I feel that 2016 should be a chance for WWE to bounce back from record low Raw ratings and mostly bad television in 2015. Where does it all start? It starts with Roman Reigns as WWE World Champion as we head on to the Road to WrestleMania. As far as I am concerned, the road to Mania has always begun with the first Raw in January. Now let’s get back to Reigns. From the time he was in the Shield, it was clear that Roman Reigns was going to be the next breakout star. The looks, the size, etc. is what WWE seems to look for in their prototypical star. In some ways, he is a marketing dream. Because of this, WWE made sure that we ALL looked at him as a star. They tried to create organic which is something you can’t do in pro wrestling because when it is all said and done, the fans will tell you who they want to be on top. It took getting the biggest heel of all time in Mr. McMahon to finally allow Reigns to turn the corner. Now that he is champion, and the guy THEY wanted all along, they have to make sure not to get in their own way and screw this up. How he is booked from here until WrestleMania is very important. I give WWE props for finally going all in with him because at this point they have hit the bottom, so where can you go but up from here? Reigns has to continue to be booked strong and as a complete badass. He doesn’t need to be doing overly scripted promos; he just needs to be an ass kicker in the ring. The promos he did in the past made him look awkward and like a complete buffoon. As we know, overly scripted promos are one of the things killing pro wrestling because no one has their own voice (an example of WWE getting in their own way). He needs to be almost Goldberg like as a man of few words. He should let his Spear and Superman Punch do the talking for him.
He not only has to look strong against all of his opponents, but he also has to continue to look strong against the McMahons and whoever the Authority decides to throw at him. He has already taken out both Triple H and Mr. McMahon, and that needs to remain that way where Reigns continues to one up them. If he wrestles Triple H at Royal Rumble (which I think is going to happen), he needs to mow through Triple H. This is a situation where WWE can’t try to do 50-50 booking (trading wins), Reigns needs dominate that match-up. He needs to make the Authority’s lives a living hell. Sure, it’s all a rehash or the Austin vs McMahon feud but if you’re going to copy something at least copy the best, right? What would this all lead to at Mania? I would book Reigns to take on a Brock Lesnar, who I feel should win the Royal Rumble. Wrestlemania should be booked as something of a redemption moment for Reigns. He will come in as the defending champion against a beast that he couldn’t take down the year before. Now they go at it again with Reigns who is wiser and stronger from their last encounter. If Reigns dominates all the way until a match of this caliber takes place, then Reigns will look that much stronger when he defeats Lesnar on the “Grandest Stage of Them All” in front of a record crowd in Dallas. If they do all of those things, then WWE can be must-see TV. Monday Football is done, so this is WWE’s chance to strike while the iron is hot. This is their chance to give fans some compelling television on that Road to WrestleMania. If you are going to go with Roman Reigns, you might as well go all the way. After Mania, there are plenty of routes to go too. Reigns feuding with Seth Rollins when he returns from injury to try to claim the belt he never lost is something that could be available by SummerSlam. There is also potential for an angle with Dean Ambrose where two friends have a Mega Powers type break up. Or how about a “pass the torch” angle with John Cena? What if Reigns becomes corporate champion like his cousin The Rock? The possibilities are endless; it will just be up to WWE to stay the course. The question is, will they? I really hope so because that product has been shit! As always you can hit me up on Twitter @whosantcox with your thoughts and opinions, and I am also now goofing off on Instagram under the username “UltraGoldenAnt”. It’s great to be back, and I look forward to throwing more columns out there for all of you who have been fans of my columns since day one and I look forward to adding some new fans!
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