How far can Roman Reigns get on his own currently?

[leojay]

The guy as of late has been hyped up quite a bit by people around here and in the general wrestling community as being a big deal and potentially the next big thing. It's strange, as its come right out of left field as I remember only recently people thinking the same for Ambrose. It's strange to now see people questioning Ambrose's longevity as a singles star as well as Rollins because of Reign's newly found love over Hardcore Wrestling fans (my way of saying IWC without saying IWC, as that has to be the worst term ever). I find it strange as I find him the least ready of the three, which is why I'm asking the question: How far can Roman Reigns get on his own currently

The guy has been insanely protected. He's had a total of one televised singles match up to this point and his two tag partners take up the majority of the in-ring work in their tag matches. Rollins and Ambrose also take up the majority of the very little mic-time The Shield currently get. He also doesn't have that much of a personality and character other than The Shield's character as a whole, though neither of the other two members of The Shield do really either.

He does have mass amounts of charisma and a great look, but just how far will that get him? Will he be able to survive without the constant help of Ambrose and Rollins to back him up? Will he be able to live up to the hype that's been slowly building up for him day by day, or will he flounder like the many other hyped "next big things" before him? What's your take on his in-ring and promo-cuttin' abilities?

 

[Brad.]

I'm convinced he'll have a few WWE championship matches in 2014, although he might not actually win the belt.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

His singles ring work is unproven but ultimately when you have everything else going for you it is the least important factor for becoming a main eventer.

He will be WWE Champ by the end of 2015 IMHO

 

[leojay]

His singles ring work is unproven but ultimately when you have everything else going for you it is the least important factor for becoming a main eventer.

He will be WWE Champ by the end of 2015 IMHO

Eh, wouldn't say he has everything else going for him. He has practically no mic skills whatsoever, they also have been fairly protected by Ambrose and (surprisingly) Rollins. But yeah, his look and charisma will boost him pretty highly.

I agree 2015 too, though. That's a lot of time for improvement. Just don't see him being able to now as I've seen heaps try and argue.

 

[Snowman1]

Exactly what you said, Leo. What do we know about the guy? He has an impressive spear and a couple of other really good power moves... he can yell "Believe in the Shield!" with aggression... he has some kind of "it factor", but we don't know how much... He has a good look... but we don't really know anything.

WWE has done a really good job working us all to thinking he's the next big thing, and he could be. We don't know. but still everyone's forgotten about Rollins nobody loves him anymore waaaah

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

IT FACTOR trumps all and the dude has IT

 

[CrayJ Lee]

I think Reigns will be in the main event scene very soon. He's the 'powerhouse' that the announcers and a lot of the fans seem to love. He has great charisma and strength that's easy to take notice of. I'm sure he'll be in the WWE Championship scene at the end of next year.

 

[Brad.]

Every criticism of him could apply to dozens of main-event wrestlers over the years. Look at Ryback, for instance. Reigns is comfortably better than him.

 

[Action Jackson]

The guy as of late has been hyped up quite a bit by people around here and in the general wrestling community as being a big deal and potentially the next big thing. It's strange, as its come right out of left field as I remember only recently people thinking the same for Ambrose. It's strange to now see people questioning Ambrose's longevity as a singles star as well as Rollins because of Reign's newly found love over Hardcore Wrestling fans (my way of saying IWC without saying IWC, as that has to be the worst term ever). I find it strange as I find him the least ready of the three, which is why I'm asking the question: How far can Roman Reigns get on his own currently

The guy has been insanely protected. He's had a total of one televised singles match up to this point and his two tag partners take up the majority of the in-ring work in their tag matches. Rollins and Ambrose also take up the majority of the very little mic-time The Shield currently get. He also doesn't have that much of a personality and character other than The Shield's character as a whole, though neither of the other two members of The Shield do really either.

He does have mass amounts of charisma and a great look, but just how far will that get him? Will he be able to survive without the constant help of Ambrose and Rollins to back him up? Will he be able to live up to the hype that's been slowly building up for him day by day, or will he flounder like the many other hyped "next big things" before him? What's your take on his in-ring and promo-cuttin' abilities?

It's not out of left field for me bro. I've followed Rollins, Ambrose, and Reigns since FCW. In FCW Roman Reigns was going by the name Leakee, and had a gimmick that focused on his Samoan heritage. He wasn't bad, but I didn't immediately see that IT factor/potential until he was injured and did this interview. The dude had more passion and charisma in that interview than half of today's roster. He's a star in the making. Ever since The Shield debuted, I've said all 3 of them are being groomed for World Title runs.

Right now a lot of focus is on Roman, because they're doing this babyface thing with him and creating that first sense of dissension within the group.

 

[Lockard 23]

If it were a decade earlier and this was 2004/2005 instead of 2013, you'd be asking the same question about Batista. Instead of The Shield's eventual breakup, it'd be Evolution's, and you'd be wondering how far someone like Batista could go on his own without guys like Triple H, Ric Flair and even Randy Orton there to speak for him any longer. But I'd have to say he did pretty well for himself. He became the biggest star other than Cena that the company has seen since the Attitude Era, and now we're already at the point where we're mostly excited at the prospect of him returning for a short stint at Wrestlemania this year.

Roman Reigns can go just as far, arguably further considering he's getting the proverbial rocket strapped to his back at a younger age than Batista did, and will thus have more longevity on his side.

As for his mic skills, that won't hurt him really at all since he has other tangible qualities to make up for it, like immense strength, look, presence, charisma. There's been guys before who became big stars despite not being the strongest on the mic - Jeff Hardy, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, Batista, Goldberg... Plus, he doesn't really seem that bad to me and there's always time for improvement.

 

[Brad.]

He became the biggest star other than Cena that the company has seen since the Attitude Era

Really? Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about Batista's return, but in a few years time, he won't be seen as one of the biggest stars since the AE. Orton, Mysterio and CM Punk are all bigger stars than Batista and they're careers aren't over yet.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

Mysterio?? oh hell no!

 

[leojay]

Every criticism of him could apply to dozens of main-event wrestlers over the years. Look at Ryback, for instance. Reigns is comfortably better than him.

Yes it could be applied to multiple wrestlers, and definitely not in a good way. I don't know if that was supposed to be a point or not, as using Ryback as proof that Reigns can last on his own isn't particularly a good one.

 

[Brad.]

Mysterio?? oh hell no!

Meh. Hella popular with all types of fans during his prime. Let's not try to pretend Batista is as big as Lesnar, Undertaker, Hunter, HBK, etc. They're on a similar level.

 

[Brad.]

Yes it could be applied to multiple wrestlers, and definitely not in a good way. I don't know if that was supposed to be a point or not, as using Ryback as proof that Reigns can last on his own isn't particularly a good one.

I'm saying that the criticisms like poor mic work, which we don't even know exists yet, hasn't affected previous main-eventers (see KLock's list), so shouldn't be much of a problem for Reigns.