The WWE Universe is in a tailspin following the finish to the Royal Rumble. The groundwork has been laid and while it may not have been the plan, the best thing for business is to turn Roman Reigns heel at WrestleMania.
I hate to be one of those kneejerk reaction kind of bloggers. I really try and take a step back and analyze a situation before I make a radical suggestion and believe me, this is a radical idea. The WWE creative machine have been hard at work on the Roman Reigns babyface plan for over a year. Deviating from the blue print is something I don’t take likely.
At the same time, any successful company in or out of wrestling have been companies that have reacted as opposed to dictated. Wrong reason or not, the WWE reacted last year to the Yes Movement and it paid off with one of the most exciting Mania matches in recent memory. Imagine for a second what would have happened if the WWE stayed the course and firmly held Batista as a babyface? It would have been a disaster and fans would have been turned off, some tuning out. It could be worse for Reigns as Batista was never a long-term plan.
The plate has been set for a classic double-turn at Mania. Brock Lesnar has been booked like a babyface for weeks. I don’t necessarily like it, but that is how he has been portrayed. His comeback win on Sunday at the Rumble enough evidence to convince me that he really he is a babyface. Whether he stays or goes, Brock could always be a tweener and wrestle both heels and faces. He is the perfect partner to make this turn work.
[adinserter block=”1″]It is also a great excuse to keep Paul Heyman around. Heyman booked this very same angle when he turned Sabu on Taz and flipped Bill Alfonso. The very same angle! Reigns desperately and I mean DESPERATELY needs a mouthpiece. Give Heyman the microphone, make Reigns a monster, and you are picking up right where you left off with Brock. Imagine if Brock does stick around. Imagine Heyman running his mouth for a few months about Lesnar the way he did the Undertaker with Brock coming back for revenge at SummerSlam.
The money for Reigns was to have him chase the title. That never happened. There was never a prolonged chase, ala Daniel Bryan last year for the title. That money could be saved for a future babyface turn in a couple of years. The money is in Reigns being a bad-assed heel and paying money to see the heroes conquer the impossible villain. In other words, the WWE gets their Brock Lesnar but this guy is full-time and he is not going anywhere.
[adinserter block=”2″]There are enough challengers to carry Reigns as heel WWE champion from now through WrestleMania. Daniel Bryan, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Randy Orton, and yes John Cena are all matches that be sold as headline WWE title matches. I think if held off, Reigns vs. Cena or Bryan could actually be pretty big. Even bigger could be a Mania 32 showdown with The Rock. This is a lot more enticing than Reigns’ list of heel challengers which boasts of Seth Rollins and Bray Wyatt. Can you follow the money here?
Not only is this the right choice, quite frankly I see this as the only choice. The WWE have completely blew it on Reigns being a big-time babyface champion. They don’t have enough guys ready to challenge and he certainly isn’t ready to carry that ball. The booking is so freaking easy, even Vince Russo could do it.
On second thought…
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