A Roman Reigns Heel Turn Would Be Smart Booking at Money in the Bank

The WWE World Heavyweight Championship is once again in search of its next great villain.

After a lengthy reign by the anthropomorphic Brock Lesnar, the title is currently a punchline. One has to go back to the Royal Rumble to find the last honest WWE World Heavyweight Championship defense. The longer it stays on Rollins as the Authority's over-protected champion, the less value it has.

Roman Reigns continues to have an awkward presence on Raw as Dean Ambrose's miscast sidekick. It's all part of a buddy angle that appears destined for an eventual feud.

The idea of Reigns as the heir apparent to John Cena is not new, but like Cena, The Rock, Batista and Steve Austin before him, it is necessary for Reigns to become heel before winning fans over.

The current field of Money in the Bank contenders provides no solid favorites outside of Reigns. At this point, Reigns' biggest threat to lose Money in the Bank is the predictability of him winning, which could tempt WWE to swerve its audience for the sake of surprise.

But, as I mentioned on the PodNasty Wrestling Podcast, Reigns—a babyface powerhouse—hardly fits the mold to carry Money in the Bank.

Rollins is currently butting heads with The Authority. His ladder match against Ambrose provides the perfect stage for Reigns to potentially cash in a Money in the Bank contract. The turn would make absolute sense on several levels.

Reigns was afforded multiple opportunities to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship as a babyface and failed. He is now on the outside looking in, which is no place for a future top star.

Fans have fully embraced Ambrose as a top babyface, and to many, Reigns will serve as a less edgy alternative. Instead of sharing protagonist real estate with Ambrose, which is fruitless, Reigns is better served betraying Ambrose to become The Authority's hired gun.

Many fans view (and resent) Reigns as the hand-picked future of WWE despite his current feud with The Authority.

At this point, he needs to embrace his role as the chosen one.

Reigns would be a different type of world champion from the smaller, slimier Rollins since he is not seen as the type of character who needs outside interference to win matches. Instead of playing a spoiled prince, Reigns would be akin to Daenerys Drogon in Game of Thrones, eating and breathing fire on anything that crosses the bosses. 

As a member of The Authority, Reigns can be a poor man's Brock Lesnar, and based on how effective Lesnar is, that's a compliment.

As a heel, there's even a built-in angle for Reigns' inevitable babyface turn. Like any monster, Reigns cannot be controlled forever. Once he grows tired of taking instruction from Triple H, Stephanie and Co., the resulting meltdown against The Authority will make him more well liked than he ever was during his current babyface run.

With SummerSlam just around the corner, WWE needs to flesh out Reigns' character. As a top heel, he will soar past his potential as a main eventer.

Alfred Konuwa is a featured columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @ThisIsNasty and subscribe to his weekly wrestling podcast.