CM Punk says that WWE is finally using Roman Reigns right

While there are plenty of missteps fans can point to as an indicator of WWE’s creative malaise, Universal Champion Roman Reigns isn’t one of them.

Sure the company still uses many of the same tired storytelling structures as part of “The Tribal Chief’s” presentation — like having him start every SmackDown with a long, exposition-filled promo — but his ability to elevate WWE’s drab tropes combined with him adding little intricacies to give his heel character more depth have made him a revelation in 2021.

Of course, it took a while (and WWE finally realizing that he needed to be a heel) for this to click, something that former WWE Champion CM Punk recognizes.

CM Punk says that WWE has finally figured out how to properly push Roman Reigns.

Appearing on the Wrestling Perspective Podcast, Punk discussed Reigns’ current run as SmackDown’s top heel and mentioned that WWE should’ve done this with “The Head of the Table” years ago (h/t to Fightful’s Gisberto Guzzo for the transcription):

"“I think a lot of the times the best stuff, you also just kind of got to go with the flow with it. I’ll use Roman Reigns as an example. Because if we’re talking about good stuff, if the WWE does anything good, this is the one thing they’re doing right; is Roman Reigns. His character work, his in-ring stuff, it’s all great. But I feel like classic WWE, they’re always 5 years, 10 years late. This is something that they should have done originally because they tried so hard to get this guy over as a babyface and they gave him x-amount of Mania main events, like, ‘this is the guy, this is the guy, this is the guy.’ He never really had his moments until now. Maybe he needed that adversity and that backlash to finally be this guy. This is the one thing they’re doing right because what can you say bad about what Roman Reigns is doing right now? He’s far and away the best guy they have, and when you talk about storylines, in-ring work, and all that stuff, right now, he’s the total package.”"

Reigns, of course, returned as a heel at the conclusion of SummerSlam 2020 and won the Universal Title a week later at Payback 2020. He has now held the belt for 284 days, giving him the second-longest reign in the title’s history.

Right now, Reigns is involved in a storyline where he and his cousin, Jimmy Uso, are fighting over the loyalty of Jey Uso. Rey Mysterio is rumored to be his next challenger for the Universal Title.