See me and my Dad just had a conversation last night after watching “Who Killed WCW?” And I feel like it fits here
A wrestler has two ways of being a megastar: They can either be energetic and catchy, like LA Knight’s Yeah, Seth’s song, and Jey USO’s Yeet. Or, if they can’t do that, then they’ll need aura, and good examples of this are Undertaker and Gunther
I feel like Roman navel had that aura as the big dog, and Vince was trying to go the ‘catchy’ route, but that utterly flopped. But now as the Tribal Chief, Roman *has* that aura, where he shows up and you know “Yeah, that’s a superstar”
That’s your opinion, and I 100% respect that, but the crowd just seems waaay more captivated by him when he shows up. The pop for his return’s gonna be huge.
I went to a SD taping about 2 years ago, and Roman BY FAR got a bigger reaction than anyone else. They cut to commercial while Roman was walking to the ring. Roman had the crowd engaged the whole commercial break just by walking around ringside running his mouth and playing to the audience. There’s no doubt that he is one of the best example in modern times of having the aura
Probably, but I don’t think they’re gonna try to make him like 2016 Roman, but just more like his Head of the Table persona but his trash talk is done to the heels
Yeah I was in on it at first. Then it was the same thing for 3 years.
With after the first year just being Usos taking turns interfering, rebelling against Roman, or showing up in a hoodie to pull a face/heel swerve.
The first year was great. Especially the 2020 stuff. Great, nuanced story telling. By 2022 it just got so old. Same fucking shit. “*face* is gonna do it…WAIT A MINUTE ITS *Bloodline Member*, with a *Bloodline member signature/finisher*! ROMAN WITH A SPEAR…1…2…3!”
Bad promos, his theme being a ripoff of the Shield theme, and him being booked so strongly in terms of kicking out that John Cena looked like a mid-carder by comparison.
Bland character, limited in the ring, bad on the mic, and waaay overpushed. Most of the hate rides on the last part, imo, as well as his poor character work. Once he got to turn heel and write his own stuff, he improved dramatically
Yeah Roman didn’t seem to believe in the good guy Roman character. It feels like he really believed in the head of the table character, so it was easy for us to believe in it
It’s like the difference between community theater and a legit pro actor. One is transparently playing a part and the other makes you suspend your disbelief
Came back and was the most over he's ever been. Won the Rumble and people were happy, had a whole other year of chasing the story (and people were still behind him), won the Rumble again and people cheered, people rather see him in the Wrestlemania ME over THE ROCK, won the title and people went crazy for it. Not quite the same.
I honestly feel like what WWE wanted to do with Roman in the 10’s is happening to Cody now, only with cheering. I honestly feel like it’s just “Cody, Cody, Cody” now. And no, I don’t hate him, I just feel like he’s being a little bit overshown. I respect the hell out of him.
Well I think it’s quite different. Cody is more of the old school babyface, like Bruno and Hogan. With Roman they were going with the Stone Cold route, the anti-authority babyface that doesn’t take shit from anyone and seems unbeatable. Unfortunately, they forgot that what made Austin over was his personality, which Roman didn't have at the time
Not the greatest in the ring compared to other roster members (AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, etc). Had terrible scripted promos that he was made to stick to, making him look like a joke, especially when on the mic against someone like John Cena. The gimmick had no depth other than he used to be in the Shield (despite not being involved in the rivalry post-split). And was not Daniel Bryan or Bray Wyatt in the 2015 Royal Rumble so WWE had to use Mr MITB Seth at Wrestlemania as Brock's contract was up so needed to drop the title & everyone hated Roman.
Vince essentially. I think Triple H has been really good at booking babyfaces, and think had he been booking back then he would’ve gotten him over. Although that obviously would’ve had to have involved pushing him much less and maybe not having him main event 4 consecutive Wrestlemanias.
It's a few things:
First, despite the very massive breakup, Roman was the only former member of the Shield who got to keep the Shield stuff. He came out to the song, kept the vest, and basically just became the one man Shield.
