@elcheato You make some good points, but do they really want to pull the "Cena card" (you have to respect him, etc) this early in his big run? Fans will just get sick of him that much more & that much more quickly.
IMO, there's no way Reigns wins the title & comes out of WrestleMania a face. One or the other, but not both.
They'd obviously prefer for him to be unanimously cheered, but that is never going to happen now. They've invested a lot into this guy, and they've already planted the seeds for the "Cena card". Reigns has said on air that every fan has the right to their opinion (although in an interview not conducted with the WWE, when asked about Daniel Bryan chants during his segments, he did say that fans should shut up when he is talking). They have him pinned as the underdog trying to overcome the odds, despite being also called "The Power House" and "The Big Dog". Does anyone in the world actually believe a guy who looks like Reigns is an underdog in anything? It's the same non-sense with Cena "overcoming the odds" despite being 250 pounds of straight muscle, but alas that is what they're doing with Reigns. I really can't see them turning him heel, because that just cancels everything they've attempted to do with him since his debut, and it also signifies they don't believe in him and this was all a mistake.
I think the WWE just has to realize Reigns isn't the guy right now. Honestly, the one guy that can replace Cena is super face is Daniel Bryan. His popularity is insane. I don't think there has been someone so universally loved since Michaels in his prime. But Vince's beefcake WWE is never going to let that happen. Top faces need to know how to talk. I don't even know how Reigns made it this far. After the little bit of progress he made when the Shield disbanded, he got injured and just worked out the whole time? You know you're awful when your pretaped messages are shit... Meanwhile all the hard workers are given the big FU. I'm looking forward to this Wrestlemania. I'm excited that Brock decided to stay and hope he's on a more frequent contract including all PPVs. I really hope the ladder match isn't terrible. I kind of want it to close the show.
Reigns made it this far because they've thought out everything to try to get him over, and it was working until they started giving him more mic time. If they tried as hard as they did when it came to Reigns with other stars, this company would be in much better shape. But they don't, and in this case they did it with the wrong guy.
They debuted Reigns with two well known indie wrestlers who are both fantastic, in a stable. They knew this stable would get over given the talent on it, and they knew they could have Roman labeled as the power house who would rarely talk, and rarely be over exposed in matches. Ambrose could carry them on the mic, and Rollins & Ambrose could carry them in the ring collectively. Naturally, fans are going to be intrigued by the good looking power house who beats the shit out of people, who they don't know much about. After they disbanded, Reigns was the one who kept the Shield attire, entrance, and theme, because all of that stuff was considered "over" as entities. When you saw Roman, you would think of the Shield, a group everyone loved. They committed to making him the "face of the company" sooner than they were going to I think, because of the rumble reaction with Batista where they didn't realize that his cheer was more about them wanting anyone but Batista to win. However, they did it without fans seeing Reigns as a singles competitor, and they clearly have not liked what they've seen out of him. Also, just to point out some other things. His random loss to Big Show on a Raw after Rollins interference a month or so ago was his first singles match loss in the WWE. And I think he was the first person to kick out of the running knee, and I assume no one has ever kicked out of his spear. The one heel commentator never says a bad thing about him and Paul Heyman and Daniel Bryan have been giving verbal blow jobs to the guy for weeks
That is how he made it this far. Over protective and incredibly strong booking. The Shield was created to get him over, which is most evident by the fact that the two other guys from the group, who are both better than him are lower on the card.
