WWE: Roman Reigns Finally Transforms Into “The Big Dog”
This week on WWE Raw, Roman Reigns cut the greatest promo of his career.
At the WWE Elimination Chamber PPV, Roman Reigns overcame the odds once again and won the Men’s Chamber match to officially punch his ticket to the main event of WrestleMania 34. This won’t be just any main event, this will be a rematch of the WrestleMania 31 main event between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.
The last time the two of them squared off, Lesnar’s WWE World Championship was on the line and Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase to pin Roman Reigns for the belt. To this day, we still have no true resolution for Brock vs. Roman.
Immediately following Reign’s victory in the Elimination Chamber it was announced that we would see a face-to-face showdown between he and Lesnar on Raw. The meeting between the two was heavily hyped after the PPV and all day Monday leading up to the show. To be honest, this was one of the main reasons I was interested in this week’s episode of Raw to begin with.
When it was time for the advertised segment, Reigns came out to his normal mixed reaction of heavy booing with enough cheers to keep Vince McMahon happy. Roman started to soak in the crowd response as he is now fully accustomed to doing. But then something unexpected happened. Roman “broke character” mid-promo to say that he wasn’t going to cover for Brock Lesnar and that the Universal Champion no-showed Raw.
While Roman said this, I saw something in him that I had never seen before. He looked like he truly BELIEVED what he was about to say next.
Over the next handful of minutes, Reigns went on a verbal tirade of Lesnar, telling the crowd that Brock didn’t respect him, the fans, or any of the talent in the back. He called Brock “an entitled piece of crap” and said that he was hiding behind his contract. He mentioned that Lesnar hung out with UFC President Dana White on Sunday instead of attending the Elimination Chamber PPV. He said that Brock and Paul Heyman are about “doing business” but he was “born in this business”. He called Brock “a b**ch” (MAJOR SHOT FIRED). And he ended his promo by saying that he was ready to take his ass-chewing from WWE management in the back for saying what he’s said because unlike some people he actually respects and cares about this place.
I saw people all over the internet speculating as to whether or not this segment was a “shoot” and Brock really no-showed Raw or if this whole thing was planned from the start. My thought is that it really doesn’t matter whether or not it was a “shoot” because what Roman said on Monday served the exact purpose it needed to.
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The WWE has been trying for years to get Roman into a position as the top babyface of the company. This promo was used as a vehicle to to make Reigns look like a hero. Not just a hero, but a hero that was truly speaking from his heart directly to the fans. It was the first time I can remember that he sounded like he wasn’t reading from a script or being told exactly what to say or how to act. This came off like Roman is legitimately frustrated by Lesnar’s attitude and he’s in the middle of the ring saying the things that everyone else is afraid to say.
By the end of the promo the crowd was behind Reigns. Even more importantly, Roman was “over” with the internet. Most of the people that constantly complain about him being repeatedly shoved down our throats finally saw him as The Big Dog. Roman put himself on the same level as Brock because he just showed that he doesn’t fear him whatsoever and he’s coming to bring the fight at WrestleMania.
Now we have Brock looking like the ultimate heel who’s most likely leaving us once again for greener (money) pastures in the UFC with Roman defending the honor of not just WWE but pro wrestling in general.
I’ll leave you with these final questions… When Roman pins Brock for the belt at WrestleMania, will the show close with the fans finally cheering for him? Will this four year experiment (longer if you count his time in The Shield) finally pay off? Will Roman Reigns actually become the “next John Cena”?