Roman Reigns vs. AJ Styles: Examining Babyface, Heel Dynamics of WWE's Top Feud

As Roman Reigns and AJ Styles continue their battle over the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the traditional babyface-heel dynamic is dissolving, giving way to a nuanced, unconventional wrestling story.

It's not easy to point out the good guy and the bad guy in this feud. Each rival has shown flashes of villainy; each has been an anti-hero of sorts. 

But this isn't a case of a lack of clarity, it's instead a manipulation of expectations and a slow shifting of characters. As Total Wrestling Magazine pointed out, even without a clear babyface in the story, WWE has managed to increase anticipation for Styles vs. Reigns II:

Up until he won the WWE title at WrestleMania, Reigns was portrayed as the fan favorite, even with so many crowds welcoming him with boos. He was the resilient, righteous warrior looking to take down the tyrants that make up The Authority.

Since becoming champion and clashing with Styles, that babyface distinction isn't so obvious.

On the SmackDown after WrestleMania, Reigns smugly addressed the crowd. He told fans, "You can love me. You can hate me. It don't matter to me." That's certainly not a standard babyface message. It's instead the dismissive rhetoric one often sees from a heel. 

Styles soon stepped up to him, showing the champion respect even as he promised to take his title. The Phenomenal One was by no means the heel here. He was simply a wrestler on a mission, focused on WWE's biggest prize. 

It then looked as if it was inevitable that Reigns would slide further toward darkness while Styles was made the clear hero in this story. Instead, things have only become more blurred.

Last week on Raw, Styles' allies from New Japan Pro Wrestling, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, held Reigns still and urged the No. 1 contender to smash the champ with a steel chair. He didn't. Like he had been at every stage of his interactions with Gallows and Anderson, Styles was reluctant to employ their unscrupulous strategies.

A babyface aligned with heels was doing his best not to become like his partners.

But now caught up in the intensity of a title chase, Styles has begun to embrace a more vicious side of himself. He promised on Monday's Raw that he would not hesitate to attack Reigns as he did last time around.

After all, sparing Reigns last time only got him thrown into an announce table.

On Monday's Raw, after a six-man tag team match, Styles pounced on Reigns from behind. He tried to plant Reigns' head into a chair with a Styles Clash. That is most certainly not babyface behavior.   

But Styles' behavior seems to be the result of how personal and contentious this feud has gotten, not the work of a villain, per se. 

Reigns, meanwhile, has become increasingly aggressive, not holding back in the least as he punishes his foe. He has thrown Styles through and over the announce table on two different occasions. WWE has shown him snarling and seething like some beast trying to snap the chain around his neck.

But The Big Dog isn't driven to this type of behavior out of sadism or cruelty. In his mind, he's just fighting for his family. It's been a protective nature for his cousins, The Usos, that has driven him more than anything.

It's hard to fault a man for standing up for his own blood.

And the same is true for what Styles is doing. He's simply ratcheting up the violence to keep up with Reigns.

All this has added up to a story that entices thanks to its complexity. It boasts several layers. It has characters shifting with a slow-burn pace. 

And as Voices of Wrestling writer Brandon Howard noted, it's different than what we have seen from WWE in recent years:

Fans keep waiting for either Styles or Reigns to fully embrace villain status. But this angle is thriving because it is holding out on that change.

Former ECW star Tommy Dreamer believes it won't be until Seth Rollins returns that Reigns morphs into a clear heel. In a TSN interview, Dreamer said, "The moment Seth Rollins comes back, Seth Rollins could be the biggest babyface WWE will have of all time. 'Hey, I want my title back, Roman Reigns.' Guess what? He has just turned heel because no one is going to cheer him against Seth Rollins."

If Dreamer is right, Reigns vs. Styles will continue to be an experiment with the medium, a departure from the norm, a story where everyone is wearing gray hats.