Hot Take: WWE is Training Fans For Life After Roman Reigns

There's no easy off-ramp for WWE and its audience when it comes to the end of the current Roman Reigns era.

Fatigued on the historical run as champion and Bloodline storyline or not, fans have been accustomed to a spectacle-status show every single time the Tribal Chief has come around to WWE programming or defended a title. So much so, it has lured—and given fans a heel—Rock back to the business in a big capacity.

Yet there's a good chance it's all about to come to an end.

Perhaps this is why over the last few weeks leading up to the March 22 edition of SmackDown, it has almost felt like a Hollywood version of Dwayne Johnson is the one taking on Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40 in a solo match, not Reigns.

Indeed, that has been one of the minor criticisms in all of this lately—Rock has been center stage, exchanging slaps and intense social media and/or broadcast promos with Rhodes. By comparison, in part due to attendance and in part due to everyone looking smaller next to Rock, Reigns has felt like something of an afterthought.

But perhaps it is by design.

After all, if Reigns loses his title at 'Mania to Rhodes, it's not like he's going to show up the very next night and hop into some other feud. Presumably, he won't come around that often at all while WWE hits on a slow burn to Reigns vs. Rhodes for something like SummerSlam, or even 'Mania 41.

So right now, maybe WWE's re-training fans a bit at a measured pace by having Rhodes largely feud with Rock. It would be the right move, too, because a gradual shift back to a more traditional champion is better than ripping the rug right out from underneath fans.

This is a drum we've beaten often—Rhodes is going to be more akin to Seth Rollins as a champion. The special attraction is going to be gone. And for as much as fans seem to clamor for a fighting champion, audiences turned on Rollins pretty quickly. Rhodes will be very similar in that he accepts all main-roster challengers and if it's anything like his messy booking for the better part of the last year (remember when he was a tag champion??), that's not very encouraging.

Keep in mind that while most fans clamor this as a golden age for WWE again, the company pulled this off with a part-time champion in Reigns—and might not have been able to do it without him for contrast compared to the typical Rollins or Rhodes-style champion.

So, maybe this is the design. Reigns isn't going to come back and challenge say, Gunther for a mid-tier title. He's not going to accept non-title holding challengers. At this point, he doesn't really have a reason to entertain non-Rock family drama such as Jey Uso. And that's a nice place for him to remain—he's got the part-time-ish Brock Lesnar, final-boss role down perfectly well already.

Speaking of those mid-card titles, it helps that this new era of creative has elevated those so well. Even if Gunther's historical Intercontinental title reign comes to an end at 'Mania, it's certainly prestigious enough now to headline shows and lessen the burden of a Rhodes championship era making both weekly programs feel a little too similar. The excellent state of the women's division sure doesn't hurt, either.

Admittedly, this is all presuming Reigns even loses. There's a not-terrible chance that he ends up retaining again and his title and story remain the massive spectacle that is the perfect counterbalance to the Raw title's more traditional WWE-isms. Then, he and Rock feud over the title and familial title of Tribal Chief. Cody stays in chase mode, where he's better off anyway and can finish his story later. The title his father never won isn't leaving the promotion, after all.

But, pretend Reigns is going to lose at 'Mania. Pretend that that overbooked tag match on Night 1 with the silly stipulation that features Rock in a tag match plays a role in Reigns losing on Night 2.

That somewhat predictable-feeling route might help explain the last few weeks. And if it's the course of action, WWE could, if nothing else, lean into the feel of the last few weeks when Reigns sort of revolts against Rock hogging the spotlight (or even playing a role in his loss). Perhaps this is even a vehicle building speed toward a long-term Roman babyface turn against a Hollywood Rock.

Either way, if one were to write a blueprint that sketches the designs of how to ease fans out of the Reigns era, the last few weeks would be it.