The WWE Universe has come to know Roman Reigns as “The Guy,” but another guy may be better suited for that role to carry WWE. That’s the opinion of one prominent wrestling journalist who recently talked about why Reigns really isn’t the guy who should carry the latest generation of WWE forward. WWE has been constantly trying to give Reigns the major jumpstart he needs to get over with the fans, but it’s mainly caused resentment. Here are the latest details on who journalist believes is the best replacement for Reigns in that role of “the guy.”
As reported by Sportskeeda ‘s James Sullivan, a recent “shoot” conversation involving wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer sheds light on the Reigns’ situation . Meltzer spoke on the Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online this week and said he could tell as soon as The Shield broke up that Reigns was “not the guy.” He added “it became painfully obvious that’s the case” as Reigns continued his solo push forward. The WWE’s attempts to push Reigns to the top as their major superstar to take over for John Cena have continually failed with a vocal majority of fans. This has happened despite Reigns being a fan favorite during his original run with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins as “The Shield.”
During his shoot on Reigns , Meltzer said there’s a reason fans don’t stop watching WWE or Raw just because of Reigns.
“They have this hardcore audience… they’re gonna buy tickets to the big shows. It’s their frickin’ religion. And, when they don’t like it, they’re gonna complain but they’re still gonna watch.”
The WWE has booked Roman Reigns to appear unbeatable or indestructible at times. His feud with Braun Strowman was a particularly entertaining highlight of his wrestling career. However, a win over The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33 this past April really told the story. As Taker is a longtime legend and fan favorite, it became “painfully obvious” on the next night’s episode of WWE Raw that the fans were booing a man supposed to be over as a babyface. Reigns waited out the booing for what seemed like an eternity until he could say a few words and drop the mic.
A win over John Cena was supposed to be the latest in the efforts to establish Reigns’ credibility as “The Guy,” but Cena has followed a similar path to Reigns in that respect. He was once over with the fans and the WWE’s constant pushing and booking of him led to fan resentment. When their match finally arrived, it became a battle of two stars that the fans weren’t sure who to root for or against.
From there, WWE tried its latest move, by having a reunion of The Shield. Unfortunately, the momentum of that, which could have helped Reigns, was halted when he became ill before a huge match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs 2017 . Kurt Angle filled in for Reigns and received plenty of praise from the fans. Reigns is expected to finally return for a big Survivor Series match to team up with Rollins and Ambrose against The New Day. Meltzer still believes there’s another superstar out there better equipped to become the top guy in WWE.
Who is that guy? Per Meltzer, current WWE NXT Champion Drew McIntyre fits the bill. Meltzer contends, “It’s Reigns by default until somebody comes up… McIntyre checks a lot of boxes.” McIntyre was formerly with WWE and actually was billed as “The Chosen One” by Mr. McMahon for a good part of his early career. He’d eventually depart WWE for the rival TNA Impact Wrestling, become one of their top stars and then return back to WWE.
With that said, McIntyre is currently residing on the NXT roster, but it’s not far-fetched to believe he could join WWE within the next year. However, it will once again be up to the creative team to book him properly, or else it could become another failed move similar to what Reigns has dealt with. So far, it seems like it’s still in the books for WWE to keep pushing Reigns as much as possible.
WWE fans, who do you feel should be the “top guy” in the WWE right now if they were booked properly?
[Featured Image by WWE]
