There are a lot of people wondering where exactly thing went wrong when it comes to Roman Reigns and his popularity in WWE these days. It seems especially true that for a guy Vince McMahon wanted to take to the top of the mountain, the fans have rejected Reigns like few others in WWE history and fans are now starting to see what the result of that looks like. There are rumors he won’t be in SummerSlam as the main event, he’s toiling around Raw these days well outside the main event scene and it looks like names like Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman are set to overtake him as the next guys in line. How did this happen?
Former WCW President and current star of the 83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff podcast, Eric Bischoff, spoke to WSVN-TV Entertainment Reporter Chris Van Vliet before the “Legends of the Ring” event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL this past weekend. He made it pretty clear, he doesn’t think this is Reign’s fault at all
When asked if he currently watches Raw or SmackDown Live each week, he admitted he doesn’t, but he does check in on the product and keep up to date on certain storylines like any fan would do. He was asked if he thought Reigns was over and he responded:
“Is he a fan favorite if that’s what you mean by over? No. Does he have the right kind of heat that is constructive and can be used in order to advance a storyline? Questionable. But I don’t think that that’s Roman’s fault. I think the way he’s been packaged and the way he’s been presented and dare I say it, because I don’t like to be critical but there’s no other way to say it, he’s been forced down everybody’s throats for two years. But no matter how good you are, I don’t care if you’re Vince McMahon or you’re Steven Spielberg or if you’re William freaking Shakespeare, it’s doesn’t matter. The audience is only going to go so far. You can only force that fish to swim upstream until it just gets tired and has to go the other way. I wish they would turn him heel. I wish they would embrace that.”
It goes without saying that Bischoff is not known in wrestling circles as the creative genius Vince McMahon was and/or is. That said, Bischoff was running a WCW that took WWE to the woodshed on a number of occasions and he created the nWo, which was one of the most popular factions ever created. His opinion isn’t taken lightly.
Is he right? Have fans simply seen too much of Roman Reigns? Did WWE burn that bridge by forcing fans to accept him when they weren’t prepared to or had already gotten their fill?