was at its most gritty and visceral. Regardless of whether their alignment was white, black, or grey, the talent in said position would would work their way to that spot until they were comfortable in their role. However, WWE has a problem in this regard with Roman Reigns.

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Two years deep into his rocket-propelled push, Reigns has yet to display the necessary natural charisma that each of his predecessors had

Roman Reigns had been handpicked, chosen, and christened by the powers that be to the next premier babyface in the company. The problem is that WWE has been waiting essentially two years for Reigns to find his zone, and ultimately, he has yet to do so. The company pulled the trigger on Reigns, and for all intents and purposes, he has missed the mark. Two years deep into his rocket-propelled push, Reigns has yet to display the necessary natural charisma that each of his predecessors had. While a solid worker, he hasn’t connected with an audience outside of general “don’t hate the player” minded fans due to his apparent lack of personality in front of the camera. It’s hard to want to pay money to see somebody you don’t know much about or doesn’t have much to show.

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When you take look at the list of those who came before Reigns, you can see that it is a tall order to fill the shoes he was assigned with. In the WWWF, it was Bruno Sammartino. Vince would then center his company around Hulk Hogan in the 80s, followed by Bret Hart in the early 90s. Stone Cold Steve Austin, while presented as an anti-hero, ultimately, was a babyface rebelling against the evil boss.

Brock Lesnar, although he debuted as a heel the night after Wrestlemania X8, he was a slow but steady fan favorite (due to his once-in-a-lifetime athlete mystique and freak physique) and a full-fledged babyface by Wrestlemania XIX when he won his second WWE Championship, and remained as such before eventually turning heel again as he departed. John Cena is perhaps the quintessential babyface. CM Punk walked down the same path that Austin had done as an anti-authority figure during the short lived Reality Era from 2011 up until his departure in 2014.

However in this New Era, WWE finds itself in a situation where their babyface, Roman Reigns, is under constant scrutiny and overwhelmingly negative reactions on a nightly basis. While this is certainly not the first time this has happened in WWE, as Shawn Michaels, The Rock, and John Cena were viciously booed by the audience of their respective times when they were babyfaces, all three eventually got over in their own way. Shawn Michaels and The Rock turned into an anti-hero and a heel, respectively, as the founder of D-Generation X and member of the Kliq; and the breakout star of the Nation of Domination. Despite their rather heelish tendencies, the two got over because they were highly entertaining.

John Cena reversed the script; he initially began as an incredibly popular heel who turned into a reviled babyface, however, he remained in the top spot largely due to his limitless charisma and entertaining appeal in two distinctly different eras: the TV-14 Ruthless Aggression era and the PG Era. Cena was able to adapt to the change and as a result, remained relevant.

WWE seemingly attempted to follow their own blueprint for Cena with Reigns: Reigns was the silent juggernaut of the heel faction known as The Shield. When the Shield turned into babyfaces, the three members were presented as anti-heroes. After Rollins dissolved the group and turned into a full-fledged heel, Ambrose took on the role of the anti-hero and Roman was given the green light to become the babyface en route to becoming the top superstar in the company.

By the time the Shield split and Roman found himself on his own, it became readily evident that as a performer, he had not done enough to solidify who he was

However, through it all, Reigns did so with relatively little character development. When paired up with Rollins and Ambrose, it was clear from their very first promo together, that Rollins and Ambrose were the personalities of the faction. Whether it was by design, Roman’s limited speaking time did not lend its way to helping him shape a character on his own. By the time the Shield split and Roman found himself on his own, it became readily evident that as a performer, he had not done enough to solidify who he was. At best, he was a one-dimensional silent bruiser. At worst, the equivalent of a bodyguard who happened to work in tag team matches. Even on the several occasions when he would reunite with his brother-in-arms, Ambrose, it only highlighted how much more of a personality Ambrose had compared to him.

There have been many comparisons to Roman’s hostile fan reactions to that of Cena’s; however the sole, and perhaps, most important difference, is that Roman does not have anywhere near the amount of natural charisma that Cena has, which has allowed Cena to be fluid and have fun on the microphone throughout his career. Roman, in contrast, is very rigid and, while not reading lines off his wrist, still feels very rehearsed and forced.

