With fans recently criticising WWE for always having the same stars in the main event scene, Roman Reigns added a lot of fuel to the fire with his recent comments.
While speaking with Complex, Reigns highlighted Cody Rhodes as the only star besides himself who is able to carry the WWE banner.
While talking about what it takes to be a superstar in WWE, Reigns said:
“You put them with someone like me, and I’ll be able to exploit it and then try to magnify and make it even greater, but they got to have that thing going for themselves already.
“As it’s been shown with John (Cena) and then also with me, it takes a decade or so.
“Can you perform every single time and then deliver when you’re asked? Can you do it when you’re tired? Can you do it when you’re sick? Can you do it when you’re hungover after WrestleMania?”
“Can you carry the banner for this company? This is a billion-dollar machine. It’s not easy. There’s only been one who’s been able to carry that banner, and that’s been Cody.”
Considering Reigns in the same interview reminded fans that he’s preparing for retirement, these seem like odd comments to make at first, bringing even more attention to criticisms of WWE about their tendency to rely on familiar names.
If you take a closer look at what the OTC actually said, you can see that these likely weren’t just random, emotional throwaway comments, and were actually very calculated, with several intentions.
So why did Roman Reigns just expose what perhaps is WWE’s biggest problem? Reasons include:
Motivating the WWE locker-room
While fans are more familiar with Roman Reigns’ on-screen role, the Tribal Chief has an important unofficial role in WWE, being the locker room leader.
Having been a main-eventer in WWE for over a decade, many younger or rising stars look up to Roman Reigns backstage, and use him as a role model for how to act, train and think away from the ring.
Reigns’ rhetorical questions weren’t just to inform the interviewer what it takes to become a top WWE star, they were also a way of indirectly telling the likes of Oba Femi, Trick Williams and Penta what would be required of them if they were to step up to the plate.
Also, by naming Cody Rhodes as the only other star able to carry the WWE banner, Reigns is effectively giving everyone else on the roster a kick up the backside, encouraging stars to prove that they have what it takes to be the face of the company with a little tough love, and a hint of reverse psychology.
Acknowledging the fans
Prior to SummerSlam, there was a lot of discourse within the WWE fanbase about WWE using the “same four stars” in its main event picture, ahead of Cody Rhodes challenging for CM Punk’s Undisputed WWE Title, and Seth Rollins fighting for Roman Reigns’ World Heavyweight Title.
Not only did Triple H acknowledge this sentiment during the post-SummerSlam press conference, the SmackDown world title scene has only grown more chaotic, with Sami Zayn winning back the Undisputed WWE Championship, and Finn Balor, Kevin Owens and Johnny Gargano finding themselves in the title picture.
Roman Reigns’ comments mark the trifecta of WWE proving that it understands this criticism. While WWE’s booking of the likes of Oba Femi, Trick Williams, Sol Ruca, Je’Von Evans and many more prove that the company has put a lot of effort into creating new stars this year, the company will want fans to understand that Rome wasn’t built in a day.
While Roman Reigns usually asks for fans to acknowledge him, his comments about how it takes a while to truly build a new star appear to be indirect responses to this often-highlighted bugbear.
Preparing to pass the torch
During this interview with Complex, Roman Reigns stated that he believes he has “a couple to a few years” of loose ends and logic gaps worth revisiting ahead of stepping away from the ring.
With Reigns’ schedule and impending retirement, no match he has from here on out will be throwaway, with The OTC having a limited number of opportunities to create new stars.
Reigns’ insistence that he and Cody Rhodes are the only two people who can carry the WWE banner fuels speculation about the stars who will eventually surpass them, and will make fans consider each Roman Reigns match from now on a star-making opportunity for whoever stands across the ring from him.
With Roman Reigns looking for replacements both as the face of WWE, and as Tribal Chief in the Bloodline, the OTC’s recent comments just made it so that whoever ultimately scores a victory over him will be viewed as an even bigger star.
To make sure you stay up to date with all the biggest wrestling and WrestleTalk news, follow us on Threads by clicking this link!
Comments.
Loading comments…