WWE News: WWE Not Planning To Use Roman Reigns As ‘Top Guy’ — Is The Role Now Open?
We saw Dean Ambrose retain the WWE Championship this past Sunday at WWE Battleground. Ambrose was drafted to WWE SmackDown in the WWE Draft last week, which allowed him to serve as the blue brand’s top guy. However, he was going into Battleground with a huge chance of losing. While Las Vegas odds actually had him as the favorite to win, this was not the case for most fans. WWE RAW drafted his two opponents at Battleground, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns, giving RAW a two-on-one advantage.
Despite the odds, Ambrose came out victorious after pinning Roman Reigns in the middle of the ring. Due to the ordeal, RAW was left without a World Title and had to bring out a new one in the WWE Universal Championship. Like the name or not, this new title will be fought for at WWE SummerSlam later next month. Seth Rollins did not lose the match at Battleground, so he was given a bye to the match while others competed in two Fatal 4-Ways on RAW to decide who would go on to the main event of the show. The winner would face Rollins for the title at SummerSlam.
New RAW roster member and WWE NXT gem Finn Balor would win the first while Roman Reigns would win the second. The two would go on to have a great match, and then the unthinkable happened: Finn Balor would pin Roman Reigns, clean, for the win. No tricks, no help. We now get to see a fan dream match in Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor at SummerSlam. What does this mean for Roman Reigns?
According to the Wrestling Observer, WWE is removing Roman Reigns from top guy status for now. For the time being, WWE will focus on others while Reigns will do other things on the RAW roster. While is uncertain if he will even participate in SummerSlam, we obviously see this move as punishment for the Samoan Powerhouse. He was suspended for violating the WWE Wellness Policy a month ago. WWE took the World Title off of him but still allowed him to compete for the title in the main event of Battleground.
This move was seen as controversial, as fans wanted to see Reigns punished for the mistake. A 30-day vacation is by no means a punishment, even if he was not paid for the month. He has a nice contract that would allow eleven other months of pay regardless. This is what Reigns’ supporters seem to avoid mentioning. Even if you hate the man, Reigns still does have talent that the WWE can use. The real issue is the locker room and their view of how people are punished or not punished.
It would not be right for some to get the shaft while others do not simply because of their name. Clearly, WWE felt they had to do a Shield triple threat now because all three won’t be on the same brand maybe ever. All will also be in top positions on the show they’re on. This is why they may have felt they had no alternative but to do the match despite the suspension, which did expire before the event anyway.
Now that it’s over, Roman Reigns is seeing the real punishment. While we can assume this issue with Reigns will be used as some sort of redemption angle, it does bring us to an interesting situation. WWE is not using Reigns as the top guy right now, and the position very well could be open to someone who can manage to step up and prove they’re worthy. While Seth Rollins is certainly someone most think of right off, you could make a case for Finn Balor as well.
He’s new to the main roster, but he’s been killing it for some time in NXT and around the world. You could also make a case for Dean Ambrose, the current WWE Champion who has been loved by the crowd for years now. In fact, he’s only grown in popularity the last few months and does have the top prize in the company.
All of this being said, WWE will probably still bring Roman Reigns back to the top. However, if someone can stand out while he’s out of the loop, that could result in that person taking Reigns’ spot. We can expect Reigns to be a main eventer even still, as he does have a use for the WWE for sure. This does not mean he will be at the top of the company, though. Things could get very interesting in the WWE soon.
[Image via WWE]
