Making Reigns the greatest heel of all time...

[Solid Snake]

I know this is not everyone's favorite topic so if you don't like the guy, just move along. No need to post about him sucking or how you plan on pretending he isn't in the WWE. This is something from Bleacher Report and I thought it was interesting...

They break down 7 ways to make him the greatest heel:

Lean into the Heel Turn
Book Him Even Stronger
Act Superior and Back It Up
Don't Have Him Cheat
Align Him with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon
Have Him Defeat The Rock
All It Takes Is One Promo

You can read all the little bits about each one and the reasons it would work here.

Looking over what they have listed there it would make sense to book him strong, avoid cheating, and have him act superior. The lean into turning him a heel is what I think they are already doing. Well, it is what they should be doing at this point. I remember reading something HHH said along the lines of allowing the fans to make him what he is which to me, is a good idea.

As for putting him with HHH and Steph... Ehh. I am not a fan of that because it has been done so many times with other heels to a certain extent. I would rather him be a heel on his own. Maybe a bit like Brock where he is a heel above the rest and doesn't answer to anyone.

I am not sure how they would book him against the Rock but the idea there is.. interesting.

The promo bit points out how one promo works well for Bret but this is a different time in wrestling so they would have to work around that and really make sure it sticks well and the way they want it to.

Thoughts?

 

[Rosie]

He's already one of the most despised wrestlers of all time with those boos....

 

[Solid Snake]

He's already one of the most despised wrestlers of all time with those boos....

I must admit.. Thanks to the crowd reactions, I love seeing what he does each week. I was never a big fan of his. Funny how that works.

 

[Grievous 3D]

No matter what he does...No matter how they book him...
i will never drink the [HASHTAG]#IgnoreReigns[/HASHTAG] "Kool-Aid"

I will not watch any match, promo or segment he's in...

 

[Snowman1]

He sucks and isn't in the WWE

 

[Solid Snake]

He sucks and isn't in the WWE

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[¡Tranquilo!]

All they need to do is keep booking him the way they do, Embrace the meme basically.

 

[RedDwarfTechy]

All they need to do is keep booking him the way they do, Embrace the meme basically.

Exactly, if he turned heel, fans would cheer. This is giving him a legitimate heel reaction, so keep going with the OOOOOAAAAAAH *Spear* *Win* and he'll be the biggest heel in the company.

I would prefer him turning heel in the old school way because then matches wouldn't be so predictable but we just need to hold out for [HASHTAG]#BRAAAAAAAAAUUUUUN[/HASHTAG] moments in between the wins.

 

[edge4ever]

They're making reigns the heel of the century because they failed to make him the ultimate face. They are simply capitalizing on the fact that he gets a lot of reactions and justifying it now because he sells some merchandise. My argrnuent is however, that WWE could've used the same method they did with reigns with nearly anyone else, as long as they're half way decent in the ring and look badass, and you would've had the same result. Eventually, after forcing someone down someone's throat, the thing grows in you. You get attached to it, get use to it, and somewhat embrace it. This is what's going on with reigns. He wasn't as naturally pushed as Cena was.

Reigns will make them some money because the WWE will make money in spite of themselves. Vince, triple h, and Steph know this. So, when we wonder why a guy like reigns can be forced for so long; well, it's because they can. I'm sure reigns didn't always sell such high merchandise. He started to because he was forced into every main event, so every kid across the world, despite cheers or boos will want the "heros" gear. Makes sense. This is not to say that reigns doesn't work hard, give it his all, or in some ways deserve where he's at. He does. But so do lots of guys, and in my opinion, a lot of guys could've had his forced spot.

I think that WWE justifies reigns now because he does make them some money, after 3 years of ramming him into every fucking main event. The argument is well "he gets a reaction and that's all that matters." Which I think is true, to an extent, but you know damn well that wasn't their intent with him. He was gonna be the next superman, more cheered than ever booed, and replace Cena... and it seems that it somewhat worked, but he's getting shat on
More than what big John ever has.

Idk, it is what it is. Reigns is in a good spot and he can't complain. WWE is just adapting with him, because they have no choice, and thankfully after forcing him down everyone's throat, he makes some money. It won't change any time in the next 5 years for sure. Maybe even 10.

 

[Snowman1]

The biggest issue is, can they build up a babyface to challenge him and carry the company??

They've used Reigns's heat to put over many guys already who are either face or about to turn, but whether it was injury (Balor) awful angles (Rollins) or not being good enough (Orton) all that heat from beating Roman fizzled out quick... So when the new top guy seizes the throne, will it really be a different situation? How can they catch lightning in a bottle the same way they did with the last two stars they made in Punk/Bryan?

 

[Stopspot]

The biggest issue is, can they build up a babyface to challenge him and carry the company??

They've used Reigns's heat to put over many guys already who are either face or about to turn, but whether it was injury (Balor) awful angles (Rollins) or not being good enough (Orton) all that heat from beating Roman fizzled out quick... So when the new top guy seizes the throne, will it really be a different situation? How can they catch lightning in a bottle the same way they did with the last two stars they made in Punk/Bryan?

By allowing organic growth up the card. That's when these situations present themselves.

Sadly Vince believes firmly in everyone having a ceiling and level which prevents that

 

[Snowman1]

By allowing organic growth up the card. That's when these situations present themselves.

Sadly Vince believes firmly in everyone having a ceiling and level which prevents that

I was thinking more about continuous big moments and a character doing memorable stuff we like to keep said momentum. If they can keep Braun doing everything he's been doing that should work like a charm!

Just like the Super Bowl, I don't know how that did in terms of ratings, but with the NFL doing nothing to promote it, having an upstart Falcons team who was an afterthought going into the playoffs facing off with the Brady/Belichick dynasty, it made for SUCH an easy face/heel dynamic and drew more interest in the game itself than I can remember in some time. WWE controls their stuff - every fan knowing stuff like this makes it harder - but it's possible...

But the lack of progression up and down the card causes so many problems. Like Sami Zayn, I'd love to shout him out and yell how even right now having him go against Reigns (if he was still on Raw) would be a great draw for the same reason, but since he's a "midcarder" we know better... Hell, the Japanese fans kinda took to the terrible Bad Luck Fale in the NJPW Cup finals, and even though he's an undercard goon it worked far better than Jinder Mahal on Smackdown, largely because NJPW has conditioned the fans to believe that such opportunities are possible.

Pretty apples and oranges comparison but yeah you're right