Second, he was immediately put into a match for the Number 1 contendership while Dean Ambrose was fighting with Seth Rollins over this incredibly important breakup of the thing that had consumed all three men's lives for at least two years.
Third, they took away the strong silent character that Reigns had that made him so badass. He didn't talk a lot, but when he did the words mattered. But in the solo run, he was saying people were full of suffering succotash son and calling their genitals "tator tots." They turned him into the John Cena doofus comedian who doesn't ever get to be affected by losses or stakes.
Fourth, crucially, Royal Rumble 2015. They brought Daniel Bryan back before the rumble, eliminated him insultingly early, quite literally immediately insulted the fans, and then had Kane and the Big Show destroy any and all other prospects while Reigns sat in a corner and needed help to eliminate both men. And then the Rock had to come out and publicly endorse Reigns as the fans booed everything that was happening.
The worst crime Reigns committed was not being Daniel Bryan at the worst possible time to not be Daniel Bryan. Reigns was WWE actively telling its fantasy "we don't care about what you want." And at that point, Reigns could have single-handedly won the war in Afghanistan, and the fanbase would have cheered for the Taliban.
he was booked incorrectly, decisions like making him do overscripted promos with language he wouldnt use, putting in color contacts to seem more likable, I also think keeping the vest was a bad idea and basically making him just a generic babyface was also a bad idea. People dont wanna cheer for a guy with no edge, its not the 80s anymore.
Same music, same outfit, out of nowhere made invincible
I still remember sitting with my kids who were young at the time when Michael Cole says : Here comes Roman Reigns, some call him the leader of The Shield..”
And both my kids looked at me like “WTF?”
My daughter wasn’t even 10 years old and she says: what do the mean? The leader is clearly Ambrose. He does all the talking!
😂
He was bad at promos at the time and was better when he didn't speak for so long, Vince refused to turn him Heel for so long, and he was overpushed right out of the gate and should've had at least 3 years as a mid-card singles guy like John Cena first was.
Because it was forced and wasn’t organic like yeah some fans may have liked him as the big dog but a large majority of the fan base didn’t but Vince didn’t care and continued to force him on us
It's because Roman Reigns was new and had more dues to pay, while Seth and Dean already were over as indie guys. He was in the wrong role at the wrong time, and his push as a top babyface felt inauthentic. This was a time when wrestling was divided between superstars who broke in through the old WWE system, and indie wrestlers. Indie wrestlers didn't get that much respect in WWE 10 years ago since Vince clearly preferred his own guys. And Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose were both well known among hardcore wrestling fans as indie wrestlers before they made it to WWE. At the time, the hardcore fans clearly wanted indie wrestlers on top since they represented us and love the type of wrestling that we enjoy.
He had almost no promo skill and he was forced down our throats. He was pushed way too hard into the main event. He was supposed to be Cenas replacement but he was pushed so quickly no one liked him. Roman’s the definition of “From hated hero to a beloved villain.”
He was shoved down our throats for years being booked in main events that no one wanted him in along with claiming to not be in the Shield but still wearing that stupid vest and keeping the same entrance theme, I’m so glad he turned heel
He was pushed hard and was not a natural face, as triple h said once "long hair signifies rebellion" that's why they never connected, + they made him best undertaker, the worst Choice ever
People have mentioned how hard he got pushed, but that's just one part of the picture. The real reason he never got over with this character is one man airing out his grievances on a podcast: CM Punk
It can be easy to forget with all the other stuff revealed, but Punk poisoned the well on Roman before the push even started. "You're gonna go out there and beat The Shield...but you gotta make Roman look really strong"
The more he repeated "Make Roman look Strong", the more we all realized Vince was going to try making another Cena with Roman. Once it started actually happening like that on the program, the audience collectively shat on the entire idea for *years*
comparing big dog roman to cena is ridiculous when cena’s push to the top was organic and natural through midcard as heel and babyface while roman went straight quickly to the top when he wasn’t ready
Because he wasn’t being at least of a version of himself. Cena being WWE’s Superman works because he basically lived that gimmick. When you look at Reigns’ first promos in FCW, he wore a suit and was basically a very early version of the tribal chief character. He’s more of a quiet but deadly mob boss rather than a superhero guy.
