WWE News: When Roman Reigns Should Turn Heel, According To One Former Star

The John Cena conundrum has been replaced by the Roman Reigns predicament. Cena has occupied the company’s top spot for over a decade despite negative reactions from the majority of the audiences. WWE has been reluctant to turn Cena heel until his merchandise stopped selling out, a suitable replacement was ready to take over, or both. And rather than transition to that new star organically, WWE forced Roman Reigns on its fanbase, and it’s deja vu all over again.

The Reigns’ backlash stems from WWE leaking out the fact that he would win the 2015 Royal Rumble six months before the actual event took place. But the company stuck to its guns and ran with Roman. It’s hard to pinpoint whether there’s actual disdain for the performer himself, or more for the idea of his grooming when the audience desired others instead. Regardless, WWE finds itself in an interesting predicament, wherein their WWE World Heavyweight Champion and the new face of the company is being booed out of every building he enters.

Most critics and former WWE superstars believe the only way for Roman Reigns to succeed in the WWE is to turn heel. The Rock (Reigns’ cousin) did it 20 years ago when his initial character was rejected, and things turned out for the best. The feeling is Reigns may have to walk a similar path. Others believe Roman is already the company’s top heel, with no official turn necessary due to the reactions he receives on a nightly basis. Plus, for his first title-defense program, WWE has booked their champion against AJ Styles, arguably the hottest babyface on the roster. There are no split reactions in this feud. Styles is clearly the fan-favorite over Roman Reigns.

So because there hasn’t been that official “heel-turn” moment, everyone has played fantasy booker when it comes to flipping Reigns. His subtle new catchphrase, “I’m not a bad guy, I’m not a good guy, I’m the guy” may have kickstarted an eventual turn, but until there’s a clear-cut indication, fans will still recognize him as the babyface they don’t want to cheer for. Recently, Tommy Dreamer spoke with TSN in Canada and revealed when he believes the perfect opportunity is to turn Reigns to the dark side

Thanks to Wrestling Inc for the following transcription.

“Wait until Seth Rollins comes back. That can be (Reigns’) big heel turn. It’s funny because on social media on Mondays and Tuesdays, when everybody is talking about it just like we are, (Reigns’ heel turn) is a pop culture hot topic. To me, whatever happens with the (current) AJ Styles and Roman Reigns feud, the moment Seth Rollins comes back, Seth Rollins could be the biggest babyface WWE will have of all-time. ‘Hey, I want my title back, Roman Reigns.’ Guess what? He has just turned heel because no one is going to cheer him against Seth Rollins.”

There’s a similar line of thinking already with Dreamer’s opinions in that AJ Styles has already turned Roman Reigns heel. But Seth Rollins would certainly provide another jolt into the main event picture, especially if Reigns is still in it as most expect.

Reigns’ next couple months have already been rumored to be mapped out. This feud with AJ Styles is expected to last up until Money in the Bank, meaning the two will headline three straight pay-per-views, with Extreme Rules coming up in two weeks. Roman was also penciled in to square off against John Cena in the main event at SummerSlam in August. That remains the most intriguing potential program due to the fact that who knows who’s side the crowd would be on. Seth Rollins, meanwhile, could play a huge wild-card role in all of it as Tommy Dreamer laid out.