check out the article here: Casual Thoughts w/ Mimi: THE ROMAN APOCALYPSE
WHAT IS AN “APOCALYPSE?”
When you Google the word, it has a few meanings: disclosure of knowledge, a lifting of the veil or a revelation. The “smarkies” (and I know I’ll catch major slack for using this term) have deemed the WWE has been force-feeding us their next franchise champion, their “revelation” for quite some time… and that “revelation” was/is “The BIG DOG”, Roman Reigns aka “The Guy”.
The gripes have been, he’s been “shoved down our throats!”, there are so many other wrestlers that “deserve it more than he does”; he’s been hand-picked as the “corporate favorite”, he doesn’t have “indy experience”, “he’s got limited move-sets” and of course everyone’s personal favorite, “he can’t wrestle!” the best coined 2015/16 catch-phrase!
As a wrestling loving chic in corporate-american, I struggle to fully understand the mentality of the “Roman Sucks” campaign. As I listen to different podcasts, and fall on the countless anti-Roman blogs, I wonder, aside from all the other women who for obvious reasons love him, but am I the only one who can see why the WWE was/is going with “The Guy”? If you think the WWE has given up on making him their franchise wrestler, please… don’t believe YOUR hype.
Couple things…
DUE THE DILIGENCE…
When the hate for Roman became more visible, I had to do my due diligence. In the past, I wasn’t a fan of watching old wrestling matches. Hell, I rarely watch a missed episode of RAW or SDLive in present day! To me it’s almost like re-watching the news… who wants to do that? However, that’s since changed. As my love for the “Art of Wrestling” grows, I don’t think a week goes by without my looking up at least one classic match on the network. That said, I watched a few FCW matches and Shield matches to make sure I’m not going cray-cray or better yet ask the question, am I just a Roman “fan-girl”?… Well…
MIMI’S PROS
Roman Reigns in NXT
In NXT, his matches were pretty damn good (what a surprise!) and the mechanics were well executed for a developing ex-football player with little to no experience. His music and ring attire were actually better than the present, and the arrogant promos were in my opinion, really freakin’ good… he played the part a little too well if you ask me. The “Checkmate” as his finisher, wasn’t bad; I’m not sure why he isn’t using it present day, but then again… “The Guy” has the best spear in the business currently. He literally looks like Superman! Ya can’t argue that people!
Since debuting as the “Powerhouse” of The Shield Survivor Series 2012, he never faltered to win and demonstrated a soldier persona. His strength helped them dominate the yard winning 30 out of 42 matches that year, an impressive record with credit to ALL 3 members.
Aside from being breed into one of the most powerful wrestling families, you cannot argue “The Guy” has got incredible in-ring talent. Fan-favorites in the business have said he’s agile, amazing to work with and has adapted to the business at a fast pace.
“The Indy” – Finn Balor in his match with Roman Reigns (Source: Talk is Jericho):
“I went through the match, and worked with Roman; absolutely incredible in the ring. It’s unbelievable to hear the amount of negativity he gets, and when you get in the ring with him well, it was eye-opening moment for me going ‘Oh my God, this guy’s really-really good’.”
“When we locked up, I was like “Oh my God, this guy is great,” and was never at any point in that match kind of uncomfortable, you know? He just put me a lot at ease with that whole situation; hats off to Roman because he really kind of led me through it”.
“The Vet” – Chris Jericho on Roman Reigns (Source: Chris Jericho Clarifies Comments Made About Roman Reigns Haters, Being “A Little Bit Misquoted”) via Wrestlezone.com:
“Look, like I’ve said before, if you’re going to give someone a shot, give them a shot. There’ve been tons of guys who when they’ve been put in the main event at WrestleMania might not have been quote unquote ready. Who’s to say who’s ready and who’s not? Let’s see how the crowd reacts when they get there. But all I know is that Roman Reigns was everybody’s favorite guy until the Royal Rumble. And then everyone turned on Roman Reigns. It’s so funny how two days before, and the year before, everybody loved Roman Reigns. Everybody. All the fans did. And don’t tell me that you didn’t because they were all saying ‘Roman Reigns, Roman Reigns, Roman Reigns …what? Daniel Bryan didn’t win the Royal Rumble? We hate Roman Reigns! Boo!’ And meanwhile, ever since then – I mean, we did house shows in Calgary and Edmonton and it was like Beatlemania. They were going nuts for him. And that was a week after the Royal Rumble.”
