The Truth About Roman Reigns

Over the past three years, one man has become the most polarizing figures in WWE. A spot previously reserved for 16-time world champion John Cena, the mantle of fans’ love/hate now belongs to Roman Reigns.

If you know me, you know I am a fan of Roman Reigns—both the performer and the character. But you also know that I strive to be “objectively subjective,” and thus I am willing to look at Roman Reigns with an unbiased perspective.

So while it may include some hard news to both hear and type, I give to you The Truth About Roman Reigns.

He wasn’t ready.

As a member of The Shield, Roman Reigns had Seth Rollins an Dean Ambrose to back him up. Given the experience of his partners, that back-up wasn’t just a storyline item, it was something that could save Roman in moments of his own inexperience.

When the group broke up, Roman Reigns was pushed to the moon, including a win at the 2015 Royal Rumble and a WrestleMania 31 main event against WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.

The truth? Despite my campaigning in his favor at the time, Roman Reigns actually wasn’t ready.

WWE knew this, and they used it—and you—to tell a great story. If you go back and watch that match, you’ll see that the overwhelming nature of the situation Roman Reigns was in against Brock was the story of the match. It was an over-matched up-and-comer, who likely shouldn’t have won the Royal Rumble (from a storyline/experience sense), in the ring with a legitimate monster.

The story of Reigns “becoming a man” against Lesnar was told with brilliance, and Seth Rollins’ cash in was the perfect resolution. Once Reigns finally had things figured out, and finally proved he could hang, Seth swoops in and robs him of his title, and more importantly in WWE, his moment.

He knows exactly who he is in the ring.

AJ Styles is the best wrestler in the world for a reason: he does things that no one else can do. If others could do what AJ Styles does, it wouldn’t be special any more.

Roman Reigns isn’t AJ Styles in the ring, and he knows that. WWE knows that. His opponents know that. Roman Reigns is a brawling power wrestler with a chip on his shoulder and a swagger in his step. He doesn’t need to be anything but that to be successful.

Like Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock, and John Cena before him, Roman Reigns has become a master of simplicity. He doesn’t do a ton in the ring (the guys I listed didn’t either), and he doesn’t have to. He has learned how to give it all meaning. The phrase “less is more” is thrown around inside the wrestling business, but less isn’t automatically more. It becomes “more” when you make every little thing important. That’s Roman Reigns.

He is, in fact, THE GUY.

The Internet Wrestling Community has a hard time with the “It Factor.” It can’t be explained using the nuances of their favorite submission hold, or the finishing sequence to a Tokyo Dome classic. In fact, it doesn’t really pertain to them at all.

You see, we were hooked a long time ago. They don’t need to convince us, we’re already here. The “It Factor” is what cause a casual fan to take notice. It’s the reason they stick around, the reason they buy a t-shirt.

When Roman Reigns enters the arena, people immediately take notice. Same with John Cena, Randy Orton, Triple H, and Brock Lesnar. In the ring, he isn’t as good as Shield brothers Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. But when it comes to that “It Factor,” they can’t compare to Roman Reigns.

Like, it isn’t even close.

He’s the biggest star in the business today.

Roman Reigns nearly slayed The Beast, he conquered Triple H, he retired The Undertaker, and in a few short months he will defeat Brock Lesnar and take his position as a god among men in WWE.

Scratch that—he will take his rightful position as a god among men in WWE.

Why? Because he’s worked his ass off, he has the It Factor, he’s a company guy, and he’s earned his way. Has he been given opportunity by WWE? Yeah, but so has AJ Styles. If WWE wanted to, AJ could have topped out at United States Champion, and no amount of talent would have changed that. If so, Mr. Perfect would be a multi-time world champion. Same with Razor Ramon. But they’re not, and AJ is.

So is Roman Reigns, and his next reign will easily eclipse those that came before it.

The Truth About Roman Reigns? He was thrust in a position that he wasn’t ready for, and that was part of the story. He learned, he grew, and he’s about to take over as the biggest star in the business.

And he deserves it.