In case you haven't noticed, WWE superstar Roman Reigns has been heavily pushed by Vince McMahon and the creative team to be the next face of the company. Spoiler alert: The fans have not bought it at all.
Reigns was only ever popular during his days with The Shield, though Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins were far more responsible for getting the group over. After the alliance disbanded, Reigns became the next guy that WWE wanted to build around. Despite his portrayal as a babyface, Reigns has been heavily booed so badly that the WWE had to edit the sounds to make it seem like he's actually being cheered.
This past Raw, The Shield reunited and will face The Miz, Cesaro, and Sheamus at the TLC pay-per-view. But the reunion of The Shield almost feels like another ploy just to make us love Reigns.
Here are five reasons why the plan will fail.
5. He Took Everything From The Shield
After The Shield broke up, Reigns was the one who inherited the entrance (where he entered from the stands), the theme song, and the vest/attire. Obviously, Seth Rollins couldn't do it since he was a heel for joining up with The Authority, but Dean Ambrose should have been the guy to inherit everything.
When Reigns kept entering through the crowd with The Shield theme on, it just seemed so forced and cheesy since he wasn't getting much love from the fans. Reigns was basically asked to keep The Shield's memory alive.
It just didn't work nor make any sense. Why couldn't Ambrose be the guy to maintain the attire, entrance, theme song, and vest? Or, why did anyone in the trio keep the remains? Fans are still sour over Reigns making it all bland. So why will we like him more now?
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4. Reunion is Brief
So let us get this straight, Roman Reigns and The Shield will be together at TLC. Chances are they end up beating The Miz, Cesaro, and Sheamus. And that's going to make us all love Reigns again?
If the creative team thinks The Shield is going to make Reigns lovable again, then they're wrong. If they were to have The Shield sticking together for a while, it would be a different story. But everyone knows this match is a buildup for Reigns' bout with Brock Lesnar in the near future.
A brief reunion isn't enough to make Reigns the ultimate babyface of the WWE. Once the match ends, it'll all be forgotten and the WWE Universe will be booing him heavily once again.
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3. Ambrose and Rollins Carry the Team
For those of you who played sports as kids and teens, chances are you had at least one teammate you couldn't stand. Though you played and tried winning together, you didn't want him to score that final goal or make the final shot. You reluctantly worked with him and if you won, great.
Well, this is the case with The Shield. The fans love both Ambrose and Rollins, and they aren't cheering for Roman Reigns because he's Roman Reigns. They're reluctantly cheering for him because he's aligned with two of the most popular babyfaces in the WWE.
If Reigns hits the spear then scores the pin to win a match, the crowd won't suddenly love him again. After the reunion, Reigns will once again be on his own—and we know how much he'll struggle to get the crowd on his side again.
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2. Damage Has Been Done
Stephanie McMahon recently said that they base the company's decisions off of fan feedback. Now if that's the case, then why has Roman Reigns been shoved down our throats for three years?
Reigns won the 2015 Royal Rumble when everyone wanted Daniel Bryan to come back and win it. Reigns headlined WrestleMania 32 and defeated Triple H, which basically ruined the pay-per-view for everyone. Great, a predictable finish for the company's biggest pay-per-view.
Then Reigns of all people is the one to retire Undertaker at WrestleMania 33. Not to mention how he kicks off and ends almost every episode of Raw, or the fact he has pointlessly headlined all these other pay-per-views.
But oh, one reunion with The Shield will change our minds? Once Vince McMahon gives up on pushing him to be THE GUY, maybe he'll earn a little more respect. But as things stand now, the damage has been done—and we aren't going to change our feelings anytime soon.
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1. Ploy To Make Him Face vs. Lesnar
It's widely expected (and almost a gimme), that Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar will face off at WrestleMania 34. Obviously, the creative team will try to make Reigns the babyface, but that's going to be next to impossible.
Lesnar portrays the ultra-heel, but more often than not receives favorable reactions from the crowds. Reigns is the complete opposite, portraying the good guy but getting booed heavily and is treated like a heel by the fans.
So what's WWE's latest plan? Of course, to reunite Reigns and The Shield to remind fans he was actually popular. But like we said, this is a short reunion and won't be enough to get him over. The fans have had enough of Roman Reigns being pushed, yet WWE won't give up on shoving him down our throats.
We aren't falling for this ploy. Reigns will get a favorable reaction at TLC, then it's back to getting booed. As for Lesnar? He'll be the good guy heading into this one.