WWE News: Backstage Update On Roman Reigns Turning Heel Soon
WWE programming is completely dependent on the perception of what the WWE fan wants. The WWE Universe will tell the powers that be what is working, what isn’t, and what they want to see next. The only thing that has become a problem is polarizing reactions are actually better for the WWE product than one overwhelming good or bad reaction.
One out of ten fans booing a performer out of the arena isn’t a big deal, nor is nine out of ten fans booing him out of the arena. WWE will know what to do at that point, but then you enter the situation Roman Reigns has been in for over a year now with the WWE audience split five by five in favor of him, or against him for even breathing in a WWE ring. That debate is what WWE wants because they can do no wrong.
WWE logic isn’t hard to figure out. If a WWE Superstar is getting cheered, they’re a face. If they’re being booed out of the building, they’re a heel. It’s really that simple, but a split audience is just going to force them to leave a star where they are and deal with the swings. That’s why Roman Reigns can get booed out of the AT&T Stadium in Dallas to end Wrestlemania 32 and nothing changes. Simply put, it’s about the money.
The vocal majority of the WWE Universe has been saying that Roman Reigns needs to turn heel because it would fit his crowd reaction. While it can be embarrassing, WWE is winning big time with Reigns as a top guy in the company. With John Cena’s influence to the WWE product becoming less and less important, the era of the “Roman Empire” is taking over WWE programming; Reigns is becoming this generation’s Cena.
Much of the WWE Universe has spent years trying to explain why John Cena should turn heel, especially now that Roman Reigns is on top of WWE. There is no reason not to turn Cena heel, right? Unfortunately, the same arguments will be made for Roman over the coming years because it is being reported that WWE officials have no interest in turning Roman Reigns heel anytime soon.
According to the report above, the thought had never seriously been considered by WWE officials since the breakup of The Shield back in 2014. Needless to say, it’s going to be some time before the idea is even talked about seriously, let alone actually happen on WWE television. However, WWE has done a great job over the past couple of months pulling back Reigns’ push, so the WWE Universe cuts him some slack.
Over the past few months, WWE has purposefully kept Roman Reigns out of the WWE title picture on Raw in order to push and create new stars after the brand split gave them the opportunity to do so. Roman also did Finn Balor, Dean Ambrose, and Seth Rollins the favor of putting them over in big match situations.
He’s also been feuding with Rusev and helping to elevate the United States Championship for the past few months as well as helping out in the main event when necessary. The expectation is that Reigns will win the U.S. title at WWE Clash of Champions, so his work has just begun in Raw’s upper midcard.
It’ll take some time, but the dynamic Roman Reigns has with the WWE Universe is going to improve over time. The fifty-fifty split that the WWE Universe is dealing with is good for debate and creates a much more polarizing atmosphere for the show. His U.S. title reign should make things easier for him. A brief reunion of The Shield could do wonders for his popularity, but it’ll be his hard work that turns the tide eventually.
[Image by WWE.com]
