Stone Cold Steve Austin was, at one time, the biggest star in the world of professional wrestling. The special thing about Austin was that he didn’t get over because the WWE pushed him hard. Steve got over because the fans saw something they liked and got behind him, forcing the WWE to push him to the top. In a recent interview on Lillian Garcia’s Making Their Way to the Ring , Stone Cold pointed out why Roman Reigns is struggling to get over with the WWE fans.
Steve Austin pointed out that Roman Reigns is not really a natural to the business, but he is very good and will keep getting better as time goes on. However, Austin said that Roman has to deal with writing that is not the best. An example that Steve pointed out was when Reigns said, “I’m not a bad guy. I’m not a good guy. I’m the guy.”
Austin pointed out that the line was “corny,” and things like that hurt Roman Reigns in the long run. Stone Cold then said that writing like that is what is holding Roman Reigns down from really connecting with the WWE fans.
However, despite the bad writing, Steve Austin said that Roman Reigns is working harder than just about anyone. He pointed out the Roman Reigns vs. Braun Strowman match from Payback and said that the two wrestlers “crushed it” in the match.
Steve Austin pointed out how great that match was. He said that the two put on a great match, and then Roman Reigns took the loss 1-2-3. He then said he was impressed with the steel chairs that Braun Strowman delivered to Reigns’ chest and the spitting up of the blood. However, Austin said that people see that great match, but then they start thinking about the writing for Roman Reigns character again.
Stone Cold also discussed the complaint about the WWE pushing Roman Reigns down the fans throats, despite the fans rejecting it. Austin said that sometimes the WWE has to push a wrestler down the fans’ throats over and over, but the writing has to be better for the fans not to reject it.
At the end of the day, Austin said that Roman Reigns has what it takes to make it to the top. He said if the writing improves, Roman just needs to keep “going down the road that he’s going,” and soon he will figure it all out, and things will click for him. For Roman Reigns fans, Austin said that he would just keep getting better.
Similarly, fellow WWE Hall of Fame superstar Jim Ross sees a lot of promise when it comes to Roman Reigns and his future. Much like Austin, Jim Ross posted on his blog that he believes that Roman Reigns will just get better over time.
“[Roman] Reigns is a work in progress and I am not concerned whether he is a fan favorite or villain. I like his work and his TV persona will continue to evolve.”
That statement also touches on the many WWE fans who feel that Roman Reigns would be more over as a heel than he is as a face. However, Roman himself said that he doesn’t see the need to turn heel, and any crowd reaction – positive or negative – is a good reaction.
Also, the WWE has revealed that Roman Reigns is their number one full-time superstar when it comes to merchandise sales now that John Cena has moved to a part-time role with the company. With the money that Roman Reigns brings in and the controversy surrounding his crowd responses, there isn’t likely to be a change when it comes to his status in the WWE anytime soon.
[Featured Image by WWE]