I know you know this, but...ROMAN REIGNS IS FUCKING TERRIBLE
 

That doesn't seem to be stopping his push any time soon, though.

His ring work is passable enough, I guess, but he might literally be the worst promo on the roster. And that's with acting lessons. His teacher should be fired. He literally makes me embarrassed to be a wrestling fan when I watch his promos.

Is the WWE really so disconnected and desperate that they're not noticing that Roman Reigns is simply NOT the guy? Are we doomed to yet another cycle of Cena-level throat-shoving with this dude? Is it going to take Vince himself to pull the plug?

Or do you disagree and think that he'll right the ship?

Let's talk about it.

Well, everyone LOVED Cena on his rise to fame. Reigns should not be compared to Cena's rise to fame. If anything, we could have another Batista on our hands if he wins at the Royal Rumble.

But no, he won't right the ship. He will not be handed the reigns like Cena was way back when either. He may get a title win or two at some point but will never be THE man.

If it all ends up with Roman Reigns in a pink polo being a douchebag, I might be OK with it.

Word is that Vince is the one writing his promos.

Vince cuts good promos for himself. What seems to be the problem here?

If they keep this going everyone will start booing him hater than the fans ever did for Cena. They need to back track and build him up slow. He needs to grow instead of being pushes to the moon. Which is why the WWE is super luck Bryan is back to take the spot for Reigns.

It's his delivery that's the problem, no emotion or charisma at all. He is like a vacuum. There has been no effort to cover for him or protect him if they wanted him to be a main guy

Big Show was a terrible return feud too, he should have just stayed silent and been running through people. He should have been the guy to cost The Authority and been dark and brooding about how he was treated by Rollins. He needed direction and he hasn't gotten it in time.

I haven't really seen it mentioned, but his injury has meant he hasn't developed at all. Rollins and Ambrose both have their music, merch, character, move set, everything really, progressing really nicely. There is real separation from them and their Shield days.

Reigns is still stuck in the Shield and it makes him look less polished and developed than the other two. Same music, entrance, everything. Even his attire, while still Shield like, has been made worse and makes him look like he got lost in the 90's with those pants.

I actually think the fact that he is a good looking big guy is the only thing going for him. His matches are so far behind the likes of Ambrose and Rollins too, but that isn't even mentioned because his promos are so bad

Will be really awful if he wins the Rumble. I still think he has a chance down the line, but if he is forced down throats as he is now, he might not recover from it

Big Show has been amazing in the feud. Doing A+ work every week.

I agree on Big Show. He's been fun. I don't even cringe when I see him lately.

Roman Reigns was great as that "muscle of the group" kinda guy in the Shield. Leaving Ambrose and Rollins to do the talking, he was fantastic as the silent, brooding one, and had a great moveset for taking hot tags in tag matches.

It just hasn't translated well into a singles run.

The only way I could handle Reigns in any way headlining Wrestlemania is if it was some kinda triple threat match with Rollins and Ambrose. Reigns vs. Lesnar doesn't interest me, nor has it ever interested me.

Yeah, not criticising show at all but he was the wrong feud I think. He needed to look dominant, maybe run over a smaller guy first

Volare brings up a good point. How do you respond ABT?

That photo is all that needs to be said.

Heres my thing If they want Roman to be the guy and not DB why did they do every thing in their power to keep Bryan fresh in peoples minds while he was gone from the yes chants to mentioning him they kept his momentum going in his absence.


Other than that yea Reigns is terrible I can't believe the WWE actually thinks he is the way to go they seem to be ignoring the fact that their biggest succsess wern't pushed straight to the top it took years of building up and fan base (and having actual charisma and a connection to the fans) this is doomed to fail and if the train isn't off the rails already the Philly crowd is gonna throw a big wrench on the tracks. Its weird everyone knows hes terrible EVERY Regins vid on youtube has countless comments saying how bad he is the Rumble is gonna be interesting to watch that's for sure.

The crowd always seem really dead during his matches as well.

Agree about his promos being horrible right now. Having the same problems Ryback had with his big push in the sense the WWE is rushing it too much instead of letting it develop on its own.

Just like Ryback at the time, Reigns would benefit a lot more with several quality midcard feuds under his belt before being thrust into the spotlight. I'd argue him not winning this year's Rumble and instead going against Rusev at Mania will benefit him more in the longer term than whatever the WWE currently has planned.

I think he needs to keep Dean Ambrose around him to soften the blow of his crap promos.

