Sheamus and League of Nations Must Be Legit Threat to Roman Reigns to Boost Feud

The war between Sheamus and Roman Reigns grows exceptionally more compelling the more the WWE world champ's new band of bruisers, The League of Nations, tyrannize the No. 1 contender.

WWE has an opportunity here to elevate a quartet of heels while strengthening the story of Reigns' climb back to the championship. That only happens if Sheamus' new crew—Rusev, Barrett and Alberto Del Rio—aren't pushovers. It only happens if they aren't easy fodder for the man who wields the Superman punch.

Early on, it looks as if the company understands that.

On Monday's Raw, Sheamus looked to be in danger of losing his title to Reigns. The babyface's title shot had come early but with the caveat that he had to beat Sheamus in under five minutes and 15 seconds to take home the title.

Even with that stipulation, Reigns closed in on a victory. The Big Dog had Sheamus in his target sights, readying a spear to put him away. Then the cavalry arrived.

Rusev yanked Sheamus out of the ring. Barrett and Del Rio soon emerged, standing side by side with the world champion. They banded together, united against Reigns.

The Celtic Warrior announced that this stable would be called "The League of Nations."

It's a group with ample potential. Rather than just replace Kane and Big Show as The Authority's goons, as it looked like Rusev and Barrett were doing last week, they now form their own faction. That means they don't have to share the spotlight with Triple H. These men can instead be a troop of villains who leave wreckage behind them. 

As EVOLVE promoter Gabe Sapolsky pointed out, the alliance is a good fit:

"

I like this League Of Nations group. They all compliment each other and are bigger as a group. #WWE #Raw

— Gabe Sapolsky (@BookItGabe) December 1, 2015"

That's true. Barrett goes from wandering around on the midcard to being in the premier story each week. Rusev gets a bump up from a silly love story to the marquee angle.

The issue, though, is perception. These aren't the top supervillains joining forces to make up the ultimate team. These aren't monsters forming a fearsome collective. 

The League of Nations features wrestlers WWE has booked to be average of late.

Vaughn Johnson of Philly.com wrote, "In most circumstances, a faction consisting of Sheamus, Rusev, Alberto Del Rio and King Barrett would be considered a nice mid-card act." Yep. He's right.

Those wrestlers' recent records don't read like top heels. 

CageMatch.net lists Rusev's winning percentage at .500, Barrett's at .449 and Sheamus' at just .483. Those aren't Zack Ryder numbers, but WWE certainly has its work cut out to make these men feel like a dominant force.

That starts with how they handle Reigns.

If they are the henchmen cast aside with a single blow, they will fail. If Reigns is able to topple them as easily as he was able to topple them last week when he wielded a steel chair, the group will be a waste.

Reigns' struggles won't be severe enough to engage the audience. It will just seem like he's carving through the bottom rung of the roster. It's not when Superman is slapping around bank robbers that his story compels; it's when he faces an enemy who is potentially capable of stopping him.

The League of Nations can be exactly that.

The foursome can help add to Reigns' recent string of struggles. He has repeatedly come within inches of being champion, only to have Seth Rollins leap into the WrestleMania main event, Bray Wyatt push him off a ladder or Sheamus cash-in his Money in the Bank contract. Keep this up, WWE. Pile it on for Reigns. 

The stepper the uphill climb for Reigns, the more interesting things become.

That means Barrett scoring an assisted win over Reigns, Rusev and Del Rio ganging up on Reigns backstage or Sheamus laughing as his cohorts keep the hero from even nearing him. That means committing to this new heel group, not just making them a set of bowling pins for The Juggernaut to knock down.

Fans got a glimpse of The League of Nations' power when it beat down Dean Ambrose and Reigns to end Monday's Raw.

Also having The New Day on their side undermined the act, but WWE had the right idea there. Sheamus and his crew leaving Reigns lying needs to happen again, several times over. Overpowering the babyface boosts the group as well as the feud that the members of the group are key players in. 

The League of Nations must be the barbarians at the gate, forcing Reigns to fight the battle of his life just to remain standing.