Roman Reigns in the Current WWE Championship Picture Is a Bad Idea

For the latter part of 2014, Roman Reigns was being groomed as the next poster boy for the WWE. When the fans caught on that he was being manufactured to be the next top guy, his support quickly diminished, and his jeer volume began to increase. His match with Randy Orton at SummerSlam grossly showed his greenness on the big stage, and critics were quickly chomping at the bits to expose him.

Then, the Royal Rumble happened.

Credit: wwe.com

His victory was one of the most predictable Royal Rumble wins in recent history, and even The Rock could not save the Philadelphia crowd from making Reigns the biggest heel of the evening. To make matters worse, the WWE continued to push him to the moon, despite stark opposition from the crowd.

However, the WWE did not give up on Reigns, and it proved as much with his match at Fastlane against Daniel Bryan. In fact, this was the first true exhibition of Reigns where fans started to respect his progression, coming a long way from his match against Randy Orton just six months earlier.

Credit: wwe.com

Although his family was reportedly furious at the outcome of the match, according to PWMania.com, not capturing the championship was a proverbial "blessing in disguise" for Reigns. With Seth Rollins becoming champion, and because of his valiant effort against Brock Lesnar, Reigns elicited an underdog reaction from the fans, which is something that he lacked during his fast track to the main event.

Credit: wwe.com

His match with Big Show at Extreme Rules was exceptionally booked, and it gained respect from the smarky Chicago crowd, which is a gigantic achievement for Reigns. Placing him in feuds with heels who can keep him in the underdog position is a great way to gain even the most vicious antagonists, and his maturity in the ring is happening right before our very eyes.

Credit: wwe.com

Unfortunately, the WWE could not hold on any longer in the slow build for Reigns, as he is being inserted in the WWE championship picture once again. Instead of helping improve his fanbase by feuding against strong heels like Sheamus and Rusev, his rising status will be compromised once again by gaining a spot in the main event of Payback against Seth Rollins and Randy Orton.

Credit: wwe.com

For the rest of the year, Reigns should have been ascending through the midcard, gaining respect from the crowd by plowing through tough competition. It should have culminated with a United States Championship victory against John Cena at SummerSlam, which would have certainly garnered crowd support.

Instead, the WWE has placed him back in the main event, which could do more harm than good. With a loss at Payback, Reigns could very well win the Money in the Bank match, continuing his quest to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Hopefully, by then, the respect he has gained won't be annulled due to being forced to be a top wrestler once again.

Either way, I am pro-Reigns, just because he has shown incredible growth, grit and poise throughout his singles journey. Unfortunately, if the WWE quickly places him back in the main event, it may backfire and reset his crowd reaction to the unfavorable response he got at the Royal Rumble.

Let's hope for the best.

Chris Featherstone is the host of the Pancakes and Powerslams Show and a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, We Are Wrestling and PWMania. Follow @cravewrestling on Twitter and the Crave Wrestling Facebook page.