Roman Reigns Says Working With John Cena Has Improved Mic Skills

Roman Reigns has always been the hand-picked guy for the WWE brass, and his current feud with John Cena could represent the proverbial passing of the torch.

On Sunday at the Raw exclusive pay per view No Mercy, Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar will battle for the Universal Championship. Somehow, though, that dream match might not be the most-anticipated or most talked-about battle on the card, because John Cena and Roman Reigns will go at it after the WWE‘s best build of the year.

Cena and Reigns have traded barbs on the mic for weeks, and these back-and-forth encounters have bled into social media. Neither man has held back. Reigns has repeatedly used non-PG language to describe Cena, accusing the 16-time champion of burying young talent at every turn. Meanwhile, Cena brought up Reigns’s failed drug test in one promo and chastised “The Big Dog” for stumbling through a promo.

CBS Sports’s “In This Corner” podcast recently had an opportunity to interview Reigns, and you can click here for the full interview.

When engaged in a rivalry with a young star, Cena is a big-time believer in bringing his best. He once told “The Wrap” that he will speak “from the heart” in promos and surmised that many wrestlers fail to capitalize on their momentum after their feud with Cena ends, simply because they fail to move forward with that same mentality of, “bring your best punch and I’m gonna punch back.”

Well, it doesn’t appear that Reigns will fall victim to this, because it appears that he relishes the savage arguments he’s been having with Cena. Furthermore, he sees what Cena means, and he believes that “Big Match John” has helped improve his work on the mic of late.

From CBSSports.com’s Brian Campbell (follow the link for quotes from AJ Styles, too): 

"“It was nice to be able to change gears and get better at something. I think I’ve definitely gotten better on the stick working with John. I have to give him credit for that. Like he said in one of his opening promos, you either step up or you step aside.”"

Reigns has always had the look, and his matches regularly exceed the four-star mark. However, aside from the fact that fans feel he has been pushed down their throats, despite the fact that he’s lost frequently this year, they’ve had a hard time getting behind Reigns due to his lackluster promos. In the past, the WWE would hand him some of the most laughable promos. Jack in the Beanstalk, anyone?

But now, Roman has been able to be more of a no-nonsense, gray-area character, and it’s paid off huge. His latest promo poking fun at Cena’s comments about “Going Hollywood” during his feud with The Rock, as well as his rumored burial of former WWE Superstar Alex Riley, may have been one of his best. And even though Cena usually comes out on top in their face-to-face mic battles, Roman has been so much better than expected.

Next: Are Triple H And Kevin Owens Working Together?

It’s great to hear that Reigns believes this feud with Cena is paying off dividends when it comes to improving his work as a wrestler, and it will be interesting to see if he picks up some tricks that will be useful in future feuds.