How WWE Can Improve Roman Reigns' Character

Roman Reigns' current babyface character has to be one of the worst things WWE has come up with in recent times.

It's not just that his jokes aren't funny—they aren't, of course—but the real issue is just how horrendously ill-suited they are to Reigns' current role.

He's supposed to a monster babyface, but the writers insist on making him a clown and having him do terrible voices and quote cartoon characters. His promo on last Monday's Raw was particularly egregious.

Credit: WWE.com

No wonder wrestling fans are struggling to take him seriously. People in WWE don’t even seem to take him seriously.

Unsurprisingly, the fans have had an overwhelmingly negative response his current antics, as some recent Twitter posts illustrate.

"

Dear Vincent Kennedy McMahon, please stop writing Reigns' promo. Sincerely, everyone who doesn't want to dislike him. #RAW

— Gavin (@LordRollins) January 13, 2015"

"

I'd rather watch paint dry than sit through a Roman Reigns promo.

— ㅤ (@cvlgarykidd) January 18, 2015"

Reigns winning this week’s Royal Rumble match instead of huge fan favourite Daniel Bryan also has the potential for disaster. The wrestler will likely get booed out of the Wells Fargo Center if he wins. That is how bad things have gotten.

It's not too late for Reigns, of course. He’s big, talented and has some star power and charisma. Because of these attributes, he will always have the potential to be a main eventer.

But Vince McMahon and his bookers have to be willing to admit that their scripting of Reigns right now is not working.

They also have to face the fact that Reigns is not John Cena and can't continue to script him like he is. That's another worrying thing about the direction of Reigns' character—his promos are eerily reminiscent of Cena's childish material.

Jessica Hill/Associated Press

However, while Cena’s material may occasionally work for him and garner him lots of younger fans, Reigns is a different matter entirely.

He simply cannot pull it off. He is not suited for it on any level. It’s downright embarrassing to see the former Shield member try to make his scripted promos come off as genuine week after week.

The obvious key to the star's success is allowing him to be himself.

Credit: WWE.com

Fans got tantalizing glimpses of the cool, relaxed side of Reigns in his time in The Shield, during the stable's short face turn in the spring of 2014. The writers need to wholly and firmly embrace that aspect of his personality. Send him out there with a few bullet points and let him improvise the rest.

At a time when everything on WWE programming comes off as tightly scripted and micro-managed, this may seem like a big risk on the company’s part, but frankly, it’s hard to see how McMahon could botch his character any worse than he already has.

The boss and his gaggle of writers may have nothing to lose at this point.