Opinion

Rob: Timing is Everything

Rob weighs in on why this Roman angle has been effective and well-timed! Do you agree?

Published

5 years ago

October 2, 2020

The last ten minutes of Clash of the Champions made it clear once and for all that the Roman Reigns lots of us loved and most of us argued over is for the time being no more. While there may have been some doubt when he first came back at the end of SummerSlam, it quickly eroded over the last few weeks until it was totally wiped out when he brutally beat down his cousin Jey Uso in the main event. Reigns is not only the Universal Champion again but he is now a full fledged heel with Paul Heyman at his side. This version of Reigns is here to dominate, to show up and win, to wreck everyone and leave. And not to be nice or play within the rules while doing it. Jey found out the hard way and he won’t be the last one for sure.

So now that we have a bit of a clearer picture of where Reigns character may be going, and that the reaction to the change has been very positive, some of the usual suspects have been asking why didn’t they do this sooner? Why did Vince spend five years trying to get us to accept Roman as a good guy instead of making him a heel from the jump? Well I have a few answers to that. For one, no matter how loud people got on social media or at televised shows about it he routinely sold more merchandise and got more views than the rest of the roster as one of the good guys, so you don’t just up and change that. But just as important though is the timing. If you’re going to turn your top guy, and make no mistake Reigns is and has been that for several years now, then it shouldn’t happen on a whim and shouldn’t be done to appease a loud section of the fanbase that isn’t truly representative of the entire group. And that’s what turning him in 2015 would have been, a knee jerk reaction to how some crowds had turned on him that year. Were there some moments in 2016 and 2017 where it would have fit? Sure. He could have flipped around or after the brand split (imagine him in Kevin Owens place as Universal champion then) or after beating the Undertaker at WrestleMania 33 but outside of those situations I don’t really see a point when it would have made sense before now.

By holding out until now, and the perfect storm of him being out for five months and being able to make a surprise return at SummerSlam emerging, has given us an earned change in character that’s the culmination of five years of frustration for the character and Joe Anaoi in real life. Too often in modern day wrestling the heel and face turns are telegraphed out from miles away or done for no other reason than to try and shake things up. And the character changes that come with them are often contrived and not well developed. Here we got everything you want – a full change in character, not just in how they talk or an adoption of heel tactics, and a nice mix of abrupt moves and slower reveals. And having his cousin Jey Uso involved to make the full turn really hit on an emotional level took it to the next level. This is quite frankly the best heel turn I’ve seen in years. In terms of execution and what it sets up for the future this is right up there Hogan joining the NWO and Austin siding with Vince McMahon.

Both of those are examples of how timing matters. Hogan turning in WCW where he was never totally welcome in the first place was a lot easier to pull off than if it had been tried in the WWF were he became the biggest act in the world (look no further than when he came back in 2002 working heel and was cheered like the old days at WrestleMania 18). Austin on the other hand turned at a point when the fans still wanted more of him as a face and it never quite took; while it made sense on paper because they were three years into Austin vs Vince McMahon as the main program, normally long past time to change up, the people still had some more juice they wanted to squeeze out of it. And while in hindsight it doesn’t look so badly executed, it’s hard to argue against how people reacted at the time.

So ignore all those people that say this should have happened long ago, and not just because of what I said earlier. A lot of those folks just flat out didn’t want him in that position in the first place and came up with what they think are good reasons to justify it. Turning Reigns heel in 2015 while Seth Rollins was all the way into his first heel run as World Champion and Money in the Bank winner before that would have caused a logjam at the top, with Roman taking a backseat to Rollins. 2016? Heel Reigns post-brand split would either have been Universal Champion instead of Kevin Owens or would have taken another backseat to another heel champion. 2017? With Brock Lesnar as Universal Champion, same issue. By 2018 it seemed to me at least that the big push to turn had died down, although the detractors still wanted him to step aside for Rollins or Braun Strowman. 2019 was a no go because of the sympathy he was getting after returning from leukemia, and he was largely out of the top spot on the card anyway.

(Please note the game that the naysayers were playing; turning him heel earlier would have caused a booking conundrum that these same folks would have wanted solved by putting Reigns in the lower spot; the problem was always the position not the alignment as we saw when he started moving back up the card in early 2020.)

So yeah, we’re at a place where the Empire can ride with him in this role (For the record I would do the right thing as a fan and boo him if I were in the building), he was personally ready and eager to take up that role himself, and things are properly aligned with the rest of the roster draft notwithstanding to have the right foils for him. So let’s sit back and enjoy the ride here folks.

