Roman Reigns' Return to WWE from Suspension Must Be Catalyst for Heel Turn

Reality needs to bleed into Roman Reigns' story when he steps back into the WWE circus.

His suspension for violating WWE's Talent Wellness Program shouldn't be glossed over or used to create sympathy, but instead as a turning point in his transformation into a villain. It's time to stop going against the grain. It's time to stop shoving a square peg into a round hole. 

Reigns has to turn heel, and his real-life misstep is an apt way to kick that process off.

Just days after WWE booked Reigns to take on Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins in a Triple Threat match at the Battleground pay-per-view, The Big Dog got popped for taking an unspecified banned substance. WWE suspended him for 30 days, leaving Reigns' enemies and former stablemates with The Shield to build toward the match without him.

His punishment is over just in time to step into the ring with Ambrose and Rollins on Sunday's PPV. As Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net noted, Reigns' suspension ended on Thursday, and the former WWE champ is "advertised for Saturday's WWE Live Event in Wildwood, New Jersey."

WWE has any number of options for how to reintroduce him, but all the wisest ones involve him abandoning his babyface status.

Except for a brief stretch last December, Reigns' rise has been a flop. He has become this generation's Lex Luger, a man simply not over despite WWE's best efforts.

When he won the Royal Rumble in 2015, fans filled the arena with boos. 

What began as a vocal protest to Daniel Bryan not claiming WWE's top spot became a continued resistance to everything Reigns. Chants of "You can't wrestle!" echo during his matches. Jeers have become the soundtrack to his appearances.

It couldn't be more clear that a passionate, persistent part of the crowd simply didn't want to root for him. But WWE has pressed on, trying to sell Reigns to the public as a fan favorite.

Former WCW world champ Diamond Dallas Page spoke for many when he told Scott Fishman in an interview for Channel Guide Magazine, "If I was booking, I would do the same thing they did with Rocky Maivia. I would turn his ass heel." 

Reigns' suspension can easily be the key to that process. Dave LaGreca, from the Busted Open radio show, believes that the company can use it to paint him as a cheater:

That's spot-on. Reigns needs to tell the crowd that he cut corners because he will do anything to win. The Big Dog can shout that he doesn't care what the fans think, and that he felt everyone turned on him when he got suspended. 

There's a readymade story to tell if WWE weaves that reality into on-screen fiction. 

WWE should mirror a heel turn it executed with Reigns' cousin, The Rock. At Survivor Series in 1998, The Great One joined forces with the evil Vince McMahon to claim the WWE Championship. He tore into the fans, calling them "unintelligent pieces of trailer park trash." 

Reigns already generates a great deal of vitriol while trying to be a good guy. WWE using that to its advantage is a no-brainer. The next step needs to be to let him fire back at an audience that has been merciless to him for the past two years.

Hall of Famer Steve Austin spoke about Reigns' struggles to get over with fans on You're Welcome with Chael Sonnen (h/t Wrestling Inc's William Windsor). He thinks that WWE should unleash The Big Dog and see what happens.

"If this is the Reality Era, let the kid go out there and shoot and let the chips fall where they may," Austin said. "Let the kid have some freedom. Let the kid go out there and express himself. Let him go out there and experiment."

Stone Cold couldn't be more right. WWE has hampered Reigns by micromanaging him, by asking him to read lines that are better suited for other men.

Reigns' suspension has created a jumping-off point. He needs to return angry and fed up, morphed into a character who has little respect for rules. That's how he will reach his potential, not as the hero the audience has made it clear it isn't behind. 

WWE will find that fate handed it a means to turn Reigns into a red-hot act.