Last Updated on April 5, 2024 by Avik Das
Roman Reigns has turned heel for the first time in his singles career, which has proven to be a masterstroke for him thus far. The five-time World Champion has rejuvenated his character after turning a bad guy, and he is certainly getting over every single week.
Reigns came back to the ring last year at WWE SummerSlam, where he went right after the Universal Championship, for which he was scheduled to compete against Goldberg at WrestleMania 36 earlier. As it didn’t happen, he assaulted The Fiend and issued a warning. In the very next week at WWE Payback, Reigns won the Universal Championship from The Fiend in a triple threat match involving Braun Strowman.
Roman Reigns has been enjoying an incredible run since turning a bad guy, holding the title for months now. He is looking indomitable at the moment, and it would be hard to dethrone him. In this article, we take a look at all the things WWE executed correctly since turning Roman Reigns a heel.
#5 Aligning With Paul Heyman
Right after altering his gimmick, Roman Reigns aligned with one of the greatest managers in professional wrestling, Paul Heyman, who managed several legendary wrestlers, including Brock Lesnar and Big Show. It was certainly a great decision to joining hands with Paul Heyman. Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman have been an awesome duo so far, and the latter has been instrumental while giving the Tribal Chief valuable suggestions. After the departure of Brock Lesnar, it’s safe to say that Reigns is a perfect new client for Paul Heyman, and they are likely to have a long association together.
#4 The Tribal Chief Gimmick
While Roman Reigns was known as The Big Dog in the past, especially when he was a babyface, he is now called The Tribal Chief. Since adopting the new gimmick, Reigns has been unstoppable in the squared circle. Needless to say, his character portrayal of Tribal Chief has been impeccable so far, and the storyline with his family has helped him as well. He targeted his family members to be called The Tribal Chief. First, he had a spectacular feud with his own cousin, Jey Uso, whom he faced at Clash of Champions as well as Hell in a Cell. The barbaric Tribal Chief tormented his cousin until he accepted Reigns as the head of the family. The whole booking of the Tribal Chief gimmick was flawless.
#3 Giving More Freedom On The Microphone
Despite having Paul Heyman by his side, Roman Reigns isn’t shying away from holding the microphone since turning a heel. Although Heyman does cut a majority of his promos, Reigns has been cutting some promos. The rejuvenated Roman Reigns, however, has a notable difference on the mic from his previous version. Reigns seems more confident on the microphone than ever before in his career. It seems like a heel persona comes to him naturally, and he delivers every single segment with ease. Moreover, he seems to have more freedom after adopting the new character, and WWE should continue giving him freedom.
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#2 Changing The Ring Gear
Other than showing the new evil side of his persona, another notable thing to notice in Roman Reigns’ character is the change of ring gear. Now, The Tribal Chief doesn’t wear a wrestling vest anymore. By ditching the wrestling vest, Reigns certainly looks more badass and a bad guy, considering he already has the look of a heel. Moreover, he also wears a new golden wrist wrapper as well as a black wrist wrapper. Earlier, Roman Reigns was still stuck in the same ring gear as his Shield days, which was often denounced by a myriad of fans. The fresh ring gear has certainly given a new direction to his character.
#1 Making Roman Reigns The Universal Champion
While the WWE Universal Championship was on RAW, it is an internal part of SmackDown now. As soon as Roman Reigns returned from his hiatus, he became the Universal Champion within a week, proving the dominance of his heel gimmick right away. Given that the blue brand was struggling with ratings, giving the belt to the biggest name of the current roster changed the fortune for the blue brand on FOX. With the beginning of Reigns’ title reign, SmackDown saw a significant rise in viewership every week, even way more than red brand. The blue brand’s ratings have soared up after crowning Reigns a champion and hence, WWE has done a commendable job by making him the Universal Champion. Given the impact of Reigns in his fifth world title reign, he is expected to enjoy a lengthy title run.
Avik Das is the founder of Sportsheed. He is a sports lover with broad knowledge of Professional Wrestling, MMA, Football, and Cricket. He has an English major and has previously written articles for various sports and entertainment websites
