WWE bet huge on Roman Reigns a long time ago, but their investment in him only increased last November when Seth Rollins went down with a serious injury that cost him seven months of his career. WWE had to push Roman Reigns as their top guy in the company, which got him from Survivor Series through WrestleMania 32, where he was booed out of Dallas after overcoming the biggest heel in the company and becoming the WWE Champion as a face.
WWE took it all in stride because they assumed that the WWE Universe would eventually subside to Roman Reigns’ position in the company. That was until a few weeks ago when Roman failed WWE’s Wellness Policy, was forced to drop the WWE title to Seth Rollins at WWE Money in the Bank, and serve a 30-day suspension that will be up just before WWE Battleground .
The mistake could prove to be costly for Reigns, because it is a long fall from the top, which is bad enough. However, there are some rumors going around that Vince McMahon doesn’t support Roman Reigns the way that he was before the suspension, and that will make it much more difficult for Reigns to regain a top position in the company as “The Guy” in WWE.
According to a report from Daily Wrestling News , Vince McMahon is said to be extremely high on Seth Rollins and AJ Styles right now. Apparently, Vince has made comments that he wishes he had brought Styles to WWE 10 years ago. McMahon has always been very high on Rollins, so that’s nothing new.
Because of Vince McMahon’s feelings towards Rollins and Styles, there have reportedly been some talks within WWE that both men will become the faces of both Raw and SmackDown after the WWE Draft and brand split. It’s recently been reported that John Cena will have a lighter schedule with WWE , but Reigns may have been knocked off the pedestal as the face of Raw .
It’s being said that Vince McMahon is very down on Roman Reigns right now. There are multiple sources claiming that Roman failed the WWE Wellness Policy at the worst possible time because Vince was apparently beginning to sour on him already. With the WWE Draft and brand split coming up so quickly, Vince most likely feels let down by Reigns, which has left Vince’s opinion to be lower on Reigns than it ever has been since he debuted in WWE.
The belief now is that McMahon and other WWE officials are far more open to giving Reigns’ momentum and push to someone else, like AJ Styles or Seth Rollins. Roman Reigns will still be a heavily featured performer on WWE television, but he’s going to be taking part in a “redemption” storyline for quite some time. He’s also rumored to be in line for a possible heel turn soon.
The biggest issue that Roman Reigns is going to face is competing with guys like Rollins and Styles while top talent from NXT comes to WWE’s main roster. For example, Finn Balor’s debut in WWE has been imminent for some time, but WWE officials have been waiting for the right time to bring him to Rawand SmackDown.
Balor is destined to be a massive superstar for WWE. Triple H, Vince McMahon, and other WWE officials are aware of that. Finn Balor is expected to receive a massive push when he comes to WWE TV, which is going to be another top spot that Reigns will have to fight for again. Not to mention, the other men in NXT like Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura, and others will demand top spots on WWE programming when they come to the main roster at the WWE Draft or later this year.
Becoming “The Guy” in WWE again could be too difficult for Roman Reigns if Vince McMahon is sour to him at this pivotal time for WWE programming. It’s very likely that Reigns will be taking a backseat for the foreseeable future when he returns. Roman will need to work twice as hard to regain his position in WWE, especially with the WWE Universe against him the way they have been for over a year-and-a-half. WWE is going to be a different place for Roman Reigns when he returns next week.
[Image via WWE.com]