The Hydden View: Can Roman Reigns Overcome the Cena Curse

I am not sure you can actually call it a curse, but let’s face it John Cena is hated by many. I have previously written about some of the reasons why. I know one reason is some fans feel John Cena is pushed upon them (I am not one of them). Are we perhaps getting the same thing with Roman Reigns already?

When the Shield first debuted I viewed each wrestler differently. Ambrose was the voice of the group, a great talker. Rollins was the pure wrestler (Ambrose has since proven he has great in ring ability as well). I saw Reigns as the muscle of the group, with extraordinary strength and size. Now that they have separated each has had to try and grow as an individual, and become great. As time goes on Ambrose and Rollins continue to grow as performers, but Reigns has been sidelined by an injury. Before his injury not much was changing with his character, he was still perceived as the traditional WWE big man. We were also not seeing much improvement in his interview skills. We were told WWE was planning a big push for Reigns all the way to a possible title match at Wrestlemania. I, at the time, didn’t think that was a good idea and I know many others agreed. That said, I had faith in the WWE machine that they could get him ready. Then the injury happen and he lost allot of valuable time. They have aired a few pre-taped interviews on RAW with Reigns talking about his injury and comeback, but they have been OK at best. Although the word out there is WWE is still planning a big push for Reigns, my question is why? Why are they forcing him upon us like many feel they do with Cena? I also worry about Reigns move set; does he really have more moves than Cena’s implied “5 moves of doom” (another thing I don’t agree with)?

Ambrose and Rollins are two of the hottest things going right now, and I feel the direction they are going with both characters has been well crafted. Ambrose is being put into feuds to further his “Lunatic Fringe” persona. Rollins is at the same time being built as the arrogant heel. Back to Reigns, his character has not changed or grown as far as I am concerned. Not to mention many are still talking about him becoming WWE champion.

Let’s think about that for a second, right now the current champion is Brock Lesnar. He isn’t the greatest talker, which works for him because he has Paul Heyman to build him as a monster and with Brock the less he says the scarier he looks. Reigns is also not a great talker as I mentioned above, so what do they do? Can you really put another champion with Heyman? Is reigns the type of wrestler that is more intimidating by the less he says like Lesnar? I truly don’t think so, not to say a Lesnar vs. reigns match would not be fun to watch.

I realize I have more questions than answers, but would it be more beneficial for WWE to slow down with Reigns and let him build his character? Will the WWE fans resent him if he is thrusted into the main event picture the way he is right now? I think Reigns is extremely talented and has just a bright as a future as Rollins and Ambrose. I think with more time to work on his character he could become one of the many wrestlers to carry WWE into the future. I just don’t feel he will be ready at Wrestlemania 31, but he could be a devastating force at Wrestlemania 32. Now trust me, being compared to Cena is not always a bad thing, the man is superstar and a hall of famer, but in this particular way no one wants that comparison.