An open discussion thread here...would WWE's seeming long-term goal of making Roman Reigns into a headlining star have been better served by having him be the one to break up the Shield?
While Reigns seems to already be penciled in as the 'the guy' to stop Lesnar's reign of terror at WM31, there's a very real chance that the fans will turn on Reigns and favour Ambrose in a replay of the Bootista situation from last winter. While Reigns is good, he is also a long ways away from being a finished product in terms of promos and in-ring ability --- Ambrose is inarguably well beyond Reigns in both categories. Dean also has a much more organically over character, or maybe just any kind of a character whatsoever, while Reigns has kind of just been filling time in the upper card and seemingly doesn't care about Rollins' betrayal.
Maybe the better course would've been to have Reigns be the one to turn on his pals. In this scenario, he basically takes Rollins' spot in winning the MITB and then has spent the last couple of months in crazy singles bouts with both Ambrose (who is still the crazy face) and Rollins (whose wrestling style really does lend itself better to being a face than a heel).
Long-term, Reigns holding the briefcase basically allows WWE to recreate the Batista-turns-on-Evolution angle. Lesnar holds the belt for months, maybe even to the point of winning the Royal Rumble to further establish his dominance and to 'eliminate' having a Wrestlemania challenger. This only leaves Reigns, who the Authority assumed wouldn't cash in since their Plan B wasn't necessary. This leads to some super-hot segment in February when Reigns announces he's cashing in at Mania, rips off his expensive suit to reveal a flak jacket, and boom, there's your WM31 main event.
"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." --- Bart Giamatti, on baseball
I get what you're saying, especially in regards to making Reigns just a skosh more interesting if challenging for WrestleMania.
However, given the match I saw on Monday night between Rollins and Ambrose, I'm very content with the current state of things. Now if we get Reigns/Rollins while Ambrose is out, that'd be something.
"Laugh and the world laughs with you. Frown and the world laughs at you." -Me.
I don't know, Reigns seemed a more natural babyface than the other two, and while the Shield was intact, he was certainly the one getting the most positive reactions. In retrospect, it might seem like a good idea to turn Reigns heel in place of Rollins, but at the time of the breaking of the Shield, it was the least logical.
In retrospect, I'm glad that Reigns is a face, because that can help mask some of his in-ring and on-mic deficiencies. As a WWE heel, you need to be in control of your longer matches, and that would just expose Reigns' limits more - as a face he can let the (more versatile) heel control the match, fight from underneath, and then hit his big moves for the comeback and get the win. They worked this formula at Summerslam, and it worked.
(edited by used2bcool on 20.8.14 1144) In a coat of gold or a coat of red, a lion still has claws
And mine are long and sharp, my lord, as long and sharp as yours!
DVDs I own that fall somewhere between "worth a look" and "very good": - Bloodbath: Wrestling's Most Incredible Steel Cage Matches - Bret "Hitman" Hart:
Thread rated: 6.79
#
#