WWE just delivered an exciting and entertaining SummerSlam capped off by The Fiend defeating Braun Strowman for the WWE Universal Championship and the BIG DAAAWG Roman Reigns returning to reclaim his yard after taking time away from the company due to the Corona Virus. In this article I will address some of the questions swirling around the internet wrestling community in regards to Roman Reigns’ return and what it means for Roman and the company dynamic going forward. Of course this is all educated opinion so don’t take anything here I say as concrete fact. I just have a good idea, which makes me better than 90% of Wrestling “Journalists” because they don’t even have that. Let’s roll because I’m feeling spicy this morning and I’ve probably pissed off some readers already. Prepare for more of that.
Has Roman Reigns “taken someones spot”?
Roman Reigns ducked out of the WWE for his and his families best interests during a global pandemic. At that time he was the #1 contender for the Universal Championship and about to spear Goldberg out of his boots for the belt at WrestleMania. This is not him coming back and taking someone else’s spot, this is him coming back and reclaiming his spot, his yard. After all the work Roman put in since coming back from leukemia in 2019, taking time away from the main event and building up talent like Elias, Drew McIntyre, Erick Rowan and King Corbin, fighting his way back to the top of the card, it’s very hard to argue that he didn’t earn this. You really can’t fault him for prioritising his newborn twins and loved ones, can you? Does doing that also undo all of his hard work? It’s my opinion that the spot that Roman Reigns is coming back to has been his all along. Braun Strowman and The Fiend were just keeping it warm for him. Now that the real world is slowly getting back to normal the wrestling world can too and that involves Roman Reigns jacking fools up.
Will Roman Reigns continue to be “shoved down our throats”?
Roman Reigns only main evented a PPV twice since his recovery from leukemia and return in February of 2019. First as a member of The Shield at Fastlane 2019 and secondly at the Royal Rumble 2020 where he was last eliminated by Drew McIntyre. He wrestled Drew McIntyre and Elias in the midcard at WrestleMania 35 and Money in the Bank respectively, lost to Shane McMahon in Saudi Arabia, and continued to work with and elevate current WWE Champion Drew McIntyre through Stomping Grounds and Extreme Rules. He wasn’t even on last years SummerSlam card because of an assault from a mysterious attacker which turned out to be Erick freaking Rowan, a man he would go on to stare at the lights for at Clash of Champions and continued to feud with through Hell in a Cell. He then went on to feud with King Corbin forever before slaying him to become #1 Contender to Goldberg’s Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36. If Roman Reigns was ever “shoved down our throats” it certainly hasn’t been that way for a long time. If that feeling is still something you’re holding onto then maybe that’s a you problem and not a WWE and Roman Reigns problem.
Did Roman Reigns turn heel?
Did John Cena turn heel even though he was getting some of the most vehement heat the company had seen at one point? Did The Fiend turn babyface even though the support for him is huge and he is selling dat merch? No. Roman Reigns did not turn heel. Roman Reigns came back and smashed up two competitors who are standing in the way of Roman and the top spot. Standing between The Big Dog and his brand’s Championship. Roman Reigns is only as heel as you perceive him to be and personally I perceive him to be a fired up babyface who was sick of watching people play games in his yard while he sat on the sidelines. I know many of the people who formerly hated Roman Reigns for simply existing are hoping that this is a turn so they have an excuse to about turn and cheer him, which of course makes me wonder if they like the attitude so much why not just cheer him anyway, though I don’t think in this case their wish is going to come true. Roman did not ask for pandemic, Roman did not want to make the choice between his career and the welfare of his household, Roman did not want to walk away from his Universal Championship match at WrestleMania. He felt like he had to, he felt like it was for the best but that doesn’t mean that he liked it. The aggression that you’re seeing from Roman Reigns is passion, the drive to get back into the game and reclaim something he should never have had to give up.
Will Roman Reigns win the Universal Championship?
Sometime? I don’t think it’s going to be as simple for him as walking straight back in the door and derailing The Fiend immediately but I definitely see it in his future, I’m sure you could tell that from the other entries in this article. If I were to make an estimation we’d be looking at Roman picking up the Universal Championship in the run up to WrestleMania of next year, if a Brand Draft doesn’t mess with things that is. I saw big money in Roman vs. Goldberg this year and I see even bigger money in actually making it happen next year. The WrestleMania Dream Match that never happened, Spear vs. Spear, The Big Dog vs. The Man. THE MATCH COVID DIDN’T WANT YOU TO SEE! Of course in the scenario I’ve laid out it has Roman going into the match as champion and I think that makes a lot more sense, it’d be nice to tell the story of Goldberg wanting to see if he can recapture the title and prove that he’s still capable enough against the young guns. Spoiler Alert: In my scenario he isn’t, though he’s never won the Royal Rumble so I’d maybe give Goldberg that. Been a while since one of the old guard has taken it and Rumble/Mania seems like a good way to get Goldberg’s two matches out of the way for the year.
Thanks for joining me for this article, I hope you all enjoyed it though I’m sure that most of you are fuming with billows of smoke coming from your ears like some mad cartoon character right now. If that’s the case come fight me on twitter @ChatChatterson. Just kidding of course, come let me know your thoughts on Roman Reign’s return last night at SummerSlam and what you thought of the show in general. I’m always happy to hear from you.
God Bless.
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