Have you had a change of heart regarding Roman Reigns, the character, in the past few months?
If so, you’re not alone. You’re in a group with one of the greatest pro wrestlers of all-time.
During his WWE Hall of Famer career, Steve Austin’s mind for the business pushed him through a couple of rocky (no pun intended) gimmicks, all the way to the top. One of the many reasons his podcasts are so popular is because of his great analysis of the current product.
So, people took note in Spring of 2016 when Stone Cold said on his show that, in order to get fans to eventually accept Reigns, “the kid has got to have a heel run”.
But a lot has changed since then. Mostly, Vince McMahon and his creative team have given up the idea that Roman is a character they can write the kind of true-blue babyface promos they scripted for John Cena or Hulk Hogan during their runs at the top, or that he can deliver a goofy comedy bit with his cousin Dwayne Johnson’s charm. He still overcomes a lot, but he doesn’t win every time he’s on pay-per-view (PPV). And they used his signature win at WrestleMania 33 to antagonize his detractors without officially making him a villain (something they’ve continued into his program with Braun Strowman).
Austin’s noticed, and he’s liking what he sees now. On the Off The Board podcast, the Texas Rattlesnake told host Jimmy Traina that while Reigns still has room to grow, there’s nothing that needs to be changed up right now:
“I think Roman is a star and I think WWE needs to continue to go down the path they’re going with him. They don’t need to flip him heel just arbitrarily to make the fans happy... I think Roman is a star. Now with that being said, is there still room for him to learn and grow? Oh, hell yeah. By leaps and bounds. He’s nowhere near where he will be in three or four years. But at this point in his career, with a few not-so-great booking ideas, but also a learning curve on his part, he is where he’s at and he’s a top guy on that roster and he’s still gonna keep improving and he has to because he’s not a seasoned veteran.”
It’s not that Austin, or many of the fans, have flip-flopped on a heel turn for The Big Dog. It’s that, as Stone Cold says, we had to get past those “few not-so-great booking ideas”. Now that we are, a whole lot more of us are willing to believe in Roman Reigns.
Including Steve Austin.