Roman Reigns, Bad For Business: Why WWE Must Change Course
Roman Reigns has been touted as “the future face of the WWE.” Many expect him to take the strap off Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31, and that may very well happen, but I’m here to tell you, it’s a bad idea.
Here’s why:
He’s Unproven On The Mic.
Let’s remind ourselves for just a moment that wrestling is choreographed fighting, not actual fighting. For that reason, the champ needs to be as solid on the mic as he is in the ring. While Reigns isn’t what I would call an embarrassment in this department, he doesn’t really take chances either. There isn’t a lot of personality showing through in his lines, not the way you see with a John Cena or The Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin. To take the belt and become “the face of WWE,” he needs to find his voice.
Daniel Bryan.
Who knows what will happen with Daniel Bryan? It’s common knowledge that his recovery isn’t going as well as planned, but no one is writing him off just yet, and there’s still a pretty good chance he’ll be ready to go by the time WrestleMania 31 rolls around. If that happens, the WWE will have placed itself into a tight spot.
No matter who has the title when Bryan comes back, he is the champ, period. He won the belt, and no titleholder, be it Cena or Lesnar or Reigns can legitimately say they’re the undisputed champ until they’ve beaten Daniel Bryan. If Bryan is back by late this year/early next, he needs to be in the main event title picture, and that will throw a monkey wrench into the rumored Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar showdown (at least it should).
Roman Reigns Vs. Brock Lesnar Is Too Overexposed.
With sites like The Examiner — and yes, even The Inquisitr — pretty much saying Brock-Roman is a done deal, with still nine months until the next WM, this main event will be way overexposed by the time April actually gets here. That alone makes Roman Reigns bad for business at this point in the company’s dealings.
To keep the WWE Network subscriber count building — and that’s something they should be focused on — they’re going to need a main event at WM 31 that’s a bit less predictable. Perhaps making it a Triple Threat match with Daniel Bryan thrown into the mix would give it the uncertainty that it needs. But as things stand now, sticking with the supposedly planned main event is an awful idea.
Look, I like Roman Reigns. I’m not sold on him yet, but I don’t think he’s bad for business either, at least not in the long run. Still, there’s too much heat on this rumored main event and too much uncertainty with Daniel Bryan to go all-in with the supposedly current WrestleMania 31 plans. And that does make Roman Reigns bad for business in the sense that the company and many fans hope to use him. I think he’s got a bright future, but what’s happening now is too much, too fast.
[Image Via Fusionultra.com]
