Roman Reigns’ WWE Money in the Bank Loss Causes Necessary Restart

Roman Reigns’ title run coming to an end at WWE Money in the Bank was surprising, but made sense.

At WWE Money in the Bank, Roman Reigns lost the WWE World Heavyweight Championship to Seth Rollins (Dean Ambrose’s cash-in followed shortly). Fans didn’t expect to see the former football player lose the belt just two-plus months into his run, but it happened.

This reign was seemingly going to be Roman’s first long one. He held the belt for only minutes in the first go around. Then, Triple H eliminated him in the Royal Rumble title match, cutting this off at six weeks. Reigns’ third run only turned out to be 10 weeks.

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The path to Reigns winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 32 was predictable. From the moment Triple H won the Royal Rumble world title bout, to the second Reigns pinned the Game in the main event at AT&T Stadium, it was exactly what everyone guessed. Given that the Big Dog wasn’t receiving good reactions beforehand, this only turned fans even more against him.

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It was impossible to see Reigns getting cheers in any arena on TV. No one wanted to see the inevitable and still rejected the title win when it did happen. They continued with the boos on the night after WrestleMania, and throughout his 10-week run. Even before this reign began, though, the former Shield man was going to need a fresh start.

Saying that Reigns is going to need a restart is difficult because the past two-and-a-half months produced some of his best work. Top matches were put on with Rollins and AJ Styles. While the argument could be made that these superior in-ring performers “carried” Reigns, he still had to hold his own, which he did.Reigns cut his now-famous “The Guy” promo

Then, there is Reigns’ now-famous “The Guy” promo, which came the night after WrestleMania. While scripted by WWE, the delivery still had to be effective, which it was.

Reigns and Styles had some very good segments during their feud. From what was seen backstage, to the wars with The Usos, the Samoan played his role well. It was hard to criticize what he did because it wasn’t bad.

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If this was anyone else, they would be praised for their work. Rollins would be applauded. Dean Ambrose would receive a standing ovation. Kevin Owens would be bowed down to. Due to all that Reigns went through in the early part of 2016, though, everything he was going to do in his title run wasn’t going to matter.

The finger pointing can go to WWE’s creative team for what they did most of the past few years. They guide Reigns’ actions by scripting what he should say, how he should do things, mannerisms, among other things. The objective hasn’t been reached by WWE. Instead of making him into a likeable, top guy, he has become a polarizing figure who many do not want as the face of the company. Reigns, at times, has even seemed like a ripoff of John Cena, which is, again, on WWE for making him like this.

What’s the solution, though?

Stick to the plan.

The booking of Reigns was poor before WrestleMania, but has improved since the Raw after the show. He has received less microphone time and limited exposure, which is needed for someone like the former FCW star. Fans have seen that when Reigns gets overexposed, like anyone else, he becomes stale. His title run never felt flat or boring, though. If anything, it was exciting because he was showing up here and there on Raw, having interesting interactions with Styles and Rollins, then going out on a PPV stage to put on great matches.

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So Roman Reigns is set for a fresh start. If WWE continues what they’ve been doing with him since WrestleMania 32, it might not give a bad taste in the mouths of fans when he gets title reign No. 4.