When Roman Reigns pinned The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33, he may have absorbed some of the Deadman’s powers. Not the ones that allowed Taker to summon lightning strikes or appear on the first note of an ominous gong, but his judiciary powers.
It’s unclear when, but Reigns has become the locker room leader in WWE. This delegation of power essentially makes him the judge and jury for policing backstage behavior.
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The Big Dog opened about the subject on SI’s Off The Board podcast:
“I swing the sword. If I put the sentence down then I lay it down. If you have heat, that’s what a locker room leader does, he speaks up for the rest of the bunch. It’s tough when you have so many cooks in the kitchen — I’m not the only guy who would speak up. But as the man that I am before I was in this business I would have spoken up if something was wrong, to what I am today within our industry. I am a locker room leader. I’d like to think I’ve been afforded the keys to the car and I drive that thing around every once in a while. But I’m going to take care of it.
When Roman says “This is My Yard,” it’s not just a slogan, but a literal take on his WWE status:
“I said this a long time ago, and it’s funny because I said it to CM Punk, but my whole goal is to leave this place better than I found it. I meant that. This business runs… people can say whatever they want about me, I was born in this business, this business runs through my veins. If you cut my arm, it’s WWE that will leak out of that. I was fed since I can remember, from my dad and if my dad wasn’t there than another man in our family stepped up and he was most likely making the money through this business. I’ve experienced a lot of hardships and a lot of great moments throughout my life because of this business. But the bottom line is it’s fed me my entire life. I don’t care who you are, you will not disrespect it, not in front of me, not today, not any day that I’m alive.”
Roman seems to have fully adopted his leadership role in WWE. From his tone, his status in the WWE ecosystem is unquestioned and revered by his peers.
The Big Dog’s locker room power has made headlines as of late. Amidst all of the reports and rumors of Enzo Amore’s “heat” backstage it’s been said that Roman Reigns was the one to bring the hammer down on Enzo. This is the same role that The Undertaker would play during his time in WWE. In sessions of “Wrestler’s Court” Undertaker would assume the role judge as he would determine the guilt or innocence of wrestlers and their locker room crimes. He was also in charge of the punishment which often leads to Superstars being kicked out of the WWE locker room.
This is said to be Enzo’s current punishment as he’s forced to dress in the halls of the arena rather than talent’s dressing room. It appears there has been little lost in the transition of power from Undertaker to Reigns. It most certainly is his yard now.
