Roman Reigns' Suspension, a Possible Heel-Turn and More from the 30-Day Mailbag

Roman Reigns got suspended. 

This is a huge deal, but in the 24-hour news cycle, it will be an old deal by the time he comes back. Hardcore fans will brandish this in his face a week or so into his return, but the worst-case scenario is that will just make him more interesting.

Reigns Going Away?

By the looks of it, it will be business as usual come Battleground. WWE is treating Reigns' suspension like an afterthought.

Sure, it was announced, but no changes have been made to the announced main event. With Reigns set to return before the July pay-per-view, he is still advertised on everything from WWE.com to Wikipedia for the show.

Any potential punishment for Reigns would most likely be subtle. Still, taking the deciding pinfall, an extended period of time without a world championship or competing in the midcard are all possibilities. There's also the chance that WWE will completely "Randy Orton" this suspension and allows Reigns to pick up where he left off.

Reigns accepted responsibility on Twitter for his actions, as opposed to going the Adam Rose route, which can only help him politically.  

What could potentially hurt is that WWE seems to be just as invested in the concept of The Shield as it is in Reigns. With WWE now crowning all three members of the defunct yet somehow overexposed faction as world champion, they're all on equal footing.

The good news is that this will allow Reigns to exist at or near the top of the card. The bad news? WWE will always be in position to shuffle the deck and let somebody else be top hound.

#SethUp?

It's quite clear that no one man is going to replace John Cena. WWE sees The Shield as three John Cenas who will carry the company through feuding, reuniting and pitting two against one for the next 10 years.

Roman Reigns is the mainstream heartthrob who appeals to traditional WWE sentiments. Seth Rollins is the polished wrestler and hipster heartthrob. Dean Ambrose is the wild card, as his blend of persona and wrestling ability make him the hybrid of Reigns and Rollins.

Expect The Shield hot potato to be the narrative that eventually dominates the "2012-2022" section of WWE's Wikipedia page. Think of the New Era like the New Generation. When Hulk Hogan left WWE in 1993, after the whole Lex Luger fiasco it was up to a crop of talent to make WWE great again. 

The New Generation was anchored by Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, but WWE didn't really invest all of its resources into one talent. 

WWE has educated its fans to believe in The Shield, even though the three haven't been a unit in two years. Sure, WWE has always been at its best when it's clear who the biggest star in the company is. But in a perfect world, all three will be able to stand on their own as top stars without endlessly mentioning their brotherhood.

He's Not a Good Guy?

Sure, why not? Reigns as a hybrid babyface has been a lot of fun and has created legitimately impassioned fan reactions. But now WWE has enough real-life dirt on Reigns to make him a three-dimensional heel. Reddit should never turn anybody heel. Life should.

Now that Reigns can be perceived as a front-office pet project and a cheater, why not book him that way? If Reigns simply returned and brushed off this potentially big opportunity, his existence would only become more uncomfortable. Though it has not been revealed what exactly was in Reigns' system, "steroid" chants will be inevitable. I'm not sure that would do wonders with WWE investors.

Reigns now has real-life adversity that will only make him better if he owns it and comes back strong. Winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in his first match back from violation through dirty tactics could be the key to one of the deadliest heels we've seen in years. People like being angry on Twitter.

The platform of social media is an illusion that empowers even the most anonymous people. Whenever there is fodder for social media outrage or animosity, it becomes addictive, which will feed into WWE's bottom line. Using outrage on social media to one's advantage is an intricate art form that can serve as a most lucrative lightning rod.

Just ask Skip Bayless.