Roman Reigns Must Defeat Daniel Bryan at WWE Fastlane 2015

Roman Reigns has a huge match this Sunday, and it's one he must win.  The match with Daniel Bryan to determine the No. 1 contender for Brock Lesnar's WWE World Heavyweight Championship is not a match he can afford to lose.  

Now, if you think I'm just a "mark" for Reigns, think again.  When the bell sounds on Sunday and Reigns locks up with Bryan, I'll be rooting for Bryan, hands down, as I'm sure most WWE fans will be, too.  And I've been vocal about my dislike for Reigns' character development.  If I were to make a list of who I'd like to see get a major push, Reigns would be behind seven or eight other guys (Bray Wyatt would be atop that list).

Yet in spite of all that, Roman Reigns must defeat Daniel Bryan at Fastlane.  Why?  For a number of reasons, the two most important of which I'll explain below.

It Will Reinforce the Notion That He's "Not Ready"

Roman Reigns as a part of The Shield was mostly a silent badass who came into matches and dropped the hammer on his opposition.  After The Shield disbanded, Reigns' character changed little.  He became a lone-wolf, silent killer-type babyface who did his talking with his fists.  Fans were slowly getting into Reigns, and support was building.

But then he got injured.  And during his injury, he had some pretty terrible "via satellite" promos that showed he didn't have much to say, and what he did say wasn't really worth hearing.  Then he returned, only to compare himself and his opponents to cartoon characters and nursery rhymes.  His promos sounded heavily scripted and unnatural.  

It didn't help that, prior to winning the Royal Rumble this year, he had one signature win at a pay-per-view under his belt.  He defeated Randy Orton at last year's SummerSlam, but to many fans, he looked exhausted only a few minutes into the match.  

A loss by Roman Reigns would be devastating in the face of all that.  Reigns has not done much to inspire the confidence of the fans.  Instead, if WWE hopes to make a star out of him, it needs to play to his strengths.  

Daniel Bryan is one of the best technicians today, and a fast-paced match against Bryan isn't exactly what many fans envision when they picture Roman Reigns winning.  If Reigns turns in a bad match and wins, some fans will boo, sure.  But if he turns in a bad match and loses, it will give his detractors ammunition to derail his ascent in WWE, perhaps for a long time.  

After all, WWE wouldn't be happy if its next top babyface is getting booed by half of an arena before he's even hit it big.

The Royal Rumble (and Other Events) Will Continue to Lose Credibility

The Royal Rumble is supposed to set in motion the events that will lead to WrestleMania.  The winner is supposed to have a guaranteed title shot in the main event.  But that may not happen this year.  Yes, title shots won at the Royal Rumble have been defended before, and some of the Superstars who defended their shots lost.  There is nothing new under the sun...

But this time just feels...different.  It feels less like it's part of a storyline and more that it's a panic move.  Don't get me wrong: I think WWE is smart to pay attention to what its fans want.  And fans clearly want Daniel Bryan.  

Where WWE made the mistake is picking the wrong winner in the first place.  WWE, rather than simply giving fans what they wanted, decided it would be a good idea to give fans what they thought they should want and got burned.  Heck, the crowd booed The Rock—The Rock!—when Roman Reigns won the Rumble.

WWE is in a tough spot here, no doubt.  And while potentially putting Daniel Bryan in the title match at WrestleMania is the right decision, the possibility that Reigns could also lose his shot cheapens the Royal Rumble.  If all it takes for WWE to strip someone of their title shots are a few rowdy crowds, then storytelling (and what happens on TV) doesn't really matter anymore at all.

In the end, Reigns needs to win this match.  No matter what scenario plays out, he can't lose.  A loss by Roman Reigns would only give his critics more ammunition and would cheapen the Royal Rumble.  

If WWE has any hopes of Reigns being a top babyface, then he has to be in the title match at WrestleMania.  Add Daniel Bryan to that match like last year if necessary.  But Reigns can't take this setback right now.