Why The Roman Reigns Heel Turn Needs To Happen At Wrestlemania 33

I don’t understand the hatred towards Roman Reigns. While he is no AJ Styles in the ring, or Dwayne Johnson on the mic, the guy can hold his own between the ropes. Ever since the Royal Rumble in 2015, Reigns has been the recipient of constant hate and deafening boos every time his music starts playing. I respect fan’s opinions, I really do. But every time I hear someone say “I hate Roman Reigns,” my response is simply, “why?”

Some of the responses I get are hysterical. “He has been forced down our throats.” So has John Cena. “His mic skills are crap.” Ever heard Brock Lesnar deliver a promo? “He is a crap wrestler.” Well, if you think you can do better, by all means, prove it. Roman’s promo skills are bad because WWE has made them bad. People often forget, or just plain don’t know, that nearly all promos in the WWE are scripted. There are only a handful of people on the roster that aren’t tied down by a script.

Here’s the problem. Instead of turning him heel straight away, WWE has elected to try and push him to the moon as a face. It hasn’t worked, instead, the boos have gotten louder and louder. While he does still have some fans, (myself included) our cheers are constantly drowned out by the people who have chosen to hate him, which again, I respect.

Roman needs a character change, and quickly. He needs to become the dominant, ass-kicking, unstoppable heel that people will take notice of. Instead of, well, John Cena 2.0. A perfect example of how effective this can be, is The Rock. When he debuted under the name Rocky Maivia, he was a smiling, happy face, and the fans hated it. So much so that they called for his death. What happened? He turned, and became The Rock. Arrogant and mean. But it worked, he is now one of the most beloved faces in history. Case and point, his return in 2011. I have NEVER heard a crowd cheer so loud.

This is exactly what Roman needs. Embrace the hatred that is already there. Have him come down to the ring, destroy his opponents, then leave. Have people like Paul Heyman help with his promo skills. But most importantly, let the guy talk. Let him come down to the ring and get his frustrations out, no script and no boundaries. Let him sound off on all of the fans that have booed him, simply for doing his job.

This is how you get Roman Reigns over with the fans. Let him do it, don’t make us feel there is someone behind the scenes pushing him. Make us fans feel like the guy deserves to be in the Main Event picture, instead of telling us he does.

WWE Creative will have no better opportunity to make this turn effective than Wrestlemania 33. Against someone we all care about. He doesn’t need to win the match. But he does, need a change up.