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Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

Extra, extra read all about it… Chairshot Staff picks are in!!!

Published

1 week ago

June 6, 2025

PC Tunney

Sing it with me… money money money money moneeeeeeeeeyeeeeee… everybody’s got a price! MONEY IN THE BANK is here!!! How money will our staff picks be?!?

AJ – Roxanne Perez
Andrew – Stephanie Vaquer – *Bubba Sparxxx Impression* I don’t tell stories, I let them tell theyself.
Dave – Guilia – A stacked field but I just like her here.
DJ – Naomi
DPP – Roxanne Perez
Jason – Alexa Bliss
Patrick – Roxanne Perez
Rey – Naomi – If Naomi loses, we riot!
Rob – Naomi
Greg – Alexa Bliss – Bliss has had huge reactions since returning and is moving a ton of merch. While I can see them wanting to build Roxanne Perez, Giulia, or Stephanie Vaquer, I think Alexa Bliss.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – I’ll make my case short and sweet… Mami in the Bank! You can’t leave that money on the table.

Chairshot Pick – Tie – Naomi 3 & Roxanne Perez 3 (Alexa Bliss 2, Giulia 1, Rhea Ripley 1, Stephanie Vaquer 1)

AJ – LA Knight
Andrew – El Grande Americano – Feels correct given his push and the fact he’s over.
Dave – Seth Rollins – Got to push that new faction.
DJ – LA Knight
DPP – El Grande Americano
Jason – LA Knight
Patrick – Solo Sikoa
Rey – LA Knight – Looks like another push, and he does have history with Cena.
Rob – Solo Sikoa
Greg – Seth Rollins – This company is extremely high in the El Grande Americano gimmick, but this match comes down to Seth Rollins or LA Knight. Given the Rollins storyline, it’s his briefcase to win.

Tunney’s Take: El Grande Americano – Picture this: Chad Gable wins the AAA Mega Championship and El Grande Americano wins MITB! WHAT A SATURDAY in LA!!!

Chairshot Pick – LA Knight 4 (El Grande Americano 3, Seth Rollins 2, Solo Sikoa 2)

AJ – Becky Lynch – Sadly
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I still don’t care about Lyra.
Dave – Lyra Valkyria – Starting to warm up to her and Becky has a lot to do with that.
DJ – Lyra Valkyria
DPP – Becky Lynch
Jason – Becky Lynch
Patrick – Lyra Valkyria
Rey – Becky Lynch – Put some fire on the Irish Beef.
Rob – Becky Lynch
Greg – Becky Lynch – I don’t think you do a rematch here just to have Becky lose again. Unless Bayley shows up to help Lyra.

Tunney’s Take: Becky Lynch – A big part of me feels that winning this title checks off a major box for Becks in her HOF career.

Chairshot Pick – Becky Lynch 8-3

AJ – Cena & Paul
Andrew – Rhodes & Uso – Easy way for Cena to lose without eating the pinfall.
Dave – Rhodes & Uso – Get the QB back on the winning track.
DJ – Rhodes & Uso
DPP – Rhodes & Uso
Jason – Cena & Paul
Patrick – Cena & Paul
Rey – Rhodes & Uso – Heels usually lose these kinds of matches. Logan takes the pin.
Rob – Cena & Paul
Greg – Rhodes & Uso – I hope Jey isn’t an afterthought here like Cody was last fall when he was paired up with Roman. I think Cody pins Cena to set up Cody-Cena 2 at SummerSlam.

Tunney’s Take: Cena & Paul – I don’t think Cena is involved in another loss until he loses the WWE Championship. I also think Logan Paul is NOT done trying to capture Jey Uso’s World Heavyweight Championship. …Travis Scott in the house?

Chairshot Pick – 6-5 Rhodes & Uso

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We all enjoy Pro Wrestling so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!

AJ – @PhenomenalAJB
Andrew – @IWCWarChief
Dave – @AttitudeAgg
DJ – @TheMindlessPod
DPP – @itsmeDPP
Jason – @JediFett
Patrick – @WrestlngRealist
Rey – @itsreycash
Rob – @rbonne1
Greg – @gregdemarco44
PC – @PCTunney
TheChairshot.com – @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – a PLETHORA of GREAT designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

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CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE’s PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS…IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O’Dowd’s 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

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About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

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THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

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CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

1 month ago

May 9, 2025

PC Tunney

May is upon us and with that, so is Backlash from St. Louis! What does the first PLE after WrestleMania have in store for the WWE Universe? Let’s see if the Chairshot Staff can properly interpret the crystal ball of rasslin’ future.

