While explaining why it took so long for her relationship with John Cena to make its way from Total Divas to on-screen WWE storylines, Nikki Bella offered a theory as to why she thinks you’ll never see a woman with Roman Reigns. From an interview with the Wrestling Compadres podcast:
“What they realized is that when John was in relationships on-screen, it didn’t do as well when he was just himself. So the fan base didn’t take him in like how that was.
“So after the last on-screen, they were like, ‘no girls with this guy.’ And I think with a lot of those guys — like, I don’t think you’ll ever see a girl with Roman (Reigns). There’s just certain people that it’s just, not that it takes away the ‘Superman’ feel of them, but a little bit.”
It’s too bad they didn’t ask her to expand on this point because there’s a fascinating discussion to be had there. It’s unclear exactly how pairing a woman with Reigns would alter perception of him, though my best guess would be vulnerability. A love interest creates a weakness, something Vince McMahon is clearly hesitant to show within characters he books as superheroes. His specific interest seems to lie in said characters overcoming physical rather than emotional challenges.
It’s too bad, too. That vulnerability is what makes those larger than life characters relatable, a shared struggle the common man or woman can connect to.
Oh well.