CONSIDERING THE CONS
If you caught me a few months ago, I would have said without a doubt his promo skills need help. The lines Reigns was fed I can’t imagine Rocky, Austin or HHH agreeing to say them. However, he’s gotten better… or should we say the lines have sorta gotten better?
Reigns on Monday Night RAW
The “suspension”… *sigh* This… in my opinion wasn’t 100% of what it was made it out to be. Given we now have insight on the WWE’s Wellness Policy, I truly believe, while there may have been a mishap, they tried to leverage this to give him an “angle”. Roman’s been the only talent that’s been blasted on RAW for a suspension AND the only one to not make excuses for the trip up. I can’t remember anyone that this has happened too; not even Orton who had 2 violations AND less we forget also was “shoved down throats” for years… just sayin…
THE TRACKS HE’S LEFT BEHIND
From the 2015 Royal Rumble record breaking eliminations disaster, to the title tournament post Rollins injury, to his first WWE title win at Survivor Series, and second on Monday Night RAW, Reigns has had a trajectory in the ring, proving to be a corporate commodity (sans suspension). His interviews whether with wrestling outlets, urban radio or mainstream sports shows, you can’t argue that he’s charismatic in nature, though some may argue the Reigns on screen character has no p
Reigns/Banks vs. Rusev/Flair Mixed Tag Match on Monday Night RAW
ersonality. He’s articulate and not bad on the eyes…again … just sayin!
He rocked out with AJ Styles and The Club, his performance with Rusev was STELLAR. Both Reigns and Rusev are kicking ass, and I can’t get enough of them. The recent mixed tag with Sasha Banks complimented all 4 superstars, if you watched Reigns and Rusev like I did, they both let Banks and Flair shine. People say this may have seemed to be a throw-away match, however it left a presence, good, bad or indifferent, and it was good.
The HIAC PPV was yet another staple match of their program. They’ve had so many awesome performances, I almost felt, could they have done it again? Answer is yes. And they did. Reigns, PWI 500’s #1 Wrestler for 2016 never falls short in his art of wrestling, and we all know it, like him or not.
In the end..NET-NET
Roman’s been on his main roster game since 2012 and has improved, proving he’s worthy to be the number one contender for the WWE World Champion, Universal Champion, (maybe) Intercontinental Champion and currently… WWE United States Champion. In my opinion, he doesn’t need the top titles. Wherever you put him on the card, he’s going to shine and we see this as we watch RAW weekly as he did with Owens last night (RAW 11/28). He proved it ever Monday Night RAW when Seth Rollins was out. He proved it in killer matches like his HIAC match with Bray Wyatt, Last Man Standing match with The Big Show, his match with Cesaro during the Title Tournament. And that was just 2015!
Honestly, I don’t see it, what’s the real problem here? Is it a fad to boo Roman Reigns and chant, “You can’t wrestle” at shows? I think I saw a “Roman Sucks” t-shirt last week come across my screen… you actually paid for that dude? If that’s “The Thing”, it’s stupid, and if your shtick is that you “pay money and can do what you want”, you sound even more like a ridiculous, immature and you’re a stupid IDIOT [Chris Jericho voice].
The reality is “Roman has a very large fan base. The smarks are just louder. The smarks are not the majority” says Josh Caudill of CraveOnline. See I’m not cray-cray! If Caudill says it, it’s gold to me! *winks at Josh*…
HOWEVER… I am a fan-girl for the strong, viral, unmerciful “BIG DOG”, Roman Reigns aka… “THE GUY”.
Till the next time we get Casual… Mimi
*Mimi co-hosts on the RedZone Podcast here at WWPN and also contributes to the Big Slam Nation Podcast, follow Mimi on Twitter @iammimichelles
WHAT IS AN “APOCALYPSE?”
