Roman Reigns, Vince McMahon, NXT TakeOver and More from the Brotherly Mailbag

 This is the first mailbag of the Roman Empire. And it just feels right. 

"

🙏🙏🙏 Finally. Thoughts @ThisIsNasty? 😂 https://t.co/tJPgyyYx4p

— Manuel (@Emma_V2) December 17, 2015

"

Groaning Empire?

As much slack as WWE gets from disgruntled fans, its booking of Roman Reigns over the past year has been nothing short of masterful. Sure, Reigns' chase for the WWE Championship met with disaster at the 2015 Royal Rumble, but that's part of what has made the journey so impressive.

WWE used every McMahon, put the title on true heel Sheamus and allowed Reigns to tap into his inner "wild man." The result was a babyface who didn't feel forced and celebrated a once-dreaded WWE title win with the very fans who tried to ruin him back in January.

As I mentioned on the PodNasty Wrestling Podcast, One of the most overrated credos in wrestling is how WWE needs to listen to the fans. No, they don't. In fact, in most cases they shouldn't. 

WWE has an entire staff of producers, former wrestlers and officials who know more about wrestling than any emotionally charged fanatic. And while fans are an integral part of WWE's product and can be used as cues for what's working and what isn't, ultimately the final call belongs to WWE. Fans are influential participants but not decision-makers.

Listening to the fans gave us the ill-fated Daniel Bryan WWE title run that ended in a swift forfeiture. Many fans also demanded a push for Cesaro, who is also out with a long-term injury. I'll take the instincts of the most successful pro wrestling company in the world over a fan any day.

Finn wins. Now what?

"

@ThisIsNasty where does Balor go from here?

— DavidMB (@DavDav1228) December 16, 2015"

After defeating Samoa Joe in a very good match at NXT TakeOver: London, Finn Balor could go a couple ways.

With Sami Zayn set to return, he could be the odds-on favorite as Balor's next opponent. Various return vignettes featured Zayn talking about what the NXT title means to him, so it would be a logical choice for the former champion to go after the current one.

After a clean win over Apollo Crews, however, Baron Corbin makes a better case as a potential challenger. Corbin is the top heel in NXT in terms of garnering a universally negative response from the audience. 

Samoa Joe played his part as best he could, but at this point in his career there is a significant portion of the NXT audience who simply refuse to boo him.

The dynamic between Corbin and another former independent wrestling mainstay is perfect for Corbin's self-entitled, anti-indy character.

Chairman of the Bored?  

"

@ThisIsNasty They are clearly trying to make Austin Vs. Vince part 2. Problem is, it's hard to catch lightening in a bottle.

— Mike Rose (@MDenRosie) December 15, 2015"

Nobody will ever create McMahon-Austin again. And while the dynamic of heel authority figure vs. babyface is played out, Vince McMahon's presence on Raw was a very important part of getting a hostile crowd to accept Reigns as a world champion.

McMahon was on point Monday night. Despite being revered upon his return, he managed to settle in as the vintage heel fans love to hate. His low blow on Reigns and outside shenanigans in the main event all made Reigns seem like the underdog WWE wants fans to believe he is.

I truly believe (read: hope) that the involvement of The Authority is just a temporary storyline to solidify Reigns as a top babyface.

All signs point to Reigns and Triple H eventually squaring off for the WWE Championship. Provided Reigns wins that match, which he should, The Authority should take a step back and allow him to build credibility on his own as a fighting champion.

Alfred Konuwa is a featured columnist and an on-air host for Bleacher Report. Like him on Facebook, and subscribe to his weekly wrestling podcast, PodNasty.