WWE Survivor Series 2015: Why This Isn’t About Roman Reigns
Why the ending of WWE Survivor Series is not Roman Reigns’ fault.
Last Jan. I wrote an article for this very site entitled “Why This Is Not Roman Reigns Fault”. After winning the Royal Rumble, Reigns received massive heat from the crowd; heat not even The Rock could help him overcome.
It was simple. The crowd wanted Daniel Bryan and instead they were fed with Reigns. They felt Reigns was forced upon them and that he wasn’t ready for that main event spotlight. Whether right or wrong, the fans force the WWE to change their plans and Seth Rollins became champion.
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Here we are 10 months later and it feels like the exact same thing. Reigns is in the main event picture, and spoilers for those who didn’t watch Survivor Series, he captured his first WWE Championship. The crowd was very mild about him winning the title, and there were more boo’s than cheers. His moment was short-lived as Sheamus cashed-in to win the title, but there is something to be said about all of this.
Reigns is a quality wrestler. He isn’t Cesaro or Kevin Owens or Neville or Dean Ambrose or whoever the Internet likes at any given time. Reigns is a solid performer that can put on solid matches night in and night out. He’s not great on the mic, but has been better in recent months.
The Internet will tell you that they are anti-Reigns because he’s the handpicked guy and is going to be the next John Cena. While those claims may have some validity, that’s no fault of Roman’s. He is who he is. If the WWE sees dollar signs with him, that’s great for Reigns and his family. It’s not as if Reigns is forcing them to give him the title. They see big things for his future and they are pushing him that way. It’s how new stars are created.
Where many, and myself included, are concerned about this Reigns push to the top is with the rest of the talent. If the WWE does indeed push Reigns to the moon and keep him at the top like they have with Cena, it leaves a number of questions for the Ambrose’s and Cesaro’s of the world.
The booking of everything that isn’t the main event scene hasn’t been great lately, evident by RAW’s rating falling to the lowest it’s been in 18 years. WWE has had trouble creating new stars. They are trying to do that with Reigns, but they are trying so hard at the sacrifice of the rest of these guys.
Where does Ambrose go from here? How does Owens get out of the mid-card ceiling that he currently has? Who can legitimately fight Reigns when he becomes champion?
These are all questions that the WWE has to answer, and has needed to answer ever since they decided that Reigns was there guy.
It’s isn’t Reign’s fault, or even about him. Just like it wasn’t about him when he won the Rumble. It’s about the process and where does the WWE go from here. They have given the fans little faith about creating an extensive, deep main event scene, so they boo the one thing that the WWE is building up.
Out of all of this, Reigns is getting treated the worst. He’s had two moments taken away from him because of the crowd, and they will never be on his side. Not at WrestleMania when he will probably finally re-claim the title. And that’s sad for Reigns, because he deserves the fan support after the year he has had.
Next: WWE Survivor Series 2015 Review
Fans who say that they don’t like Reigns because he’s the handpicked guy or because he’s green and not ready are entitled to their opinions, but their “heat” is misguided. Many of them would be fine with Reigns as champion if he was in feuds with Cesaro and Owens and Ambrose because those are the guys they like.
So this is about the process and how the WWE is building new stars. It always has been, it always will be. Sheamus is the world-champion and he was stuck in the mid-card since getting the briefcase. The 50-50 booking of the WWE has created this problem. And just like they did after the Rumble, they’ll have to find their way out of it.