Last night I watched Raw, as usual, and watched while Roman Reigns walked to the ring to his usual chorus of boos from a very vocal Los Angeles crowd. He then took the mic, and began to cut his opening promo on Raw. As usual, it will be panned by critics who continue to say that his promos suck. They are not wrong in that respect. When Reigns speaks, it always comes off as awkward, forced, and as if he forgot some of the lines that the brain trust in WWE’s creative scripted for him. I cannot understand how such a large stable or writers are so clueless. We have all watched as they have tried to come up with catchphrases like “Believe that”, that whole “I am the guy” thing, and lastly all this talk about it being his yard because he is the big dog. When it comes to those promos, it appears the big dog is taking an extremely large dump and the fans love to rub his face in it.
I am not going to totally blame the folks in creative because Roman Reigns should also have enough sense to look at that script and say to someone in charge “I wouldn’t say something like this” or “What if I say it like this instead?” Imagine if Stone Cold Steve Austin was told what to say after he won King of the Ring? Can you imagine these writers trying to script those elementary school promos for people like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, or Ric Flair? I sure as hell can’t! The question is, can Roman Reigns be fixed? I know that there are some people reading this who feel he is not broken, but let’s be honest; the guy definitely is in need of some changes. Now before you start with the whole “turn him heel” thing that seems to be the cure all for everything, how about actually trying to slowly get him back on track instead of trying to come up with some quick fixes?
I think that what needs to happen before anything else would be getting him off of TV for a bit. Not due to an injury or anything like that, but to give his face a rest. How can they miss you if you never go away? That time off will give him time to rejuvenate, and give the fans some time to actually miss him. Taking him off of TV would be pretty easy with a storyline injury. Don’t worry about merchandise sales either! If he is the star that WWE claims he is, it is going to sell no matter what. During that time off, he can work on his promos and figure out ways to better connect with the fans. Another thing that needs to be done is WWE needs to let him sink or swim promo wise. The best characters have always been the ones who are extensions of themselves. Let him come up with that he would want to say. Right now when he talks, he always comes off as if he doesn’t even believe what he is saying. In fact, he is so wooden that he could be mistaken for an oak tree! If he comes up with his own material, and it isn’t getting over; there will be no one he could blame for that but himself.
I like Roman Reigns, and he is clearly the guy they want to stake the future of the company on, and I get it! He has the size and look that screams star any time he comes on to the screen. His wrestling ability is pretty decent too, but that doesn’t matter as much because the least important thing in pro wrestling is the actual wrestling. It is more about that ability to connect with the fans. It is about that ability to get people behind you organically and not have it where the people in charge are trying to force people to like you because that never gets over. Reigns deserves the chance to be himself, but he needs to force that issue within WWE instead of just going along with it simply because he knows the spot is his. All it takes is for another person to get over with the fans with a similar look! Will these changes I am suggesting be made? Probably not, but it is fun to come up with ideas on how he can succeed! Then again, what do I know? I am just some guy writing for a website!
Side note: I know this is off topic compared to what I had written above, but how stupid was that segment involving the Ball family? What exactly did it add to anything? There was nothing redeeming or entertaining about it at all! Lastly, why does the “Great Balls of Fire” logo look like a pair of flaming testicles? Someone get that logo some Valtrex!
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @whosantcox! You can also hit me up on Instagram under the name Ultragoldenant for silly memes and selfies! I will catch you next time, wrestling fans!
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