According to internet wrestling czar Dave Meltzer, WWE is taking a chunk of Daniel Bryan’s magical 2014 storyline and applying it Roman Reigns’ story arc.
“They’re still trying to tell the story that [Roman Reigns] is Daniel Bryan and management is screwing him over and that’s why he’s not the champion. But nobody buys it. They’re trying to figure out a way to get people to cheer him. We’re supposed to think that all these things that happened — the whole thing that they favor Brock Lesnar but it didn’t work. I guess for whatever reason even though it didn’t work nobody has a better idea so that’s what they’re going with” said Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.
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In recent weeks, Reigns has been vocal about the establishment getting in his way. This started around WrestleMania 34 when he claimed Brock Lesnar had privileges that other Superstars didn’t. Reigns picked this narrative back up after his controversial loss at the Greatest Royal Rumble. He was vindicated when a referee admitted a mistaken ruling, yet WWE did not amend the sticky situation. Having lost two consecutive high profile matches to Lesnar, Reigns is arguably out of contention for the Universal Championship.
However, if Reigns can get fans to buy that he’s been done wrong, it could justify a third match with Lesnar.
But will this really work? Could WWE and Roman Reigns convince fans that he is the underdog?
It seems unlikely. The wrap on Reigns is that fans are all too aware that he is the exact opposite of a Cinderella story. For years it’s been plainly observed that wants to push Roman to the moon and there isn’t an achievement too big for him. He’s won Royal Rumbles, become a Grand Slam winner, and main evented four-consecutive WrestleMania’s—to scratch the surface of his long list of accolades.
The reason Daniel Bryan’s story worked was that we could believe it. When Stephanie McMahon said he was a “B+ Player,” we bought in on the basis that she probably wasn’t lying. Bryan was undersized, had been previously released by the company, and seemed to only have a small number of people who actually believed in him.
Hey, at least Roman has that last one going for him.
In all seriousness, if this is the plan, it won’t work. Reigns is a much different character and cannot be simply tossed into that storyline. WWE must be close to exhausting all options to get Reigns cheered and it feels like his heel turn may be unavoidable.
[H/T Ringside News]
