Its late 2012 on a Thursday in an arena with about 20 people watching Roman Reigns in the ring with CJ Parker. Up and comer that Parker. The small audience watches mostly respectfully. With the exception of some particularly vocal CJ Parker fans. Apparently they are under the opinion that horrible things should be done to Reigns by their hero Parker. On average this match was a standard match at what was once the FCW arena in Tampa Florida. As usual, new talent for the WWE feeder, then relatively unknown now infamous, NXT were in the ring performing well. Most nights despite the meager sometimes painfully unappreciative audience.
But That Mouth
Reigns listened to the prattling of Parker’s fans then he decided to respond. Watching Reigns at that time in his career it was clear to see the potential and the talent. Initially what was also clear was the hard work and how quickly he learned despite not having the same Indy roots as his opponents. Consequently there was that unnamed something that had nothing to do with his looks, his pedigree or even his determination. It was there right under the surface. And he responded to his critics giving it some air. Quickly like lightning he mimicked and mocked the fans of the man he was wearing down in the ring. That’s when something rare happened. The audience, myself included, laughed. Like a bell my next thought was “There it is.”
The Second Coming
When The Shield showed up on Survivor Series to up-end the wrestling world shortly after that night, people were genuinely enthralled. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins were known from their Indy fame. It was Reigns that was the wild card. By far it was Reigns that pulled the crowd interest as the quiet brute of the group. So much so he was set up to almost give the fans what they claimed to want.
The sound of the arena during the Royal Rumble where he eliminated a record breaking number of opponents told the WWE that the gamble on Reigns was going to pay off. The response to him by fan bases regardless of situation since tells the WWE this gamble has paid off. Don’t get it twisted, if there are two people in the ring, half the fans are cheering one man and the other half is booing that same man, he IS that guy. Whether you want to know it or not.
THAT Next Rivalry
The Shield was seemingly built to bring back that rivalry merry-go-round that has been WWE bread and butter for years. Recently face offs between Reigns and Rollins are electric, they spark in ways that haven’t been seen since the old Stone Cold, Rock, Triple H trifecta. This is the rivalry and these are the guys that will be talked about 20 years from now. Consistent in show, consistent in performance. While many are on board with that in regards to Rollins it’s disheartening how many people seem to be still out on Reigns. The contingent that wants to judge a show or performance by a scale they can’t even define have a hard case to prove against him every time.
Pony up the Evidence
Incidentally the complaints are the same. He only does a few moves. He’s being shoved down our throats. Which all condenses to blah blah blah I’m mad cause ‘reasons’. Come with arguments that matter. Is he hurting people? Oh that’s right, that’s ok if the internet fan boys love you. Are people not watching him? Oh that’s right people get pissed when he’s not on Raw. Does he not get crowd response? We’ve talked about this already. This guy has so much that everybody feels some kind of way about him. The only failure in any art is to invoke indifference. There are a lot of things said and thought about Roman Reigns. There has yet to be indifference. Press is press and people burn down the internet in Roman Reigns rants. Sounds like he’s winning.
Clapback Tracks Are the Best
For those who are not on the Reigns bandwagon, ok you do you. For those who have no idea what is meant by “There it is,” peep a clapback track that is currently on heavy rotation on Reign’s Twitter feed. Much like that night from years ago the superman punch is apparently a warm-up for good ole fashioned dragging. Evidently its time to live in that moment and much like the rest of Twitter I am here for it. Here’s to hoping some of this snark stays with us. Never know, you all might like him better like this.
What does Roman Reigns need to do to Be that guy for you?