When you Google the word, it has a few meanings: disclosure of knowledge, a lifting of the veil or a revelation. The “smarkies” (and I know I’ll catch major slack for using this term) have deemed the WWE has been force-feeding us their next franchise champion, their “revelation” for quite some time… and that “revelation” was/is “The BIG DOG”, Roman Reigns aka “The Guy”.
The gripes have been, he’s been “shoved down our throats!”, there are so many other wrestlers that “deserve it more than he does”; he’s been hand-picked as the “corporate favorite”, he doesn’t have “indy experience”, “he’s got limited move-sets” and of course everyone’s personal favorite, “he can’t wrestle!” the best coined 2015/16 catch-phrase!
As a wrestling loving chic in corporate-american, I struggle to fully understand the mentality of the “Roman Sucks” campaign. As I listen to different podcasts, and fall on the countless anti-Roman blogs, I wonder, aside from all the other women who for obvious reasons love him, but am I the only one who can see why the WWE was/is going with “The Guy”? If you think the WWE has given up on making him their franchise wrestler, please… don’t believe YOUR hype.
Couple things…
DUE THE DILIGENCE…
When the hate for Roman became more visible, I had to do my due diligence. In the past, I wasn’t a fan of watching old wrestling matches. Hell, I rarely watch a missed episode of RAW or SDLive in present day! To me it’s almost like re-watching the news… who wants to do that? However, that’s since changed. As my love for the “Art of Wrestling” grows, I don’t think a week goes by without my looking up at least one classic match on the network. That said, I watched a few FCW matches and Shield matches to make sure I’m not going cray-cray or better yet ask the question, am I just a Roman “fan-girl”?… Well…
MIMI’S PROS
Roman Reigns in NXT
In NXT, his matches were pretty damn good (what a surprise!) and the mechanics were well executed for a developing ex-football player with little to no experience. His music and ring attire were actually better than the present, and the arrogant promos were in my opinion, really freakin’ good… he played the part a little too well if you ask me. The “Checkmate” as his finisher, wasn’t bad; I’m not sure why he isn’t using it present day, but then again… “The Guy” has the best spear in the business currently. He literally looks like Superman! Ya can’t argue that people!
Since debuting as the “Powerhouse” of The Shield Survivor Series 2012, he never faltered to win and demonstrated a soldier persona. His strength helped them dominate the yard winning 30 out of 42 matches that year, an impressive record with credit to ALL 3 members.
Aside from being breed into one of the most powerful wrestling families, you cannot argue “The Guy” has got incredible in-ring talent. Fan-favorites in the business have said he’s agile, amazing to work with and has adapted to the business at a fast pace.
“The Indy” – Finn Balor in his match with Roman Reigns (Source: Talk is Jericho):
“I went through the match, and worked with Roman; absolutely incredible in the ring. It’s unbelievable to hear the amount of negativity he gets, and when you get in the ring with him well, it was eye-opening moment for me going ‘Oh my God, this guy’s really-really good’.”
“When we locked up, I was like “Oh my God, this guy is great,” and was never at any point in that match kind of uncomfortable, you know? He just put me a lot at ease with that whole situation; hats off to Roman because he really kind of led me through it”.
“The Vet” – Chris Jericho on Roman Reigns (Source: Chris Jericho Clarifies Comments Made About Roman Reigns Haters, Being “A Little Bit Misquoted”) via Wrestlezone.com:
“Look, like I’ve said before, if you’re going to give someone a shot, give them a shot. There’ve been tons of guys who when they’ve been put in the main event at WrestleMania might not have been quote unquote ready. Who’s to say who’s ready and who’s not? Let’s see how the crowd reacts when they get there. But all I know is that Roman Reigns was everybody’s favorite guy until the Royal Rumble. And then everyone turned on Roman Reigns. It’s so funny how two days before, and the year before, everybody loved Roman Reigns. Everybody. All the fans did. And don’t tell me that you didn’t because they were all saying ‘Roman Reigns, Roman Reigns, Roman Reigns …what? Daniel Bryan didn’t win the Royal Rumble? We hate Roman Reigns! Boo!’ And meanwhile, ever since then – I mean, we did house shows in Calgary and Edmonton and it was like Beatlemania. They were going nuts for him. And that was a week after the Royal Rumble.”
