He's not a bad guy; he's not a good guy; he's The Guy™: One of the most polarizing wrestlers in the WWE, Roman Reigns is slated to be the next face of the company, and with John Cena looking at the end of his career, the word "next" will soon become "current." He is a Royal Rumble winner, three-time World Heavyweight Champion, one-time United States Champion, and former member of the Shield. Oh, and did you hear about how he retired the Undertaker at Wrestlemania?
Remember how I said "polarizing?" There is a vocal part of the audience that remains displeased at this news even though they have been prepared to hear those words for the past three or so years; they come up with reasons about how "he can't wrestle" or "he is terrible on the stick" or "he's got Superman booking" or something else.
I will come out and say this right now: I am a fan of the guy (pun intended), so I admit I have bias when it comes to him. However, the objective of this article is not to demand that you have to like him; he is not perfect and he never will be. I'm here to give reasons why I think he deserves his place at the top, though I accept once people have made up their minds, there isn't much I can do to convince them otherwise.
If you're still with me and are ready, willing and (g)able, here are seven reasons why WWE is now Roman's Yard:
1. The audience has made up their minds about him, and WWE is capitalizing on that.
WWE knows how you feel about him and they have stopped trying to make him something that he isn't: an aw-shucks babyface. He's been in a grey-area for at least a year now - again: He's not a bad guy, he's not a good guy, he's The Guy. He can be the face of the company without being a babyface, and that's what they're trying to do with him now; he plays the de-facto heel when he's facing against a babyface like Finn or AJ, and plays the babyface against a guy like Braun Strowman... wait, there's lingo for this - he's a tweener!
2. A lot of your favorites, top talent, and veterans think he's more than qualified.
Finn Bálor, AJ Styles, The Revival, Sasha Banks, Chris Jericho, The Usos, Kevin Owens, Braun Strowman, John Cena, Dean Ambrose... the list goes on, so it's more than just Vince McMahon that likes him. None of these people are under any obligation to put him over to "make him look strong." I was listening to a French-language interview with Kevin Owens and he brought up three people that he loves facing: Sami Zayn due to history, John Cena because it's John Cena, and Roman Reigns, because he's better than expected.
3. He regularly puts on spectacles with the top talent.
His feud with Braun, Kevin Owens, AJ Styles... his matches with Finn... and this is all within a year. The man knows how to work a match.
4. To put it simply: He's a leader.
It's been commonly reported how he kicked off Enzo Amore from a tour bus because of the disturbances the "Realest Guy" was making, and from the promos that's been surrounding him, that report is likely true. Because of his football background, Roman already knows the locker room drill. When Brock got too heated in promos with Samoa Joe, The Guy knew to get the attention on him to diffuse the situation. Listen to a couple of his interviews: He'll talk about his role as a locker room leader. He didn't just retire the Undertaker; he took over his role as the leader.
5. He shows up to work every Monday and at the live events which is more than we can ever say about Brock Lesnar.
Roman is a full-time wrestler who grew up in this industry; everyone knows about his Anoa'i bloodline. Whether he started on the indies or not, he was destined to wind up in WWE. Brock doesn't give a damn about you unless you can line his pockets, as quoted by Edge. It's one thing to work to provide for your family, but it's another thing to want to show up just for pay day when you don't need it - it's called greed.
6. Being "The Guy" helped him grow as a wrestler.
Sure, being in The Shield helped get his name out there, but it was when they broke up and he was on his own that he needed to step up to the plate and showcase what he had. He had been on the roster for around two and a half to three years before he got his main event slot at Wrestlemania 31 and he was putting some real effort out there. He was solid enough in the ring but still trying to find his voice on the microphone; nowadays, he's an excellent wrestler with a quicker response time on the stick. He's always improving and as a fan of him and the product, I can't ask for more. People have brushed off a wrestler's mic skills so long as they deliver in the ring and sports-entertain us - prime example of this is AJ Styles; he is the best wrestler in the world but people know he isn't an actor on the mic but do they care? Not really.
Back to the point - he grew into being The Guy because he was forced into this position; WWE made a diamond out of him instead of turning him to dust. He has all the personality in the world and it's shown on the microphone, his facial expressions, and how he reacts in the ring. He doesn't need to stop and think; he just does.
7. In the end, you still love other wrestlers.
To be blunt: Roman being The Guy didn't stop your love for the other wrestlers, did it? But you certainly seem more fixated on booing Roman than supporting and cheering for your fave. Just saying.
Bonus reason: He isn't the only one on the roster who has to "look strong."
Look, I like Punk and thought he was beneficial to the WWE product, but it's time to let go of how he mentioned that WWE wanted him to "make Roman look strong." I don't think he meant any harm in it but for the love of god, Roman isn't the only Superstar who gets that treatment. Alexa Bliss is a four-time Women's Champion in the first year and a half of being on the main roster and has never been hit with a kendo stick or been put through a table; she's heavily protected but no one cries about how she's made to look strong. Brock Lesnar does absolutely nothing in his matches and still comes out the victor; he's made to look strong so why aren't you crying about it? Being a part-timer doesn't excuse this. When anyone gets a push, they need to be protected; they need to dominate over their opponents to be believable so that's why they get that "looking strong" booking. It's also not exclusive to heels; when someone beats someone with this sort of booking, you realize that it is a big deal because it happens so few times. This isn't exclusive to Roman Reigns, so it's a tired old excuse used just so one can complain.
You are more than welcome to not like him for whatever reason you want, and I respect your opinion; but let's not pretend that he doesn't deserve the limelight. He isn't Daniel Bryan but he never needed to be. Being the top guy in any company is not a job that just anyone can do; it takes someone truly special - it takes The Guy.
