Roman Reigns Needs a Strong Supporting Cast Atop WWE

Roman Reigns is a Superstar many fans feel is on the way up in WWE.  The former Shield strongman has been running on his own since the group split up and has accumulated a sizable fan following along the way.  And the closer the company gets to WrestleMania, the more some believe his singles run will see its biggest reward in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

But there's plenty of time to ready Reigns for that main event stage, if that is indeed what WWE intends for him.  The biggest issue for him is the company's willingness to prepare the rest of the roster for his ascension to the top.  The fact is that Reigns needs a strong supporting cast if he is to become the top guy in WWE.

It's a notion that has caught fire with many fans over the past year.  Since his departure from The Shield, Reigns has looked the part of a main event star in the making.  He has the swagger, confidence and attitude to get over in a big way with the WWE faithful.

Reigns just looks as though he's capable of getting to that next level.  Unlike others who have come before him, Reigns does not seem like he needs a lot of work.  Much of that is attributed to his size and strength and the hunger he shows whenever he's in the ring.

Reigns has a killer's intensity in his eyes, and it shows every time he stares down his opponent.

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Reigns has a marketable image, one WWE could likely make a lot of money from.  Reigns could be for his generation what John Cena has been for his: an energetic performer capable of carrying the company on his back and making a ton of cash in the process.

But he should not do it alone.

Therein lies one of the key differences between Cena's WWE top run and the one many fans feel Reigns is heading for.  

WWE has leaned heavily on Cena, mostly because he has been the top moneymaker. Cena has been the one, the man all major storylines have been built around.  Despite the direction WWE has taken over the past 10 years, Cena's career and his strength as the top star have always been the end game.  

When The Nexus invaded, it was up to Cena to stop them, and he did.  When The Rock came back into the fold, Cena is the man who faced him in the main event at WrestleMania for two consecutive years. When CM Punk dropped his infamous pipe bomb in 2011, he did so at the expense of Cena and subsequently took the WWE title from him.

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And when the time comes for Reigns to advance to the next level, he will have to do business with Cena.

Whether or not Cena will be the ultimate win for Reigns on his way to possibly facing Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 remains to be seen.  But what cannot be debated is the fact that Cena is the measuring stick for every WWE Superstar who wants to climb the ladder.

It makes sense that the company would go all-in with the man who makes it the most money, and fans can surely understand the logic.

But Cena has basically done it on his own.  Yes, Punk rose to the top, but he was arguably always right under Cena, not over him.  Randy Orton has had an impressive WWE career, including 12 world championships, but he has always played second fiddle to Cena.

On the face of it, this does not seem like a problem.  But the flaws in WWE's direction with Cena at the forefront may well be showing.

The truth is that everyone around Cena is under him.  There is virtually no one on the WWE roster Cena would not be allowed to pin, and no one can challenge him enough for fans to believe he can be unseated as the top guy. 

credit: wwe.com

Lesnar may have destroyed him at SummerSlam in 2014, but Cena looks as strong now as he ever has. He does not need the WWE World Heavyweight Championship to be successful, and he has done well without it.

In the meantime, Lesnar has been an absentee champion; he has not been a factor at all.

This cannot be the way WWE continues to do business if Reigns ascends to the top spot.  The company needs a strong supporting cast for him to not only succeed but also flourish.  One man cannot realistically do it all, and if WWE creative does not understand that, then Reigns could suffer the same backlash from fans that Cena has dealt with for so long.

The issue is not if Reigns can become a big enough star to carry WWE.  The issue is that the rest of the Superstars around him must be legitimate threats to his title reign and become so entertaining that the company does not have to rely on him as much as it relies on Cena.

Reigns would still be the top guy, but he would have plenty of help to keep fans tuning in.

Much of that all-for-one mentality can be directly linked to The Attitude Era.  Stone Cold Steve Austin was the top star, the man who brought many fans to the table and put WWE in front of rival WCW. But fans also came to see The Undertaker, Triple H, The Rock, Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels and Mick Foley. 

WWE's talent pool was deep during those years, and while Austin was the main attraction, there was the sense that the company had a lot to choose from.  Fans could basically take their pick.

This could be what is happening with the company right now.  Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt, Ryback and Daniel Bryan are six Superstars who form the upper crust of today's WWE main event scene.

Each man has unique talents and a different character for fans to either love or hate.  In Cena's WWE, each one is basically a bit player.  But in Reigns' WWE, these men would become stronger and more viable main event prospects.

Again, Cena has done it all because that is the way WWE has booked him.  It worked for a long time, and for many fans, it was a good thing, at least in the short term.  But over time, Cena's character and routine have become painfully repetitive and overused to the point that WWE has painted itself into a corner with him.

It's the Cena show, and everyone else is just along for the ride.

A younger top star means an opportunity for the company to start again, to get back to the business of not only creating new Superstars but cultivating them as well.  Other talents will have a chance to grow, and they will do so along with Reigns.  It's a process that must take place if WWE is going to move into the future and grow into the kind of programming that offers more entertaining options than what fans have seen in recent years.

And it all starts with not only elevating Reigns but also elevating the talent around him.  It's the only way to ensure that he can succeed and that the company can grow in the future.