Five ways the WWE missed the boat with Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns is Poochie. Photo Source: WWE.com

Roman Reigns Promo Work

It’s clear that many professional wrestlers have their lines scripted for them. Very few are able to go into the ring and speak in front of thousands live and millions watching across the world and convey a message to drive a story forward. At the same time, there’s a certain finesse that comes with less when working through promos. For Reigns, it seems like WWE Creative is dead set on having him talk more than he should and that is hindering his growth into the character they want him to be.

In looking back at Reigns’s recent moments during this run, some of those that got over the best with the crowds were nothing more than a full on brawl. The moments he shared in fights against the likes of Triple H, Samoa Joe, Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar built anticipation better than any moment that he was forced to talk on the microphone. In fact, one of his best promos came after defeating the Undertaker at WrestleMania 33 when he said only one sentence as the crowd chanted for his head. That’s the type of intensity and presence that’s needed for every Roman Reigns promo, but is often lost when they have him coming off as a whiny athlete or spewing lines from cartoon characters.

While some believe that Reigns should have a manager like Paul Heyman, the other side of that conversation calls for him to talk less. He’s already physically imposing compared to his peers, WWE Creative should play off of that – this doesn’t mean less promos, but less monologues for a character that has already proven it to not be a strong point. With Roman Reigns on the mic, less is more and it’s time for that shift to occur.