Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins WWE Feud is Unintentionally Blurring the Lines

Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are in a feud that seemed like it would be babyface vs. heel, but is setting up a different dynamic that may not be intentional.

When Seth Rollins returned to WWE at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, the fans went wild and cheered him like a babyface when he attacked Roman Reigns. However, the next night, Rollins cut a promo on the crowd and proved he was still heel, like the previous few years.

From there, things started to get somewhat complicated.

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The fans want to root for Rollins, despite steadily accepting Reigns more by the week. They loved the work the Architect did during his run under Triple H, and there were even teases of a feud coming between the two before WrestleMania 32. Injuries derailed this, though.

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The torn knee ligaments stalled everything that Rollins had done throughout his time in WWE. It prematurely ended his WWE World Heavyweight Championship reign and made it unknown if he would return to the very top of the food chain.

On May 30, WWE released the Seth Rollins WWE 24 special that chronicled his redesign, rebuild, and reclaim to return to TV. It was nothing about the character, but the person, which WWE agent and former tag team champion Brian “Road Dogg” James stated.

I hope that everybody is adult enough T to separate real life from sports entertainment. 24 is about the person.
— Brian G. James (@BrianRDJames) June 1, 2016

While that’s the intention, fans aren’t seeing it that way, leading to them wanting to see Rollins as a babyface.

Then there is Reigns, who is not a sympathetic character, despite WWE trying to portray him as one. He’s a big, muscle guy who has destroyed just about anyone who has stepped in his way. This includes Big Show, Bray Wyatt, Triple H, pinning friend Dean Ambrose multiple times, Sheamus, and most recently, AJ Styles. The word “untouchable” may be the best word to describe the run the former Shield man is on.

While the video package that WWE ran on the history of Rollins and Reigns on June 6 was fantastic, it failed to make us feel bad for the babyface.

He told a great story, but what is there to feel bad about? Especially coming off a feud where Styles was being heavily rooted for by the fans over Reigns and the increasingly-unlikable Usos, there was nothing to be sad about.

When Rollins told his side of the story, he continued to show some of the side that was seen in the WWE 24 special, but stayed somewhat on the heel course.

The reality of this feud is all the production work being done is causing the lines to be blurred. It’s not intentional, though, unlike the Styles feud. Rollins vs. Reigns is meant to be heel vs. babyface, but it’s becoming far from that.

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A fan’s dream may be for a double-turn to happen at WWE Money in the Bank, pulling the trigger on the Reigns heel turn that some have been looking for. It would redesign the production work that was done into seeds being planted for this happening, and not just a fantastic video portraying their history.

However, WWE’s intent on turning Roman Reigns into the next John Cena likely means this isn’t happening. The Face That Runs the Place hasn’t been a heel since his Thuganomics days due to his placement at the top of WWE’s feuds, marketing and more. Reigns is seemingly headed that way too.

Maybe we’re all going to be shocked at WWE Money in the Bank with a double-turn that changes the game of the world championship picture. What WWE has been producing hasn’t been intentional, though, and will likely keep things status quo.

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