Video summary
The video discusses the long-standing debate regarding Roman Reigns' character alignment in WWE, arguing that contrary to popular belief or internal reports suggesting a recent shift, he has consistently functioned as a heel throughout his career. The speaker emphasizes that while fans have cheered for him and acknowledged him willingly due to his cool demeanor and status as the Tribal Chief, this does not make him a true babyface. Instead, the speaker points out that Roman's behavior of demanding acknowledgment from everyone and positioning himself above all others is a hallmark of a heel gimmick rather than a hero. The only instances where he might have briefly leaned towards a face role were during specific feuds with Solo Sikoa or The Vision after WrestleMania 40, but even then, his fundamental character traits remained those of an arrogant antagonist.
A significant portion of the argument focuses on Roman's dictatorial nature within his family and how this reinforces his status as a heel rather than a champion who protects his allies. The speaker notes that Roman treats everyone beneath him as inferior and insists that he is the only one who matters, a trait typical of an egotistical villain rather than a traditional hero. This is further illustrated by his actions, such as sending Jacob Fatu to pack up and potentially end his career before offering a perfunctory apology at the end of the show, which the speaker views as a classic heel tactic to manipulate the narrative while maintaining control. Even when he brings family members back into the fold, it is done on his own terms where they must submit to his authority, effectively making him a dictator within his own storyline rather than a unifying leader.
Despite the fact that fans continue to cheer for him and wear his merchandise, similar to how Hulk Hogan was embraced during his heel run in WCW, the speaker believes WWE should lean more heavily into Roman's heel persona because it makes logical sense for his character. The argument suggests that acknowledging his true nature as a bad guy allows for better storytelling, especially when he faces challengers trying to separate from the Bloodline or when he attacks opponents with an air of superiority. The video concludes by asserting that Roman Reigns has always been a heel who demands obedience and suppresses anyone who steps out of line, and that embracing this aspect of his character fully would result in a more compelling and authentic version of the wrestler that aligns with his established traits as an undeniable, cool, yet evil figure.
Read the full video transcript
What's good, y'all? It's your boy Ross,
back at it again with another video. So,
I seen a very interesting
uh post on X that I kind of wanted to
get y'all opinions on, and it involves
Roman Reigns' character, whether he's a
heel or babyface. Let me show you this
particular post, and I'm going to give
my opinions on this entire conversation
cuz we've been talking about this for
some weeks ever since they've been doing
this whole Bloodline, Solo, Jacob Fatu
situation. I'm going to be honest with
you, Roman Reigns has not changed. He's
been a heel through and through. But,
let me show y'all this particular post
that I found interesting on X. So, I
guess, I don't know how true this is,
but the World Heavyweight Champion,
Roman Reigns, is listed as a heel
internally. And I found that quite
interesting because in my mind,
he hasn't really been a babyface
at all, or rarely, to be honest with
you. Outside of him losing at
WrestleMania 40 and then coming back
later on that year
and feuding with Solo Sikoa,
that was like the one time you could
have possibly said, "Oh, he's a babyface
there." And then maybe another time you
could have possibly said he was a
babyface is when he was feuding with The
Vision originally after WrestleMania 41.
You could say, "Okay,
he's possibly a babyface
uh in that regard." But, outside of
those instances, he's never really truly
been a babyface. He's most likely he's
most most most of the time just been a
heel. And even someone asked a question,
and I I responded to it on uh on my X.
The question that was asked, "Do you
consider Roman Reigns a face or a heel?"
And I responded, "He was never really a
face. He has just been cheered like
one." And that's the thing, Roman Reigns
for for the most part has not really
been a face. Outside of those couple
instances,
character-wise, no. And the reason why I
say that is for someone
to go out there every single week and I
had this conversation with the homie uh
Aaron from Internet City. We were
actually talking about this. For a
person to come out there every single
week and say
"Acknowledge me." to all the fans. And
they do it willingly because it's Roman
Reigns, you know, he's a cool character.
Why wouldn't you want to acknowledge the
Tribal Chief? Hell, my mom acknowledged
the Tribal Chief when she saw him in
person and she didn't even know who
Roman was until she saw him in person.
And then she started acknowledging him.
When you see that,
cool character,
that's dope. But when you really break
it down from a actual character
standpoint, a true babyface shouldn't be
telling people to acknowledge him. You
want to be honest? If you really think
about it, what true babyface is going
out here telling people "Acknowledge
me."? No, that was a thing that was
created during his heel gimmick. Now,
once again, wrestling is a weird place
cuz you would think you should boo at,
but no. He's a cool character. It's kind
of reminds me of when Hulk Hogan turned
heel back in WCW and then they became
came out with the, you know, the nWo,
Hulk Hogan, Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Guess
what? Over time, it was cool.
Fans started wearing the merch and and
rocking with it because it was cool.
