{"id":134903,"date":"2025-05-07T05:36:22","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T09:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=134903"},"modified":"2025-07-09T15:21:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T19:21:53","slug":"roman-reigns-wwe-acknowledge-the-perception","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/05\/07\/roman-reigns-wwe-acknowledge-the-perception\/","title":{"rendered":"Roman Reigns: Acknowledge the Perception"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roman Reigns, once The Shield\u2019s enforcer, has become one of wrestling\u2019s most polarizing figures, let alone just WWE. There\u2019s even a Wikipedia article about the <\/span>mere perception of him<\/span><\/a>. He\u2019s had various highs and lows, but WWE\u2019s insistence on him being a top champion inevitably won out, with him being one of the most popular active wrestlers in the industry today.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is Part 3 in my editorial series on The Shield<\/a>. In it, I mentioned their impact and the ongoing influence of the group and their architect-turned-visionary, Seth Rollins. Whereas Rollins had been positioned to be one of the top stars (and has become so), Reigns has reached his mountain of popularity\u2014an island of relevancy, if you will.<\/span><\/p>\n

From being an intriguing case of an unwanted protagonist to the most compelling antagonist, Reigns has had quite the ride in WWE. Hand-picked to take the torch passed by the likes of Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock, and John Cena, the Tribal Chief eventually found his way. I wanted to discuss his face and heel personas, as they\u2019ve undoubtedly shifted how each was\/is perceived.<\/span><\/p>\n

WWE\u2019s Stubbornness and Roman Reigns\u2019s Reception<\/span><\/h2>\n

While in The Shield, Reigns was popular enough. He was an eye-catching star who worked as a heavy that Seth Rollins<\/a> could direct, and worked well with Dean Ambrose. There was power within his moveset, and being in a group hid his weaknesses. But what if he had those taken away? What would he be then?<\/span><\/p>\n

After the infamous chair shot by Rollins, Reigns retained much of what The Shield was. The music, the vest, and the moveset. Yet his charisma floundered, and he stumbled over his words. Reigns had no real identity except for the past, and there was nothing to latch onto other than the past. Though he managed to put it all together as the years went on, the damage was done. <\/span><\/p>\n

Fans read the writing on the wall, that this was THE guy WWE wanted to push. Whether they liked it or not. And so, they rebelled. Try as he might, Reigns only came off as manufactured, not something organic. Most of it was unfair to him, nevertheless, these were the cards he was given.<\/span><\/p>\n

WWE, unrelenting, continued to give him high-profile matches. Over time, he grew into this role as a performer, but not as a star. Matches such as the WrestleMania 31 match against Brock Lesnar cement this retrospectively, but the hate at this time was nigh inescapable.. Reigns grew and had a variety of explosive moves, but it was not enough. At this point, he needed a full makeover.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Tribal Chief\u2019s Impact<\/span><\/h2>\n

Following his hiatus in 2020, Reigns returned in that year\u2019s SummerSlam shockingly. Attacking Braun Strowman and \u201cThe Fiend\u201d Bray Wyatt, there was a viciousness in him. Once it was revealed he was in cahoots with Paul Heyman, the very image of Reigns dissipated and formed into something else. The Big Dog was put out to pasture, and a Tribal Chief stood vigil in his place.<\/span><\/p>\n

All the years spent improving his promos, mannerisms, and expressions paid off, as every movement and diction of Reigns had weight. Though he didn\u2019t acknowledge his past unpopularity (unless fans chanted against him), he acted in familiar callousness to the rest of the roster. <\/span><\/p>\n

He even manipulated and tormented his cousins, The Usos, as well as Wise Man Paul Heyman<\/a> and eventual Honorary Uce, Sami Zayn. After enduring so much hate, Reigns directed it at the wrong people. Rather than making him a cut-and-dry heel, Reigns transformed into a character with something identifiable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The trouble with the Big Dog was that there was nothing to latch onto. Who was he? The Tribal Chief carried that past, but elevated it. Defined it. There was something akin to movie villains in the way he carried himself. <\/span><\/p>\n

Whereas his Big Dog Era saw him adopt moves while floundering on the microphone, The Tribal Chief spoke heavily, sometimes without speaking. His variety of moves decreased, though he still read as a threat to the WWE audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Case Study in Character Perception<\/span><\/h2>\n

Nowadays, Reigns is an act fans look forward to, albeit having soured some fans on his <\/span>political stance on the current United States presidency<\/span><\/a>. But he\u2019s no stranger to that.<\/span><\/p>\n

The contentious relationship with Big Dog Roman Reigns and fans would\u2019ve decimated most newcomers, but Reigns stuck with it. He tried his best, worked to improve and please the fanbase, but it wouldn\u2019t be enough. That vest symbolized a huge problem within the late 2010s WWE. He became despicable after shedding that visage. <\/span><\/p>\n

Crowds loved him for it, yet couldn\u2019t help but cheer for him. Now that he\u2019s lost everything and is a baby face, Reigns is in the status WWE wants, and he\u2019s done it his way. The lesson here? Let your wrestlers be themselves. Help them turn that dial to eleven. Know when to pivot when something doesn’t work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not uncommon in pro wrestling. Often, promoters and audiences may not be on the same page. Such instances also extend to wrestlers. In All Elite Wrestling, Cody Rhodes faced the same issue, though it was his design. <\/span><\/p>\n

Fans were ready for him to become a heel, yet he didn\u2019t budge. Oh, he alluded to it, but never fully crossed that line. The desire for heat then became go-away heat. AEW visibly learned this lesson during MJF\u2019s face run midway through his AEW World Championship reign, and kept him a heel.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to succeed, you look at your failures. And then you acknowledge them.<\/span><\/p>\n

More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/b><\/p>\n

Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013 Stay tuned to the\u00a0<\/i>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/a> for more on the Roman Reigns and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/i><\/p>\n

You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i>Netflix<\/i><\/a>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i>USA Network<\/i><\/a>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i>The CW<\/i><\/a>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i>Tubi<\/i><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i>A&E<\/i><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments) and\u00a0<\/i>Peacock<\/i><\/a>\u00a0(WWE Main Event as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<\/i>YouTube<\/i><\/a>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i>WWE Speed<\/i><\/a>).<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Roman Reigns, once The Shield\u2019s enforcer, has become one of wrestling\u2019s most polarizing figures, let alone just WWE. There\u2019s even a Wikipedia article about the mere perception of him. He\u2019s had various highs and lows, but WWE\u2019s insistence on him being a top champion inevitably won out, with him being one of the most popular […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5361,"featured_media":134920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2192,4,3],"tags":[77],"class_list":["post-134903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-roman-reigns"],"modified_by":"Marilee Gallagher, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5361"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134903"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134921,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134903\/revisions\/134921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}