WWE: Roman Reigns back on Raw isn’t the answer

Moving Roman Reigns back to Raw may give ratings a slight bump, but it will not stop the trend of falling ratings and neglected storyline development.

What’s old is new and what’s new is old. At least that’s what WWE Creative would like us to believe as viewers are continually subjected to regurgitated content. As interest builds in the sheer creativity behind the Bray Wyatt Firefly Funhouse segments, fans are getting another retread as Roman Reigns is coming back to Monday Night Raw for an appearance. Why? Wait until the show to find out.

At least that’s what leadership in the WWE hopes we will do. This will serve as yet another reminder that viewers want something different instead of the same old characters and angles.

Over the weekend, Reigns tweeted that he will be on Raw to #ProtectTheYard. This was met with a response from the official WWE Twitter account that he will not be appearing due to “obligations as a Smackdown Live Superstar.” The back and forth would continue for a few tweets with a collective groan being heard across Wrestling Twitter.

It’s clear that the WWE is looking to give Monday Night Raw ratings a bump by infusing the biggest name they have on the roster. Both Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey have moved on in their own ways; but even when they were involved, ratings for the flagship show continued to drop in recent months and years. The exponential drops should be alarming to the organization, especially as they head into a new partnership with FOX starting in October.

If waning interest and growth of All Elite Wrestling are causing alarm within WWE leadership, the potential solution of more of the same old thing isn’t the way to go.

Roman Reigns is currently involved in a storyline with Shane McMahon. When he arrived on Smackdown Live, he made his presence felt by delivering a superman punch to Vince McMahon, kicking off the angle. Shane is playing the typical “Heel McMahon” character and using his power over the Smackdown roster to make Roman’s life miserable. Sound familiar?

We’ve seen this in angles played out with Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Shawn Michaels and recently, Becky Lynch. The fans get it; the McMahons run the organization and can do whatever they want to make or break stars in the promotion – both in script and outside of it. The fact that we’ve seen it before gives us insight into how it will play out in the end, which results in viewers continuing to turn the content off in mass.

Moving Roman Reigns over to Raw isn’t going to have the impact that WWE leadership wants. Even if this creates a slight bump in this week’s ratings, is he going to become yet another Superstar pulling double duty? What about the Superstar Shakeup; do those rules and roster changes no longer apply? Those are valid questions to have as WWE attempts to get fans excited with something, we’ve all seen before and rejected in the past.

But there’s a bigger question to be asked as well. If Reigns is the answer, does this show a lack of confidence within the rest of the Raw roster? The Raw roster includes names such as Drew McIntyre, Ricochet, Seth Rollins, AJ Styles, Bobby Lashley and more.

Instead of building up compelling and creative angles around the men and women assigned to the show, WWE Creative is bringing in Reigns from another brand as if he’s the catch all solution. This move doesn’t show any confidence in the angle being built around Styles and Rollins – two performers that can put on an instant classic in the WWE ring.

Roman Reigns’s presence will take television and content time away from the men and women on the roster that need it; keeping them way from opportunities that can potentially build new characters for fans to want to see. Opportunities to build the depleted listed of Superstars on the WWE roster.

Is the WWE in panic mode over dropping ratings and a potentially strong contender to their throne in the industry? It’s still too soon to tell but moves like this show that something is amiss within WWE Creative and leadership. Instead of taking the time to develop intriguing angles and build over time, the idea of throwing Roman Reigns back onto the main show isn’t going to drive the results that leadership wants. A small bump will not be maintained and will continue the narrative that WWE is struggling to maintain long term builds, even with The Big Dog front and center.