Yeah, he's in a group that's doing bad
things, but he's a bad guy that's cool.
And that's more more or less what's what
what's happening here. Roman Reigns has
been a bad guy.
Simple as that.
It it It is.
The The way he talks to people that's
not a a a characteristic of a a of a
babyface for the most part. He talks
down to every single person. Like
everybody's beneath him. Think about
that. Every person that he's feuded with
since he's been back, he looks at them
as beneath him, as lower than him. He is
the only true person in WWE that matters
in his eyes. Any single feud he's had
post-WrestleMania 40, it's always
involved I'm the one that moves the
needle, I'm the top of the I'm the top
of top guy, I'm the top of the card, WWE
needed me, I'm I saved WWE. Like it's me
me me me me.
Every single feud.
There's no denying that. That is not
typical of a traditional babyface.
And here's the thing, I'm not upset with
it at all. I like Roman as this
character, and we've been talking about
it for the past couple weeks. I feel
like Roman definitely needs to lean more
into this heel character because it
works. What we saw last night with Solo
hitting Roman with the Samoan Spike was
perfect because Roman being the
egotistical heel to someone that's
trying to separate from the family, it
tells a better story.
And guess what? People are still going
to acknowledge him cuz they were doing
it when he was at
of the Tribal Chief gimmick.
They were acknowledging him then. And
then, guess what? They would still boo
him when they would when he would attack
the babyface. The same thing can happen
here. It's just, you know, obviously
fans love who they're going to love, but
we can't deny he's been a heel for quite
some time, and that has not changed.
Even with
I don't even know if you can really call
it an apology that he apologized to Jay
and Jimmy and how he mistreated them? I
guess you can say that was an apology,
but then
if you want to break it down even
further, guess what he ends up doing
again? Bringing them back into the fold,
but this time we're equals now. We're
all on the same page.
No.
His character is not even going to truly
allow that. It's It's It's a false sense
of security. Last night he made them
like the first commanders of you know,
the the the chiefs in office or you
know, like his right-hand man
essentially. He gave them the black Ula
Falo's like they're you know, in charge
right below him and if anyone has a
problem with it, then you have a problem
with Roman Reigns, but let's be honest
here. Let's keep it a stack, bro.
Roman's character doesn't really care
about that. It's just to appease
everybody, make it seem like they're all
on the same page and they're all equal,
but they're not.
They're not equal.
Because there can only be one tribal
chief and Roman has made it very clear
to anybody that he's talked trash to
that hey, I have to do this. I have to
be at the top of the card. I have to be
the top of my family. I have to provide
for everybody, but you also have to
listen to me.
That doesn't make you a baby face. That
makes you a dictator in your own family.
He's collecting all these Samoan
uh Infinity Stones and family members,
but they all have to fall under him. No
one can supersede him. They all have to
fall under him and this is why I say his
character has been a heel since
WrestleMania 40 outside of a couple
instances where he was going against
Solo
and he would have been a baby face in
that situation and then
Seth Rollins in the vision and he would
have been a baby face in that situation.
Outside of those instances,
he's always been a heel.
And look at where we at now.
Yes, he's not cheating to win his
matches as of now,
but you can still tell that he doesn't
He cares about his family to a certain
extent as long as they're doing what he
says and when he says it because he's
the only one that knows what's best for
everybody,
that's the only way everything will be
good. If someone steps out of line or
feels some type of way, he'll be quick
to shut that down. It's not a baby face,
that's a dictator. That's someone with a
massive ego that does not want to be
shown up by anybody.
So, honestly, he's been a heel. If
they're saying internally now he's a
heel, no, he's been a heel. He's still
going to get cheered, he's still going
to get his acknowledgement, the people
are still going to love him regardless,
but now he's going to be doing more
heel-like things even though he's been
doing heel-like things. I mean, sending
Jacob Fatu to pack up one of his former
close friends and try to end his career,
only to give the acknowledgement at the
end of the show, that is a heel.
Sending the Usos and anybody that talks
trash on the Bloodline
to beat them up because they don't say
nice things about them, that is a heel.
There's no changing that. No matter how
cool he is or not, he's been a heel for
quite some time. Whether WWE wanted to
acknowledge it internally, he has per
character-wise, but nevertheless,
either way, I'm hoping they lean more
into it. I hope I'm hoping they they go
even further with the heel-like uh
character work and build upon that
because heel Roman
Roman is like undeniable about it where
you can't deny it even though people are
going to try to, is the better version
of him, because his character makes
sense to be a bad guy. Just a cool,
egotistical bad guy. So, comment down
below, let me know, how do you guys feel
about Roman Reigns? Have you guys
considered him a babyface at any point
post WrestleMania 40, or have you guys
always considered him a heel post
WrestleMania 40? Let me know down below.
I appreciate all the love and support.
Road to 200K. Appreciate y'all kicking
it with me. See y'all in the next one.
Peace.