Who is the Real Face of WWE Now?

Here’s an odd one about WWE right now: This might be the year of the John Cena retirement tour, yet he’s hardly the face of the company or pro wrestling anymore. 

In fact, pulling back a bit in scope to get a bigger view, the question really isn’t that easy to figure out. 

Who is the real face of WWE at this point in time?

The list of names is short, yet the one who has the best case for sitting at the top might surprise fans.

The face of the WWE is Seth Rollins. 

Many knee-jerk reactions might say Cody Rhodes. He just had multiple years of feuds at the very top of the company and WrestleMania after returning home. And he just won the title back from Cena at SummerSlam. 

But there are issues with this. Yes, he’s a champion and main-eventer. Rhodes’ runs have been marred with underwhelming filler, though. He failed at his first attempt in taking down Roman Reigns, went off and had weird feuds like the random Brock Lesnar encounter and a brief stint as a tag champion for some reason. 

Later, Rhodes beat Reigns, but had strange involvement from The Rock, who hovered around until involving someone like musician Travis Scott. Then, Rhodes was in the same zip code just enough to get harmed by Cena’s decades-in-the-making heel turn that got ruined. 

Right now, there’s no reason to believe Rhodes doesn’t settle back into typical Raw feuds while refusing to evolve his character. It puts him as a merchandise-mover and fan favorite at the top of the company, yet in that Jey Uso bracket. 

As for Cena, most would probably agree he was the face of WWE. He’s admitted as much. We’re in the passing-of-the-torch phase here, though one could argue the passes happened quite a long time ago, given his part-timer status. 

There are others. Some will proclaim CM Punk, which is somewhat fair. He’s in that Randy Orton bucket, though. He can’t go full-blown heel because he’s transcended and won’t really get boos. He’s too beloved. He’s a core staple, but the days of 434-day title reigns are gone. 

And Reigns?

Reigns was the face of WWE for a long time. First, when he was still green and fans didn’t want it despite his incessant winning. Then later, when he morphed into something else as the Tribal Chief during the iconic Bloodline saga. 

But even then, Reigns wasn’t alone in getting there. Jey and Jimmy Uso were there and, critically, so was Paul Heyman, arguably the greatest on the mic of all time. 

Compare all that to Rollins. 

Rollins, the chosen centerpiece of The Shield and “The Architect” who brought it all down before being the focal point of The Authority as a heel. From there, fantastic feuds with Triple H, Lesnar and others, never mind the Heist of the Century at a WrestleMania as a cherry on top. He’s gradually tweaked his character over time, going from a cult-like leader to a fashionable, cackling example of excess to go with the best-in-the-world (sorry, Punk) in-ring status. 

And sure, there have been misses. He hasn’t saved or elevated every single thing. Remember the sluggish feud with the unstoppable Fiend character? Or the so-so in-ring pairing with Becky Lynch for a little bit? The “Freakin’” in the name feels like a staple of a bygone era, too. 

But as a whole over an entire body of work? Rollins has been that guy for a very long time. He’s the respected workhorse company and fans can count on to steal the show, if needed, or fit into any number of different feuds and elevate things. 

One could argue, in fact, Rollins is the perfect blend of modern pro wrestler. His character perhaps isn’t as dynamically evolving as, say, Reigns going into Tribal Chief mode and back out now. He’s not sticking to one gimmick like all-time greats such as Undertaker. But he’s arguably one of the best to ever grace a ring and, besides injuries, hasn’t shown many signs of slowing on that front. 

That transcendence Orton and Punk achieved? Rollins has quietly been there the whole time. He’s the wrestler where fans are in on the plans. If he’s heel, they’ll boo because it’s a collective thing now. They’ll cheer his accomplishments, even when it comes to ruining Punk’s moment a decade in the making. And they’ll walk with him during this faction phase knowing full well that he’ll inevitably clash with Heyman and put over Bron Breakker in a huge way. 

Rollins is a hard thing to define. Again, he’s the modern pro wrestler at its peak. WWE tabbed that a long, long time ago, even while trying to position Reigns as a Cena-type. Reigns has since evolved and Rhodes is in that spot. 

That leaves Rollins atop the pile as face of WWE. Oddly, it’s not always right in the face of fans, but squinting a little closer makes it clear enough.