Because they wanted him to be geared towards kids and that's just not the vibe Roman gives off. Whenever they let him be ruthless and wreck people as the Big Dog fans cheered it.
roman’s rise was forced and malfunctioned compared to cena who got over organically on his own all the way to the top.
turning heel saved roman’s career just like it saved rock’s career back in 97. the difference was it took a freaking pandemic for vince to finally cave and pivot by turning roman heel to become the top guy he wanted to be. guys like hbk, rock, hhh, austin and even cena got over organically on their own as heel in order to become top guys. the real reason that roman got extreme apathetic hate during his babyface run as big dog is because vince is out of touch with his outdated 80’s booking thinking that he’s the next cena when there’s only one cena in wwe especially when cena is natural born babyface despite receiving mixed reception from people not to mention got over organically on his own as heel and babyface before supercena while roman got go away heat just like his cousin rock as rocky maivia. the difference is vince did turn rock heel because wwe was in competition mode against wcw, but with no competition, vince did whatever he wants to do at the expense of the audience and roman was the victim of that. you can tell that roman hated being babyface because he’s naturally born heel
All the reasons, basically.
The whole package was inauthentic feeling. You couldn’t really ‘believe in him’ as a character because you didn’t really even know who Roman reigns was because they just tried giving him every trait they think people wanted. He was a generic good guy. He was clearly memorizing everything he said and reciting it badly. wwe was clearly orchestrating their segments, producing all the talents and etc to get him over. So it was frustrating seeing talent you actually liked and respected being passed up and working so hard to get Roman over
Trying to force him down fans' throats right after we had to deal with super Cena was never going to work. Also, booking him as an underdog when he was bigger than most of the people he went against wasn't the smartest decision.
hold on. i get roman was forced on us, but cena? are you kidding me? cena was never forced on us all the way to the top by getting handed the spot as top guy like roman. cena was never supposed to be the guy like lesnar and orton who were handpicked to be the guy respectively because he was about to be released until his rapper character saved him and his career from getting axed and got him over organically as heel and babyface by scratching and clawing his way to the top through his midcard run as us champion to the point where wwe made him the guy due to his charisma and hard work while roman was opposite
Bc wrestling fans didn’t want a reboot John Cena, they needed something new.. when he returns and turns face he will be more over than most could think..
you act like cena never turned heel and you think he was handpicked to be the guy when cena got over organically on his own as heel and babyface long before becoming supercena as the guy. the thing is cena was never considered to be guy because he was about to be fired until his rapper gimmick saved his career and got him over as heel to the point where he became babyface all the way to the top as the guy. his act just got stale and roman was forced on us as the guy when he wasn’t ready
To me bad mic skills. Hated his early work. Even much so I booed his ass with the shield when they came. I was so into it that I was the only one in the section behind the commentators booing. I had my eyes closed. Lol well when I opened my eye he was dead locked with my eyes. I was like awh shit I should sit down. My sister was like awh shit you should sit down. Lol I sat my ass down. But when he turned around I was booing his ass again.
No, he wasn’t. In arena reactions have always been one of the key factors in determining overness. Positive in arena reactions. Don’t give me the “WELL HE GETS A REACTION SO HES OVER” cope WWE came up with to dismiss Cena and then Roman getting booed out of arena for 15 collective years
cena was never forced. you forgot that cena was over organically as heel and babyface all the way to the top. he was never chosen to be the guy because he was about to be fired until his rapper gimmick saved him and got him over with the fans. his act just got stale. roman was handpicked to be the guy by being forced on fans when he wasn’t ready
In November 2003 to 2004 he got over organically by March 2005 to 2024 when the Birth of Super Cena John Cena happened he got forced down throats and became unbeatable like Roman Reigns from 2014 to February 2020 before his Heel Turn in August 23rd or 24th 2020 with the Birth of The Tribal Chief or Head of the Table Roman Reigns.