CONSIDERING THE CONS
If you caught me a few months ago, I would have said without a doubt his promo skills need help. The lines Reigns was fed I can’t imagine Rocky, Austin or HHH agreeing to say them. However, he’s gotten better… or should we say the lines have sorta gotten better?
Reigns on Monday Night RAW
The “suspension”… *sigh* This… in my opinion wasn’t 100% of what it was made it out to be. Given we now have insight on the WWE’s Wellness Policy, I truly believe, while there may have been a mishap, they tried to leverage this to give him an “angle”. Roman’s been the only talent that’s been blasted on RAW for a suspension AND the only one to not make excuses for the trip up. I can’t remember anyone that this has happened too; not even Orton who had 2 violations AND less we forget also was “shoved down throats” for years… just sayin…
THE TRACKS HE’S LEFT BEHIND
From the 2015 Royal Rumble record breaking eliminations disaster, to the title tournament post Rollins injury, to his first WWE title win at Survivor Series, and second on Monday Night RAW, Reigns has had a trajectory in the ring, proving to be a corporate commodity (sans suspension). His interviews whether with wrestling outlets, urban radio or mainstream sports shows, you can’t argue that he’s charismatic in nature, though some may argue the Reigns on screen character has no p
Reigns/Banks vs. Rusev/Flair Mixed Tag Match on Monday Night RAW
ersonality. He’s articulate and not bad on the eyes…again … just sayin!
He rocked out with AJ Styles and The Club, his performance with Rusev was STELLAR. Both Reigns and Rusev are kicking ass, and I can’t get enough of them. The recent mixed tag with Sasha Banks complimented all 4 superstars, if you watched Reigns and Rusev like I did, they both let Banks and Flair shine. People say this may have seemed to be a throw-away match, however it left a presence, good, bad or indifferent, and it was good.
The HIAC PPV was yet another staple match of their program. They’ve had so many awesome performances, I almost felt, could they have done it again? Answer is yes. And they did. Reigns, PWI 500’s #1 Wrestler for 2016 never falls short in his art of wrestling, and we all know it, like him or not.
In the end..NET-NET
Roman’s been on his main roster game since 2012 and has improved, proving he’s worthy to be the number one contender for the WWE World Champion, Universal Champion, (maybe) Intercontinental Champion and currently… WWE United States Champion. In my opinion, he doesn’t need the top titles. Wherever you put him on the card, he’s going to shine and we see this as we watch RAW weekly as he did with Owens last night (RAW 11/28). He proved it ever Monday Night RAW when Seth Rollins was out. He proved it in killer matches like his HIAC match with Bray Wyatt, Last Man Standing match with The Big Show, his match with Cesaro during the Title Tournament. And that was just 2015!
Honestly, I don’t see it, what’s the real problem here? Is it a fad to boo Roman Reigns and chant, “You can’t wrestle” at shows? I think I saw a “Roman Sucks” t-shirt last week come across my screen… you actually paid for that dude? If that’s “The Thing”, it’s stupid, and if your shtick is that you “pay money and can do what you want”, you sound even more like a ridiculous, immature and you’re a stupid IDIOT [Chris Jericho voice].
The reality is “Roman has a very large fan base. The smarks are just louder. The smarks are not the majority” says Josh Caudill of CraveOnline. See I’m not cray-cray! If Caudill says it, it’s gold to me! *winks at Josh*…
HOWEVER… I am a fan-girl for the strong, viral, unmerciful “BIG DOG”, Roman Reigns aka… “THE GUY”.
Till the next time we get Casual… Mimi
*Mimi co-hosts on the RedZone Podcast here at WWPN and also contributes to the Big Slam Nation Podcast, follow Mimi on Twitter @iammimichelles