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Rumor is going around that Vince McMahon’s approval of Roman has soured in light of the 30-day suspension he was given for violating the wellness policy. You have to keep in mind that WWE is practically comparing Roman to Cena at this point because they’re following the same formula that they discovered when they struck gold and hit it rich with Cena the last 14 years. If Cena was able to become the megastar that he was and stayed squeaky clean, WWE is expecting every single one of their baby faces to follow suit moving forward.

So what is WWE to do? The quick fix would be to turn Roman heel. However, as stated before, historically, a heel has never been the top guy, the de facto face of the company, in WWE. Macho King Randy Savage, Shawn Michaels (due to his personal problems), Triple H, Kurt Angle, and Randy Orton all played second-fiddle to the top star. In regards to the playing field, Seth Rollins has proven to be a money heel than Roman could ever possibly be.

If you can’t turn Roman heel because Seth is already a great heel, and if you can’t have him become an anti-hero because Dean is naturally one to begin with, perhaps WWE has to look elsewhere

Should they have Roman run with this newfound “badboy” persona now that he got hit with the suspension. On the last Raw prior to being suspend, Roman snapped at the fans, displaying flashes of a heel turn. Should Roman become an anti-hero in the same manner that Austin and Punk were? The problem with that proposition is that WWE already has their resident anti-hero in Dean Ambrose.

If Roman were able to be an entertaining, funny, cowardly heel, perhaps his lease on the position of “The Guy” could be extended. However, Roman has shown to be neither of those. If you can’t turn Roman heel because Seth is already a great heel, and if you can’t have him become an anti-hero because Dean is naturally one to begin with, perhaps WWE has to look elsewhere? Maybe WWE has to cut its losses and admit in the books that they didn’t get much in their investment on Roman.

The brash, cocky, arrogant, smug, and above all else, entertaining, heel that WWE is looking for and would like Roman to become already exists in their roster. And once again, no, it isn’t Roman. It’s Kevin Owens. Kevin Owens, since arriving on the main roster, has become arguably the most entertaining superstar in the entire company. If it weren’t for the fact that he has his work cut out for him in the sense that the New Day, a trio of highly entertaining, hilariously funny anti-heroes, are the hottest act in possibly all of pro-wrestling, Kevin Owens would undoubtedly be the king of the most entertaining promo as Dwayne Johnson became when he shed his Rocky Maivia do-gooder white meat babyface personality in favor of the trash talking jock known as The Rock.

Furthermore, Owens essentially received a co-sign from John Cena when Cena worked three incredible matches with him. Cena essentially put Owens over at Elimination Chamber when Owens pinned Cena clean in the ring, something that almost never happened during Cena’s entire run. Owens proved he could produce and deliver big time when the lights were on brightest. Cena had some of his best work with Owens, something we’re sure that he relayed to the powers that be. Cena and Roman have never crossed paths since the break-up of the Shield. Whether this is by design to save a potential big money making match between the two down the road, that plan may be in jeopardy as Roman’s future status remains uncertain.

Roman Reigns may very well not be “The Guy” anymore, but just a guy. He truly is the right guy at the right place at the wrong time

Owens has become a two-time Intercontinental Champion and was featured in a match in every PPV in his first year, a feat only accomplished by The Undertaker (if Charlotte is to defend her Women’s Championship at SummerSlam, she would join this illustrious short list). Owens gets an audible pop every time his music hits, and if WWE is listening, they should perhaps pull the trigger on KO. Owens has the backing the likes of Cena and Triple H. Owens has everything the WWE is looking for from an entertainment perspective.

Where does this leave Roman? Perhaps upon closer examination, he is not the top star that WWE had hoped for. It truly does feel like Roman and Owens should trade spots. Owens has been in the upper mid-card for the duration of his first year, while Roman seems to be more of an upper-mid card talent than the main event top guy. Though a descent down the ladder would sting Roman, really, where else is there for him to go?

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He is not the top babyface in the company; that honor goes to John Cena, Sami Zayn, Finn Balor, and Bayley. He can’t be a bigger heel than Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens or Bray Wyatt. He is not as entertaining as the trash-talking anti-hero personalities in Dean Ambrose, Enzo & Cass, and The New Day. Hell, at the moment, he isn’t even the feel-good underdog story that fans can root for because Zack Ryder and now Darren Young have that spot locked up. Roman Reigns will definitely still have a place in WWE, but because of his polarizing reception, how long it’s yet to take him to arrive in that role that WWE wants, and now this suspension, Roman Reigns may very well not be “The Guy” anymore, but just a guy. He truly is the right guy at the right place at the wrong time.

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