Roman Reigns continues to receive mixed reactions from the WWE universe, but is a heel turn really all that necessary?
Before all the hatred and disdain from the WWE universe, Roman Reigns was at one point a pretty likable guy. He and the rest of his Shield brethren took the WWE by storm and in a matter of months built a resume some superstars never come close to. This all came to an end when Sheild member, Seth Rollins took out both Dean Ambrose and Reigns; aligning himself with Triple H and company. Although Ambrose and Reigns would still consider each other allies, The days of The Shield running roughshod over WWE were a thing of the past.
Shortly after They disbanded, Reigns broke out on his own and received a massive push. This push included a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at both Money in the Bank and Battleground in 2014, a high profile feud with Randy Orton and even a Slammy for Superstar of the Year. While at first, the WWE audience seemed to cheer for Reigns, those cheers slowly but surely turned into jeers.
It all seemed to come full circle at the 2015 edition of the Royal Rumble, where Reigns would go on to win the match. This move angered WWE fans world wide, mainly because many of the audience wanted to see Danial Bryan win instead. Although Bryan would go on to face Reigns at WWE’s Fastlane Pay Per View that same year, he was ultimately defeated and as many fans know, Reigns then lost to defending champion, Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31.
Since then (and for that matter) during the rise of his solo wrestling career, Reigns’ relationship with the WWE fans can only be described as something similar to John Cena’s mixed reactions. Some fans love both wrestlers, while other fans boo them. Some say it’s best for Reigns to turn heel, but would that make much of a difference? Let’s say Reigns did turn heel and lashed out at the fans because they choose to boo him when he isn’t doing anything to deserve it. He then states for this reason he isn’t going to be the “hero” that kids look up to and the guy that hugs babies anymore.
Sure, he could potentially keep getting booed out of the building and this time people would have a reason to do so, but no one started booing Reigns because of something he did in a storyline like a true heel, it’s instead something that more than likely had to do with the writers. As mentioned above Cena has been receiving mixed reactions for the majority of his run in WWE. Not one time since 2003 has Cena turned heel and that hasn’t stopped the company from being successful in the slightest bit. So my question is would a guy like Reigns, who the company seems to be trying to mold into the next John Cena be any different?
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Who knows. Maybe a few months from now Reigns does turn heel and the fans boo him from Texas all the way to New Zealand. Maybe he turns heel and the fans begin to like him for being so entertaining. Maybe his infamous sufferin’ suckatash line will be used as a regular catchphrase. I guess only time will tell.