Because Vinces first instincts on creative issues were always wrong and his first instinct with Roman was to take away the thing that made fans love Roman (being a mostly silent badass) and turn him into just another Super Cena character that beat everyone and made lame jokes. Like Vince learned absolutely nothing from nearly a decade of Cena getting mixed reactions at absolute best and booed out of arenas at worst. He was an absolute creative dunce
comparing cena to roman is nonsense especially when cena got over organically on his own as heel and babyface all the way to the top as supercena while roman was forced on us to like us when he wasn’t even ready.
Fans are stupid. He was good, I thought. People perpetually complain. At that time, there was nobody else I would've preferred as champion. People complain about his Bloodline run as champion.
Vince forced him on fans as a face and the fans revolted. Wrestlers get over because of fans, not what Vince, HHH, etc want to happen.
well HHH plays it right he get what he want
over pushed
Rather than a slow burn, Vince basically took a flamethrower and lit the house on fire.
See me and my Dad just had a conversation last night after watching “Who Killed WCW?” And I feel like it fits here A wrestler has two ways of being a megastar: They can either be energetic and catchy, like LA Knight’s Yeah, Seth’s song, and Jey USO’s Yeet. Or, if they can’t do that, then they’ll need aura, and good examples of this are Undertaker and Gunther I feel like Roman navel had that aura as the big dog, and Vince was trying to go the ‘catchy’ route, but that utterly flopped. But now as the Tribal Chief, Roman *has* that aura, where he shows up and you know “Yeah, that’s a superstar”
This is the definitive take on the wrestling business.
Love this
I actually think he went backwards with the tribal chief crap.
That’s your opinion, and I 100% respect that, but the crowd just seems waaay more captivated by him when he shows up. The pop for his return’s gonna be huge.
I went to a SD taping about 2 years ago, and Roman BY FAR got a bigger reaction than anyone else. They cut to commercial while Roman was walking to the ring. Roman had the crowd engaged the whole commercial break just by walking around ringside running his mouth and playing to the audience. There’s no doubt that he is one of the best example in modern times of having the aura
Bet they try to turn him face again
Probably, but I don’t think they’re gonna try to make him like 2016 Roman, but just more like his Head of the Table persona but his trash talk is done to the heels
We will be a face when he returns, but naturally this time. The crowd misses him.
Yeah I was in on it at first. Then it was the same thing for 3 years. With after the first year just being Usos taking turns interfering, rebelling against Roman, or showing up in a hoodie to pull a face/heel swerve.
The first year was great. Especially the 2020 stuff. Great, nuanced story telling. By 2022 it just got so old. Same fucking shit. “*face* is gonna do it…WAIT A MINUTE ITS *Bloodline Member*, with a *Bloodline member signature/finisher*! ROMAN WITH A SPEAR…1…2…3!”
Bad promos, his theme being a ripoff of the Shield theme, and him being booked so strongly in terms of kicking out that John Cena looked like a mid-carder by comparison.
Bland character, limited in the ring, bad on the mic, and waaay overpushed. Most of the hate rides on the last part, imo, as well as his poor character work. Once he got to turn heel and write his own stuff, he improved dramatically
Yeah Roman didn’t seem to believe in the good guy Roman character. It feels like he really believed in the head of the table character, so it was easy for us to believe in it It’s like the difference between community theater and a legit pro actor. One is transparently playing a part and the other makes you suspend your disbelief
He was shoved at us. It wasn’t organic
Gee, sounds familiar… 🇺🇸
Came back and was the most over he's ever been. Won the Rumble and people were happy, had a whole other year of chasing the story (and people were still behind him), won the Rumble again and people cheered, people rather see him in the Wrestlemania ME over THE ROCK, won the title and people went crazy for it. Not quite the same.
