Roman Reigns Should Not Win the Royal Rumble

One thing has become abundantly clear over the last month: Roman Reigns cannot win this year’s Royal Rumble.

Sure, he might be one of the favorites heading into the show. He does have the size, in-ring talent and physical charisma to be a WWE main eventer and guarantee himself solid booking.

But WWE has to face the bleak truth: Reigns’ current character is all over the place. He’s not terribly interesting. He lacks momentum. 

If he does win the 30-man match, it could lead to universal derision and boos from the fans in attendance, like when Dave Batista won last year’s match. Interestingly, a victory would do Reigns’ career more harm in the long run. The fans will resent him as they did Batista.

Credit: WWE.com

That’s the last thing Vince McMahon wants.

WWE Creative has made one mistake after another with Reigns in recent weeks. The bookers send him out there show after show to give nonsensical promos. They force him to tell unfunny jokes that make no one in the world laugh. 

He comes off like a terrible cartoon character most of the time.  

Depressingly, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted on his Twitter account recently that McMahon was personally writing Reigns' promos, a claim that raises alarming questions about the boss and his ability to get over babyfaces these days. Oh, Vince. You may have finally lost your touch.

Credit: WWE.com

Case in point: Reigns’ hideous “Jack and the Giant Beanstalk” promo from his confrontation with Big Show on Monday’s Raw. It’s frightening that anyone thought this would be a good idea.

It feels like McMahon and the writers are trying to script him as a second-rate version of John Cena. It’s abysmal.

The sad thing is that Reigns has tremendous appeal as a babyface—but only if the writers let him be himself backstage and in promos. He’s a naturally personable and funny guy, but even he can’t redeem this awful, cliched material.

Unsurprisingly, the fans aren’t too pleased with the direction of his character right now:

"

Roman needs to be a strictly SILENT but deadly character in WWE because words don't agree with him. #wwe #raw

— Jade✨ (@UnderscoreBowie) January 13, 2015"

Scripting Reigns to win at the Royal Rumble is a disaster waiting to happen. The fans can’t accept him in his current role. It’s hard to see anyone getting excited for a Brock Lesnar vs. Reigns bout.

Another problem with a possible Reigns victory on January 25: Daniel Bryan is a superior choice as winner. Bryan is as popular with the crowds as ever, and coming off his serious neck injury, he has a built-in storyline.

Fans are desperate to see him succeed and reach the top of the WWE mountain again.

His current comeback angle is exciting; Reigns’ current character is not.

Reigns can be a big star one day. Someone with his talents can never be ruled out. But it is time for WWE to put his big push on hold for a while—at least until it figures out a good creative direction for him.