AJ – Pat MacAfee – Gunther has to start losing control and who better than an announcer.
Andrew – Pat MacAfee – Goldberg getting involved does seem correct here.
Dave – Gunther – He’s not losing to a broadcaster.
DJ – Gunther – Pat is sent to the shadow realm until football season is over.
DPP – Gunther – Post match beat down leads to Pat time off.
Jason – Gunther – One massive spot and or bump from Pat.
Patrick – Gunther
Rey – Gunther – RIP MacAfee, t’was a good life.
Rob – Gunther
Greg – Pat MacAfee – Why? Goooooldbeeerrrrrgggggg!

Tunney’s Take: Gunther – Seems like the right pick here. Pat may be getting some time off and Gunther needs more heat.

Chairshot Pick – GUNTHER 8-3

AJ – Lyra Valkyria – Becky’s hopefully putting her over, still mad about Dakota.
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I have no real interest in Lyra currently.
Dave – Becky Lynch – Lyra is boring AF!
DJ – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley interferes.
DPP – Becky Lynch – Becky cheats and steals the title.
Jason – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley costs Becks.
Patrick – Becky Lynch
Rey – Becky Lynch – Story needs to jump up a bit, Becky Charlotte’s Lyra.
Rob – Lyra Valkyria
Greg – Becky Lynch – It’s been fun, Lyra. (It kinda hasn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Lyra Valkyria – Bayley’s interference should set up some type of program with Becky as we head towards Summer(Slam).

Chairshot Pick – BECKY LYNCH 6-5

AJ – Jacob Fatu – Great way to put him over w/ two former WHCs and LA Knight.
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – He’s Jacob Fatu!
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Too soon to pull the belt off him.
DJ – Jacob Fatu – Priest and LA can’t decide who’s is bigger.
DPP – Jacob Fatu – Your hardcore match, tables and chairs involved.
Jason – Jacob Fatu – The Champ retains due to or in spite of Solo.
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – All gas. No brakes. Ain’t losing.
Rob – Jacob Fatu
Greg – Jacob Fatu – Someone from The Samoan Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – Uncle Mo is on Fatu’s side and other than Knight, I don’t see Drew or Priest holding the US title in the current circumstances of this title’s landscape.

Chairshot Pick – JACOB FATU 11-0

AJ – Dominic Mysterio – Judgement Day shenanigans just leading up to Finn turning on Dom later.
Andrew – Penta – Dom’s fine having a short reign, could also work for pushing AAA.
Dave – Dominic Mysterio – He’s probably more over than Penta.
DJ – Dominic Mysterio – Dirty Dom takes home the gold and the girl.
DPP – Dominic Mysterio – Big Head helps Dom pull out the win.
Jason – Dominic Mysterio – By hook and crook.
Patrick – Dominic Mysterio
Rey – Dominic Mysterio – Latino Heat keeps burning. Finn gets closer to the edge.
Rob – Dominic Mysterio
Greg – Dominic Mysterio – Someone from The Guerrero Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Dominic Mysterio – That belt looks good with the king of chicken tendys. I can see Penta and Rey reforming as a tag team sooner than later.

Chairshot Pick – DOMINIC MYSTERIO 10-1

AJ – John Cena – Why? Cena wins, lol.
Andrew – John Cena – Shenanigans ensue so it’s not a clean win.
Dave – John Cena – The last time is now.
DJ – John Cena – Randy hears voices telling him he needs an Attitude Adjustment.
DPP – John Cena – Cena tries to cheat but the ref doesn’t call for a DQ.
Jason – John Cena – Nefarious means, Randy not ready for Evil John Cena.
Patrick – John Cena
Rey – John Cena – Cena just counting down the dates. Should be fun though.
Rob – John Cena
Greg – John Cena – You know they want Cody to be the hero in the end.

Tunney’s Take: Randy Orton – Once upon a time Randy got himself intentionally disqualified and it cost John. Saturday, history repeats itself with a 180-degree twist. Cena retains via Orton DQ victory. This time, Travis Scott’s appearance takes care of that task.

Chairshot Pick – JOHN CENA 10-1