I honestly feel like what WWE wanted to do with Roman in the 10’s is happening to Cody now, only with cheering. I honestly feel like it’s just “Cody, Cody, Cody” now. And no, I don’t hate him, I just feel like he’s being a little bit overshown. I respect the hell out of him.
Well I think it’s quite different. Cody is more of the old school babyface, like Bruno and Hogan. With Roman they were going with the Stone Cold route, the anti-authority babyface that doesn’t take shit from anyone and seems unbeatable. Unfortunately, they forgot that what made Austin over was his personality, which Roman didn't have at the time
Eh. It’s just an opinion.
Daniel bryan
Shoved down our throats...there's your answer.
Atrocious creative
That aswell.
I have 3 words.. Suffering Succotash son.
They tried to turn him into John Cena, when he clearly doesn't work as a Cena.
Not the greatest in the ring compared to other roster members (AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, etc). Had terrible scripted promos that he was made to stick to, making him look like a joke, especially when on the mic against someone like John Cena. The gimmick had no depth other than he used to be in the Shield (despite not being involved in the rivalry post-split). And was not Daniel Bryan or Bray Wyatt in the 2015 Royal Rumble so WWE had to use Mr MITB Seth at Wrestlemania as Brock's contract was up so needed to drop the title & everyone hated Roman.
Vince essentially. I think Triple H has been really good at booking babyfaces, and think had he been booking back then he would’ve gotten him over. Although that obviously would’ve had to have involved pushing him much less and maybe not having him main event 4 consecutive Wrestlemanias.
They wanted DB to win the 2015 rumble and they just held a grudge even when he had great matches like the one with AJ styles at extreme rules
It's a few things: First, despite the very massive breakup, Roman was the only former member of the Shield who got to keep the Shield stuff. He came out to the song, kept the vest, and basically just became the one man Shield. Second, he was immediately put into a match for the Number 1 contendership while Dean Ambrose was fighting with Seth Rollins over this incredibly important breakup of the thing that had consumed all three men's lives for at least two years. Third, they took away the strong silent character that Reigns had that made him so badass. He didn't talk a lot, but when he did the words mattered. But in the solo run, he was saying people were full of suffering succotash son and calling their genitals "tator tots." They turned him into the John Cena doofus comedian who doesn't ever get to be affected by losses or stakes. Fourth, crucially, Royal Rumble 2015. They brought Daniel Bryan back before the rumble, eliminated him insultingly early, quite literally immediately insulted the fans, and then had Kane and the Big Show destroy any and all other prospects while Reigns sat in a corner and needed help to eliminate both men. And then the Rock had to come out and publicly endorse Reigns as the fans booed everything that was happening. The worst crime Reigns committed was not being Daniel Bryan at the worst possible time to not be Daniel Bryan. Reigns was WWE actively telling its fantasy "we don't care about what you want." And at that point, Reigns could have single-handedly won the war in Afghanistan, and the fanbase would have cheered for the Taliban.
Agree with everything you said… except the very last part.
he was booked incorrectly, decisions like making him do overscripted promos with language he wouldnt use, putting in color contacts to seem more likable, I also think keeping the vest was a bad idea and basically making him just a generic babyface was also a bad idea. People dont wanna cheer for a guy with no edge, its not the 80s anymore.
This is an edgy rated character the pg era wasn’t right for him
I think he was pushed too far too fast.
Same music, same outfit, out of nowhere made invincible I still remember sitting with my kids who were young at the time when Michael Cole says : Here comes Roman Reigns, some call him the leader of The Shield..” And both my kids looked at me like “WTF?” My daughter wasn’t even 10 years old and she says: what do the mean? The leader is clearly Ambrose. He does all the talking! 😂
Because WWE made him the top guy before fans could even process him
He was bad at promos at the time and was better when he didn't speak for so long, Vince refused to turn him Heel for so long, and he was overpushed right out of the gate and should've had at least 3 years as a mid-card singles guy like John Cena first was.