Vince is a natural. He can go out there and wing it and be entertaining as fuck. Trying to write from someone else's voice is a completely different thing though. Writing promos out for wrestlers in the first place is a fucking horrible idea. Not only does every promo sound roughly the same but letting a guy speak from his own voice is how you figure out who's gonna be a star and who's not. Reigns isn't an actor. Don't give him a fucking script to read. Tell him what needs to be accomplished and let him go out and sink or swim on his own while getting a feel for his character and speaking as himself. It's the way it was always done until recently and things ran just fine.

I think Roman's main issue is that he isn't going out there and cutting promos, he's trying to remember lines. Vince needs to give the guys a little more freedom. Bet the guy is 10 times more charismatic in person. He needs to tap into that somehow. But I agree, the push is too much too soon.

Maybe if he had a little bit more skill he wouldn't have to have scripted promos.

Fucking terrible is an over-statement though.

He's like Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars movie. A shit actor but just a force of nature when he just says fuck it.

Few things on Roman - I think it's been massively overlooked that the guy doesn't sell all that well. Say what you want about Cena (and people have for years), but he's not a bad working babyface in the sense of his facial expressions bringing people in during the match. Roman has the emotional depth of a paddling pool, so the crowd dies when the heel is getting the heat.

The problem with his promos are that they're written with the same style as Cena's, and that's an immediate disconnect with the vast majority of the audience already. It's classic WWF of the mid-90s, the Diesel push reborn - trying to shoehorn a guy with some positive traits into a top spot, while forcing him to fit a blueprint that doesn't suit him or make best use of his positive traits at all.

What will change it is if he goes heel, gets to be himself, and has the charisma to carry it in his own unique style. If not, they may push him, but nothing will be different.

I'd rather watch a Cena match than a Reigns match usually.

And I'd DEFINITELY rather watch a Cena promo.

Reigns can't go out there and cut a Cena promo. Why does he have to?

Well, if he's gonna be the face of the company, he can't be really be silent. Hogan, Austin, Cena, hell, even Michaels, Flair, Undertaker etc, none of them are "silent badasses".

Not saying the silent badass character won't work, but if they're trying to push him as the next main star of the company, guys needs to talk to relate to people.

I think it could just be as simple as Vince becoming more and more disconnected from the fans and the product.

Seriously, if I hear Reigns end one more promo with "BELIEVE... THAT.", I might just throw the TV out the fucking window.

Isn't that what he is using as a catchphrase?

Said it in another thread.... but the biggest issue he is facing is still having to be stuck in the Shield attire/look/entrance. It all makes us remember the quiet badass who would get the hot tag and destroy things. Except then he starts spouting off nursery rhymes and stuff.

He needs to change the look and feel of his persona if this is to "fit in". Just feels "out of place".

http://17r1l63fshd52dy9yakdizhkog.wp...-Macho-Man.jpg

This look from the Macho Man impression video package seemed good for him. He should ditch the perpetually dripping wet hair and go with the slicked back look.... wear the shades.... become a cocky kinda guy.... the type of guy who when he talks, it might still be terrible, but at least it won't seem "out of place".

Even in that video package, him doing the "Ohhh yeah"..... looking like that he kind of actually made me go "ha ha...", but if he was in his Shield gear with dripping hair and doing it, I would have been like "Uggggghhhhhh"

Everyone has scripted promos.

If the WWE had pushed Cesaro the right way since last year's Wrestlemania, we would not be in this dilemma today.

This is another problem. At a certain level, all faces become the same generic face and all heels become the same generic heel. I remember it was maddening especially when Wade Barrett returned after those bad ass street fighter promos and within a couple weeks he was running away from guys seemingly just because he's a heel... and that's what all heels have to do. No one can stand out from the norm. It's mainly because they're all written with the same formula right down to their promos now.

That's what worries me ,his momentum is trending down as far as fan reaction and just breaking through.he seems to be stalling


That said he's very young and raw and if he can just get some confidence on the mic he'll be fine

Well we might. I love Cesaro's in ring work, but he's not "face of the company" material on the mic. He's better than Reigns, but not by a lot.

However, I can see him improving in time, where as Reigns doesn't seem to have any natural charisma at all.

It is, but every time I hear him say it, I dunno, it just makes me furious. Maybe because he tries so hard to create tension/suspense by pausing between words, and it seems like he always says the word "that" softly like he's being the subtle tough guy or something.

His look, his style, promos...everything about him except perhaps his outside move where he kicks his opponent in the head just instantly makes me furious.

I'd love to know what management thinks when the crowd dies during his promos and matches.

Roman Reigns should never be compared to THE RYBACK. He was extremely over and the WWE fucked it all up. Roman Reigns is not over at all and yet they keep pushing this fartknocker. Vince must have dementia or something.

It is kinda the exact opposite of the Ryback situation if you think about it.

THE RYBACK is just bidding his time before the WWE Universe feels his wrath again.