Roman Reigns: A Victory For The Status Quo?

The status quo in the WWE is not one in which everyone is given an equal, fair opportunity and it is up to each performer to be the best they can be and earn the top positions for themselves. It is one in which the company chooses whom they want to be their stars and grooms them to be stars. They will take advantage of people not getting opportunities to be pushed as top stars to put over top stars. They will stifle success they do not want to have. They will force things. Even if things do not look like it is working out, the WWE will stick with what they want. Not surprisingly, this status quo can sometimes lead to failure.

Roman Reigns is a benefactor of this status quo. Problem is, it looked like he would be a flop. He can connect moderately well with some fans, but there is a vocal fanbase out there that has crushed him at times. He seemed to win those fans over a few weeks ago and the WWE wasted no time in putting the WWE Championship back on him for a proper run.

Is this a win for the status quo? Considering the issues the WWE has had with John Cena's connection with the fans, it has been a while since they had a centerpiece with an A+ connection with the fans. But I am not ready to say that Roman Reigns has clinched that level of overness for himself. Fans reacted well to him attacking Triple H, but is the connection genuine? I have seen people get cheered just for doing a certain thing the fans loved seeing. It doesn't mean they were over. It is not always enough to truly make them over. But the WWE definitely wants to make Roman Reigns over.

The WWE might think they have found the winning formula. Fans seem to like it when Roman Reigns is a badass attacking authority figures. Sound familiar? People have already made the comparison between him and Austin. They say they are making him into another Stone Cold. He doesn't have the mic skills to be like The Rock. If the WWE can continue going in this direction and solidify the overness Roman Reigns has, it will be a win for the status quo.

What does that mean for guys on the wrong side of the status quo? There are some talented wrestlers out there that wrestling fans would like to see pushed better. With Roman Reigns possibly succeeding with his push as centerpiece, it is unlikely many of these guys will ever get a shot to be the top star.

Speaking of Austin, he seems to be a Cesaro fan. Cesaro is one of those guys on the wrong side of the status quo. He currently has injury issues. Austin suggested that Cesaro come back swinging and fight to get that better push. Easier said than done. Even if Cesaro does somehow reinvent himself and gets very over, will the WWE automatically push him at the level he deserves? No. Will they possibly use him to put over whom they do want over? They have done this kind of thing before.

In general, you usually see the WWE take someone that has the look and character they like, and usually lacks great wrestling ability, and then struggle to get that person liked by wrestling fans once they start getting pushed as the centerpiece. How about taking someone already connecting well with wrestling fans and groom him to get over with the wider audience? If someone like that is already getting a better reaction than pretty much anyone else on the roster, it would make sense to build around someone like that. Give him the creative interest and hype to connect with the wider audience. But that is not how the status quo of the WWE works.

Back to Roman Reigns. His storyline now involves Vince McMahon even more. You can't get a bigger rub than this. Sheamus will get his rematch for the title on Raw next week. Vince will be the referee. Big match for Raw. Does Sheamus regain the title? The odds may be stacked against Reigns, but that was the way things were when he won the title on Raw a few weeks ago. The WWE will find some way for him to retain again. I don't expect any heel turn for Reigns? Might Cena and/or The Usos get involved? Will Triple H show up? Let's see how it plays out.