Roman Reigns' WWE Fastlane 2016 Match Will Expose Star's Lack of Momentum

Roman Reigns is earmarked to be the next "guy" in WWE; that much is apparent to anyone who has been watching WWE TV for a considerable amount of time. With John Cena out of the equation for the foreseeable future, now is the time for WWE to transition Reigns into the top babyface spot.

His ascension wasn't without its roadblocks, starting with his controversial Royal Rumble win in 2015. Although he failed to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at first, he worked his way back up the ladder over the course of the year, culminating in a well-received title win on the Dec. 14 edition of Raw emanating from Philadelphia.

Despite seemingly turning a corner in his career, Reigns remained heavily booed by the Orlando, Florida, audience at Sunday's Royal Rumble pay-per-view. He entered at No. 1 and had a less-than-stellar showing before being taken out and returning toward the end of the match to loud jeers from the crowd.

To the delight of the fans in attendance, Reigns was tossed from the Battle Royal shortly thereafter by longtime rival Triple H, who went on to capture his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship in seven years. Putting the strap on a part-timer wasn't a unanimous decision among members of the WWE Universe, but keeping it on Reigns could have done more harm to his push than good.

Now, Reigns will have to earn the right to contend for the championship again by going up against Brock Lesnar and Dean Ambrose in a Triple Threat match at Fastlane. Although it should be a match of epic proportions from an in-ring standpoint, it makes little sense to pair Reigns with two stars who are significantly more popular than he is.

Credit: WWE.com

Reigns has all the tools to one day become a very valuable asset to WWE. But his questionable booking as of late hasn't done him any favors, forcing fans to resent him even more.

Not all the blame should be put on the multigeneration prospect, however, as he is lacking a strong heel to work with at the moment. It speaks volumes that WWE has to call upon Triple H, who isn't an active member of the roster, to put over Reigns at every turn in order to solidify him as a star.

Granted, the story between Triple H and Reigns has been well-built since Survivor Series, but WWE should be focused on creating credible bad guys for its lead protagonists to fight against. Arguably, there are no heroes in a world void of villains.

Seth Rollins was a prime example of a fresh face on top that was flourishing as WWE's main heel, but an unfortunate injury cut his title reign short. Sheamus was positioned in that role for a time, but the damage had already been done; fans couldn't have cared less about him after all the months he was made to look like an afterthought.

Consequently, WWE has had to rely on putting Lesnar and Ambrose in the main event of Fastlane with Reigns for it to be compelling. While they are very deserving of that slot on the card, it wouldn't be necessary if WWE had heels fans could take seriously as true threats.

It is all but confirmed Triple H vs. Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship will headline WrestleMania 32. The ending outcome of that bout isn't in doubt, but how they get to that point is crucial, specifically to Reigns' success as a singles star.

Needless to say, the heel authority figure gimmick has been played out for years, but there is no denying that Reigns was at the peak of his popularity when he was taking it to Triple H, Vince McMahon and even Stephanie McMahon in December.

He can't be feuding with The Authority forever, which is why WWE should start to condition fans to cheer Reigns when he isn't in those types of situations. For example, if he was feuding with Kevin Owens or Bray Wyatt right now, odds are the crowds would side with them and not Reigns because of how he has been booked.

As soon as Reigns pins Lesnar or Ambrose (likely the latter) at Fastlane, the audience in attendance will sour on the former WWE world heavyweight champion. Essentially, it will be a repeat of what we saw last year with him on the road to WrestleMania 31.

Not to mention, The Authority giving Reigns the opportunity to redeem himself is completely illogical considering it wanted to take the title off him to begin with.

This day and age, fans loathe predictability. That is not to say it is always a bad thing, but in this case, they will continue to reject Reigns until officials stray away from the tired "one versus all" formula with his stagnant character.

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website, Next Era Wrestling, and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.

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