The curious case of Roman Reigns

[Stopspot]

Roman is kind of the odd one out in the Shield. He was the one people were raising their eyebrows at when he debuted with Seth and Dean. Mainly due to the lack of a past on the independents. Seth and Dean came in with cult followings from their times spent in ROH and CZW respectively. Roman is a WWE product through and through, being able to trace his bloodline back to his grandfather in this company and having had father, brother and numerous cousins and uncles work for the company. Many believed that Roman would be the Shield's weak link and the anchor around the two indy darlings necks but so far he has proven to be able to carry his own weight.

Roman doesn't have the in ring experience of his two cohorts but his natural athleticism and pedigree and high class training makes up for it (he was trained by his dad, one of the Wild Samoans and big brother Rosey). The dude pulls out some wicked power moves and a spear that is almost on par with Edge's. He has the aura around him of being powerful and dangerous and with a certain amount of IT factor to it, not to mention the right height and good looks that Vince and Hunter likes to look for. His down side has been his mic work but we have seen that improving slowly. It's quite clear that Reigns sits on a lot of potential waiting to be molded.

Here comes the question for this thread. Once the Shield has run its course, what would you do with Roman to harness this potential? In what direction would you take his character and where would you see him end up down the road?

Also. Do you believe that WWE will be able to book him well?

I'll be back with my personal response to this once some of you have posted yours.

Discuss.

 

[CM Punk]

I've said a couple of months ago on when they would break up, it would be similar to Batista breaking away from HHH in Evolution. Reigns has the looks and body to become a huge star and him breaking away as a monster would help. Even if he beat Ambrose, it wouldn't hurt Ambrose that much at all.

WWE might be able to book him well, I either see him being immediately thrown to the top or upper mid-card.

 

[Lockard 23]

Fun Fact: Roman Reign's dad actually fought Hogan on one of the SNME episodes back in 1987. It's on Youtube.

I see the same thing with Roman Reigns as Jim Cornette said he saw in Batista when he worked with him in OVW... That he saw him as a Wrestlemania main event because of his size and presence and couldn't see him taking arm drags in the second match. He either had to be main event or nothing. I think WWE perceive Reigns in a similar way. Just looking at him, WWE obviously want to make him a star.

His mic skills aren't bad at all, he just has a deep voice. He has the look and charisma (there's more to being charismatic than being outgoing, it also has to do with a certain aura and presence and Reigns has that), he hasn't shown to really be bad in the ring yet. Granted, he has two other workers working with him, but I've been impressed by what I've seen thus far. He has a sick spear, which should definitely become his finisher if it isn't officially already.

 

[Swift]

Sexy motherfucker.

 

[Farooq]

I like him, personally I see lots of potential in him. I see Roman being a huge star in the future, even a world champion because of his look. I like his mic skills, they aren't the best, but they are far from bad. I see him being a big success soon.

 

[#HEEL__SRV9010]

I agree with the above posters. He could be a monster heel. His mic skills are good. He yells to get his point forward, "Belieeeeveeee in the Shieeeld". And what a spear! WWE is teasing a Sheamus-Reigns rivalry. That would be a good feud in the future.

 

[Swift]

His spear really is great, and he's got a great look as well. Very fucking intense too. He's going to be here for a while.

 

[GeeTeaIye]

Ambrose and Reigns- Upper midcard
Rollins- King of the Jobbers

 

[Stopspot]

Ambrose and Reigns- Upper midcard
Rollins- King of the Jobbers

What are your reasoning for this? Because it seems an odd opinion to have. Most people predict Ambrose to go into the main event and Rollins to be a solid part of the upper mid card easily. Is this just some form of trolling/being funny or do you legit believe that three of the most promising prospects the WWE has signed and produce in almost 5 years will not make it?

 

[PSachkovsky]

I see in him the next Batista. I see in him someone who can be a great powerhouse main eventer. He has the physique, and he doesn't need to talk. He needs to keep being that silent guy who lets his actions do the talking.

But, knowing how the WWE works, as soon as they split The Shield, he will be squashed. He will be used incorrectly, which will quickly kill all the buzz around. Sadly, he might end up being someone like Mason Ryan. A guy who looks promising, but gets no chances whatsoever...

 

[Stopspot]

I see in him the next Batista. I see in him someone who can be a great powerhouse main eventer. He has the physique, and he doesn't need to talk. He needs to keep being that silent guy who lets his actions do the talking.

But, knowing how the WWE works, as soon as they split The Shield, he will be squashed. He will be used incorrectly, which will quickly kill all the buzz around. Sadly, he might end up being someone like Mason Ryan. A guy who looks promising, but gets no chances whatsoever...

Mason Ryan was never promising.

 

[seabs]

He did have a promising look tbf, everything else was horrible though. Remember when they gave him Jerichos pose?

 

[Crayo]

Firstly, great thread. Roman often gets overlooked and I was guilty of it myself. Hell, if you read the Survivor Series discussion thread, you will see me marking my tits off for Seth and Dean without even mentioning Reigns. I wasn't a fan of Reigns on NXT because he looked like the typical WWE product that Vince adores. The tall muscle-guy who can't speak or wrestle but has a decent look, but he has won me over big time. Gradually during the beat downs as he became the end result of those (with the power bomb), I noticed his potential. I love the way he incorporated those screams into his work, because that really adds to their intimidation factor. He found a way to make himself unique.

I'm a big fan of popular historic finishing moves being used again to perfection, and I loved him even more when he used that spear. He is now the power house of the group and spears the shit out of everyone if Seth & Dean are in trouble. I marked hard when he speared Sheamus through the barricade, which is interesting. Why? Because I thought Seth & Dean would be the reason why their matches could be fantastic, and they are partly, but Reigns has had mark-worthy spots in each and every one of them. He may not be the most athletic, he may not be able to do an awesome top-rope spot or sell like a god, but he can pop up and provide mark-worthy power house moves to make the match even better.

The most important thing for me and the main reason why I like him is this -- passion. He clearly has passion for the business and is bread into it, but it's how fast he has improved in the factors that were letting him down which excites me. He was just the big guy associated with the two well-known IWC darlings, but he made himself unique and became his own talent. He was a dreadful talker, and now he's just a bad one. In the future he may even become an average one, or even a good one.

 

[Dat Kid1]

I've said a couple of months ago on when they would break up, it would be similar to Batista breaking away from HHH in Evolution. Reigns has the looks and body to become a huge star and him breaking away as a monster would help. Even if he beat Ambrose, it wouldn't hurt Ambrose that much at all.

WWE might be able to book him well, I either see him being immediately thrown to the top or upper mid-card.

I scrolled down to the quick post thing and I saw this, I was like dammit CM Punk beat me to it again :haha:

Anyhow, I expect him to be super pushed once he absorbs everything from Ambrose & Rollins.

 

[Leo C]

I expect him to break away from the Shield looking good and being at least an Upper Midcarder for most of his career, quite sure he'll make it to the ME.