Roman Reigns Officially Ends the Heel/Face Debate

For decades, wrestling has relied on the hallowed heel/face dichotomy. While the lines between good guys and bad guys have progressively blurred through the years, it’s still a principle that WWE adheres to. Except for when it comes to Roman Reigns.

For Reigns, WWE is happy to allow him to be a heel at times and a face at others. Somehow, Reigns is neither, yet both. However, this grayed morality is Reigns’ and WWE’s take on a more realistic character. The Big Dog explained this in an interview with ESPN:

“To me, I’m neither. If I’m totally off here then I’m totally off, but I’m the first of my type. I’m the first true gray area guy … Just being what he was born to be.”

Reigns would continue in how he aims to fluctuate between being good and bad:

“I don’t go out there and act crazy and flail around and be a heel. I don’t come out there smiling and kissing babies, telling each town it’s my favorite town at the end of the night. I keep it real. Sometimes I’m in a good mood. Sometimes I’m in a bad one. I want my character to be as human as possible, but not just a regular human that you see every single day.”

“It’s just one of those things that helps me work with everybody. It’s not about, ‘Well we can’t tell this story because it’s two bad guys going against each other, or it’s two good guys.’ I can adjust to any way [we want to do it]. I can wrestle any way I want. Sometimes you fight pissed off. Sometimes you fight smart with technique. It just depends.”

This is perhaps the most revealing quote on the Roman Reigns character yet. While fans are clamoring for him to choose good or bad, it’s just not going to happen. It sounds like Reigns was designed to be a “tweener” – thus giving him unprecedented artistic freedom within WWE’s stories.

It looks like this is an evolution of the John Cena character – who is as wholesome as it comes. However, despite being so pure, Cena is resoundingly booed on a consistent basis. Reigns is a shift in the Cena character. While he’s still being positioned atop the company, he only has notes of John Cena in his DNA. I mean, consider his attempted murder on Braun Strowman. This tendency to be extreme makes Reigns comparable to Stone Cold Steve Austin. WWE wants you to think of Reigns as a renegade, one who has no ties to anything or anyone.

Eventually, this will be his perception, but it’s going to take several more years of conditioning. For now, let’s just enjoy the experiment.