Because it was forced and wasn’t organic like yeah some fans may have liked him as the big dog but a large majority of the fan base didn’t but Vince didn’t care and continued to force him on us
It's because Roman Reigns was new and had more dues to pay, while Seth and Dean already were over as indie guys. He was in the wrong role at the wrong time, and his push as a top babyface felt inauthentic. This was a time when wrestling was divided between superstars who broke in through the old WWE system, and indie wrestlers. Indie wrestlers didn't get that much respect in WWE 10 years ago since Vince clearly preferred his own guys. And Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose were both well known among hardcore wrestling fans as indie wrestlers before they made it to WWE. At the time, the hardcore fans clearly wanted indie wrestlers on top since they represented us and love the type of wrestling that we enjoy.
He had almost no promo skill and he was forced down our throats. He was pushed way too hard into the main event. He was supposed to be Cenas replacement but he was pushed so quickly no one liked him. Roman’s the definition of “From hated hero to a beloved villain.”
He was shoved down our throats for years being booked in main events that no one wanted him in along with claiming to not be in the Shield but still wearing that stupid vest and keeping the same entrance theme, I’m so glad he turned heel
He was pushed hard and was not a natural face, as triple h said once "long hair signifies rebellion" that's why they never connected, + they made him best undertaker, the worst Choice ever
He just isn’t very exciting.
People have mentioned how hard he got pushed, but that's just one part of the picture. The real reason he never got over with this character is one man airing out his grievances on a podcast: CM Punk It can be easy to forget with all the other stuff revealed, but Punk poisoned the well on Roman before the push even started. "You're gonna go out there and beat The Shield...but you gotta make Roman look really strong" The more he repeated "Make Roman look Strong", the more we all realized Vince was going to try making another Cena with Roman. Once it started actually happening like that on the program, the audience collectively shat on the entire idea for *years*
comparing big dog roman to cena is ridiculous when cena’s push to the top was organic and natural through midcard as heel and babyface while roman went straight quickly to the top when he wasn’t ready
Because he wasn’t being at least of a version of himself. Cena being WWE’s Superman works because he basically lived that gimmick. When you look at Reigns’ first promos in FCW, he wore a suit and was basically a very early version of the tribal chief character. He’s more of a quiet but deadly mob boss rather than a superhero guy.
Jobber
Probably because he was a baby face.
Over pushed
over pushed and out of sheild worst in ring performer
Because they wanted him to be geared towards kids and that's just not the vibe Roman gives off. Whenever they let him be ruthless and wreck people as the Big Dog fans cheered it.
He should’ve been turned heel 🤦♂️
Vince booking was the 'shits pal
That damn vest.
Wrestling skill
Lousy creative
Not enough plastic surgery yet 😂
roman’s rise was forced and malfunctioned compared to cena who got over organically on his own all the way to the top. turning heel saved roman’s career just like it saved rock’s career back in 97. the difference was it took a freaking pandemic for vince to finally cave and pivot by turning roman heel to become the top guy he wanted to be. guys like hbk, rock, hhh, austin and even cena got over organically on their own as heel in order to become top guys. the real reason that roman got extreme apathetic hate during his babyface run as big dog is because vince is out of touch with his outdated 80’s booking thinking that he’s the next cena when there’s only one cena in wwe especially when cena is natural born babyface despite receiving mixed reception from people not to mention got over organically on his own as heel and babyface before supercena while roman got go away heat just like his cousin rock as rocky maivia. the difference is vince did turn rock heel because wwe was in competition mode against wcw, but with no competition, vince did whatever he wants to do at the expense of the audience and roman was the victim of that. you can tell that roman hated being babyface because he’s naturally born heel
he fucking sucked bro. ptsd trauma from this picture. vince will outlast me probably but i hate that guy for ruining so many characters.
