Even while he was part of The Shield it was widely believed that Roman Reigns would spin off and become a huge star in his own right. He was strong in the ring, with a look that turned heads, importantly the head of now-former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.
Once The Shield split in 2014 Reigns was quickly established as the conquering babyface in the mould of someone like John Cena. However, many fans were upset at the star being given such a prominent position above their favourites, and sometimes more compelling characters. This coupled with a perceived lack of depth in Reigns’ own character led to resentment from some sections of the WWE Universe.
Steve Austin Comments On Roman Reigns’ Booking
This feeling was flipped on it’s head in the summer of 2020 when Reigns returned to action after a short absence. The star came back as a heel, and went on to establish himself as the leader of The Bloodline. Despite holding World Championship gold for two years, this has meant Reigns is more popular now than he has ever been.
Speaking in an interview back in August, WWE legend Steve Austin reflected on this change, and the “amazing work” he’s been doing during this run. During the conversation with Sportskeeda, Austin also commented that Reigns hasn’t always been helped by the way he was booked by WWE.
“Hey, I’ll acknowledge it. He’s doing some amazing work. It took a while for him to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, and they didn’t book him in the greatest fashion at certain points of his career. When he walked through the door, he was one of those guys that had that look and had that it factor. Like, ‘If we can do the right thing with this guy, he’s gonna get over.’ They finally started doing the right thing. He got to a mindset of where he’s at right now and he’s just crushing it, and I couldn’t be prouder of the guy.”
Roman Reigns will be back in action at Survivor Series when he leads The Bloodline into Wargames against Sheamus, Butch, Ridge Holland, Drew McIntyre and Kevin Owens.
H/t to Fightful