WWE Raw Power Rankings: Dean Ambrose Evens the Odds for Seth Rollins
By Bryan Heaton
4. Roman Reigns (last week: 1)
3. Brock Lesnar (last week: 4)
I know the Coach was gone this week in favor of a breath of fresh air in Renee Young, but I have one word for the Roman Reigns/Paul Heyman segment: Regression.
For weeks, months, years, Roman Reigns has been positioned as the conquering hero of WWE. Everyone — including Reigns — has failed at stopping Brock Lesnar. Anyone who gets a victory over The Beast Incarnate ends up falling to him at a later date. The last man who pinned Lesnar in a championship match passed away almost 13 years ago.
But Reigns keeps getting back up on that horse, thinking the next time will be different. You know, the definition of insanity. Maybe it’s going to take someone crazy to finally put Lesnar to pasture, who knows? As it stands now, though, Reigns (once again) seems like the last hope for WWE.
And until the closing minutes of this segment, it seemed WWE had finally figured out what would work: make it impossible to cheer for Brock Lesnar, ergo almost forcing the crowd to cheer Reigns if he can finally dethrone the Beast. It worked sooooo well for a few weeks, too, as Lesnar denigrated the WWE Universe, WWE Raw itself, and ignored everyone in favor of a good magazine.
Also. Roman Reigns: Ranking The Big Dog's Universal Championship Matches. light
Lesnar attacked Kurt Angle for no good reason, and he even went after his advocate, Paul Heyman. That seemingly sent Heyman into a tailspin of depression and bad feelings, but it gave him the idea that maybe he could help Reigns beat the Beast. Who knows Brock Lesnar better than Paul Heyman, after all?
If this segment would have ended with Reigns seriously considering Heyman’s offer, it would have added a level of intrigue to SummerSlam’s main event not seen in a big time match like this for a long time. Instead, the reveal was wasted almost immediately, and Reigns suffered yet another merciless beatdown at the hands of Lesnar. That plan didn’t make the match at WrestleMania 34 any better, nor did it improve the Greatest Royal Rumble steel cage match.
What are the odds it helps SummerSlam?