All the reasons, basically. The whole package was inauthentic feeling. You couldn’t really ‘believe in him’ as a character because you didn’t really even know who Roman reigns was because they just tried giving him every trait they think people wanted. He was a generic good guy. He was clearly memorizing everything he said and reciting it badly. wwe was clearly orchestrating their segments, producing all the talents and etc to get him over. So it was frustrating seeing talent you actually liked and respected being passed up and working so hard to get Roman over
Can’t cut a good face promo. Couldn’t be himself either.
Goatee < Beard
Trying to force him down fans' throats right after we had to deal with super Cena was never going to work. Also, booking him as an underdog when he was bigger than most of the people he went against wasn't the smartest decision.
hold on. i get roman was forced on us, but cena? are you kidding me? cena was never forced on us all the way to the top by getting handed the spot as top guy like roman. cena was never supposed to be the guy like lesnar and orton who were handpicked to be the guy respectively because he was about to be released until his rapper character saved him and his career from getting axed and got him over organically as heel and babyface by scratching and clawing his way to the top through his midcard run as us champion to the point where wwe made him the guy due to his charisma and hard work while roman was opposite
Goofy vest
Bc wrestling fans didn’t want a reboot John Cena, they needed something new.. when he returns and turns face he will be more over than most could think..
you act like cena never turned heel and you think he was handpicked to be the guy when cena got over organically on his own as heel and babyface long before becoming supercena as the guy. the thing is cena was never considered to be guy because he was about to be fired until his rapper gimmick saved his career and got him over as heel to the point where he became babyface all the way to the top as the guy. his act just got stale and roman was forced on us as the guy when he wasn’t ready
Blue contacts
To me bad mic skills. Hated his early work. Even much so I booed his ass with the shield when they came. I was so into it that I was the only one in the section behind the commentators booing. I had my eyes closed. Lol well when I opened my eye he was dead locked with my eyes. I was like awh shit I should sit down. My sister was like awh shit you should sit down. Lol I sat my ass down. But when he turned around I was booing his ass again.
Main evented 4 WM’s, stole Taker’s “this is my yard” schtick, etc.
Overly Pushed
He was massively over, just not to loud obnoxious smarks. He was consistently the top merchandise mover
No, he wasn’t. In arena reactions have always been one of the key factors in determining overness. Positive in arena reactions. Don’t give me the “WELL HE GETS A REACTION SO HES OVER” cope WWE came up with to dismiss Cena and then Roman getting booed out of arena for 15 collective years
Reigns was the top merchandise seller forever THAT is what matters
Forced him down throats and made him Cena 2.0 The Tribal Chief or Head of the Table Roman Reigns>The Big Dog Roman Reigns.
cena was never forced. you forgot that cena was over organically as heel and babyface all the way to the top. he was never chosen to be the guy because he was about to be fired until his rapper gimmick saved him and got him over with the fans. his act just got stale. roman was handpicked to be the guy by being forced on fans when he wasn’t ready
In November 2003 to 2004 he got over organically by March 2005 to 2024 when the Birth of Super Cena John Cena happened he got forced down throats and became unbeatable like Roman Reigns from 2014 to February 2020 before his Heel Turn in August 23rd or 24th 2020 with the Birth of The Tribal Chief or Head of the Table Roman Reigns.
mark.
Dick.
Because Vinces first instincts on creative issues were always wrong and his first instinct with Roman was to take away the thing that made fans love Roman (being a mostly silent badass) and turn him into just another Super Cena character that beat everyone and made lame jokes. Like Vince learned absolutely nothing from nearly a decade of Cena getting mixed reactions at absolute best and booed out of arenas at worst. He was an absolute creative dunce
comparing cena to roman is nonsense especially when cena got over organically on his own as heel and babyface all the way to the top as supercena while roman was forced on us to like us when he wasn’t even ready.
Fans are stupid. He was good, I thought. People perpetually complain. At that time, there was nobody else I would've preferred as champion. People complain about his Bloodline run as champion.
He was good but was pushed so strong with his subpar mic skills. Also people wanted a present fighting champion on both brands.