WWE’s newest star, Roman Reigns, made himself known in a hurry this summer. Most feel that he could be the next top guy in WWE by next year with the roll he is on, but due to his style and WWE’s newest policy on making things more realistic, Reigns is in a position in which injuries could become a problem. WWE’s policy on realistic moves has been a big issue for talent over the last number of months.
Most notably, Bray Wyatt was busted open around his eye by Ric Flair at a live event. The eye itself took a big part of the Hall of Fame ring in a punch by the Nature Boy, and the WWE Superstar ended up with a severe black eye that is still showing.
Reigns is a tough guy, but he is by no means able to completely avoid cuts and lacerations to his head. Roman ended up with six medicals staples in his forehead when he was busted open by Kane during their Last Man Standing match on Monday’s WWE RAW. It was uncertain exactly when Reigns was cut, but the blood was running down his face during his turn in the ring.
After the match, Reigns didn’t seem to be bleeding badly, which was a good thing. When WWE Superstars used to “gig” (cut themselves on purpose) during matches, they would do it at either their hairline or the area inside the eyebrow. These areas tend to gush blood profusely, and the dramatic look made things even better for the crowd at home. Today, WWE does not condone cutting in matches, and everyone who does bleed is busted open “the hard way.” In the case of Reigns, this is the second time in the past few months that he has been cut.
This is the summer of bumps and bruises for Reigns. Despite his protective swat gear that he wears in the ring, Reigns has had several close calls, and a lot of people wonder why WWE would expose their new golden boy to possible injury. Reigns has been open about the world seeing his injuries as well, showing the damage online when it occurs.
Things happen, of course, but putting him at risk in televised weekly match is a bit nuts. It is also wrong for WWE to force too much realism. WWE is sports entertainment and that has been known for years. Yes, wrestling fans actually know it is entertainment and not a real fighting sport like MMA.
However, some seem to think WWE has to look realistic and that obviously gets back to management. WWE has asked for people to get closer on punches and kicks as well as hit some things to make them look like the opponent hit harder. This has caused a slew of injuries and Reigns is just the latest victim of such actions. Reigns is not expected to miss any time for this injury, and he was on the SmackDown taping this past Tuesday.
Most expect Reigns to be fine heading into some live events this week. Due to recent injuries, one would imagine WWE will have a talk with their Superstars and Divas on how to properly hit their moves without hurting each other. If they don’t, expect more problems like this to occur, and you may even see someone suffer a career ending injury.
[IMG Credits: DeviantArt-Sexton666, Twitter-RomanReigns]