WWE has yet to hesitate in reminding us that Roman Reigns is not a good guy, nor a bad guy, but The Guy. But to former WCW boss, Eric Bischoff, WWE is avoiding responsibility.
Bischoff joined All Things Wrestling Radio and opened fire upon WWE’s booking of Roman Reigns. To the former RAW GM, WWE not assigning a face or heel label to Reigns is proof that they don’t know how to handle him.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“You have to make a choice and you have to commit to a character. You’re either a babyface or a character that the fans relate to, support, love and aspire to be, or you’re not. And if you’re not, you’re the heel, you’re despicable and they need to learn to love to hate you” he explained.
To Bischoff, WWE is skipping over wrestling’s divine dichotomy in order to play it safe.
“And I think when you take that safe road in-between and let the fans decide…to me, it’s a cop-out. To me, that’s kind of like raising your hands and saying, ‘look, I’ve got ideas. I really don’t have a plan, so let’s just put him out there and let the fans choose.’ I think that’s just the most cowardly creative cop-out that I’ve ever heard,” he asserted.
Bischoff raises some interesting points. While WWE would counter by pointing at their balance statement, traditionally speaking Bischoff may be right.
More: WWE Has a Return Date for Roman Reigns
Perhaps WWE best argument for not creating a clear heel or clear face persona for Reigns would be the John Cena Effect. Despite being polarizing for a decade, John Cena is likely the most profitable Superstar in WWE history. To Vince McMahon and Co. putting Reigns on the same path of dividing crowds may the best way to make the most money.
However, as much as WWE would like us to think that they don’t care how Reigns is received, some of their recent actions contradict their supposed apathy.
WWE handed Reigns a pay-per-view losing streak after WrestleMania in order to humanize the character. As mentioned by Bischoff, this is WWE trying to make him more relatable. The reverse psychology didn’t work that well and Reigns still got his boos. However, WWE then fired their secret weapon in the Shield reunion.
Up Next: 4 Reasons Why WWE was Forced Into Reuniting The Shield
Rumors began to surface that the highly coveted Shield homecoming was just a plot to steal cheers for Roman Reigns. It may be nothing more than a media driven conspiracy, but all signs point to Vince McMahon trying to craft the ultimate rise for Reigns. That happens by Reigns beating Lesnar at WrestleMania 34 to a booming ovation.
And as of November, it doesn’t look like Reigns’ New Orleans victory will be met with such electricity.
Bischoff’s central point is that WWE is passing the bill when it comes to determining the Reigns character. While fans have played a role in the career of every professional wrestler to have laced a pair of boots, allowing them to determine the make-up of a character is questionable.
Reigns set to return in the next few weeks after battling the mum. It’s believed he’ll be taking a leadership role on Team RAW for Survivor Series, and from there, he may be heading to yet another Royal Rumble victory. As WrestleMania approached, Vince McMahon won’t be able to resist booking Reigns like a Greek God in order to build him for Lesnar. While Reigns may get clarity on his character’s morality one day, it doesn’t look like it will not be happening anytime soon.
