For years, professional wrestling was guarded by promoters and performers. While suspicions arose, viewers were perennially on the fence about whether the action they saw in arenas and TV screens was choreographed.
Over the years, wrestling has emerged from the shadows. WWE, the largest professional wrestling promotion in the world, dubs itself a ‘sports entertainment’ company. Therefore, much like in movies or television, the performers of WWE can be categorised into ‘good’ and ‘evil.’ Only in insider parlance, the good guys are called ‘babyfaces’ and the bad guys are known as ‘heels.’ The crowd roots for the babyface to defeat and dethrone the vicious heel, who gets vehemently booed.
Which brings us to the curious case of Roman Reigns, perhaps WWE’s biggest current superstar. While he looks, behaves, wrestles and talks like a babyface, the crowd often drowns him out with a chorus of boos on every given occasion. Why, then, has he not gone heel?
Parallels With The Rock
Roman Reigns hails from the Anoa’I family, a dynasty that has blessed the world of wrestling with such legends as The Wild Samoans, Rikishi, Umaga, Nia Jax and The Usos. Even The Rock, otherwise known as Hollywood megastar Dwayne Johnson is considered a part of this family owing to a ‘Blood Ceremony’ between the Anoa’I and the Maivia family.
I had a chance to interact with professional wrestling icon Ricky Steamboat not long ago. Steamboat reminded me how The Rock’s case was not unlike that of Roman Reigns. When The Rock made his first foray into wrestling as Rocky Maivia, a smiling babyface representing his Samoan heritage, he wasn’t accepted by fans either.
It was only later, when The Rock embraced the boos, went heel and discovered his character that the crowd accepted him for who he was. When he would subsequently go babyface, he was the most popular star on the roster. Mind you, this was in the late 90s, when professional wrestling was red-hot.
Why hasn’t Roman Reigns undergone a similar transformation? Why haven’t the boos spurred him on to embrace his dark side and go heel? In this age of social media, there are tweets aplenty urging a heel turn for the man. Even industry experts and insiders, including Stone Cold Steve Austin, have stated that a heel turn would be the right call for Reigns.
There have been numerous opportunities for a heel turn. Remember the night after Roman Reigns defeated The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33 and was booed out of the building? Remember the night when he rammed an ambulance with his opponent, Braun Strowman inside it, on to another vehicle? On every occasion, he would show up with a smile the night after.
Popular With Women, Not Men
When Roman Reigns’ music hits and it is overpowered by the sound of ten thousand fans booing him in unison, it may seem like everyone hates the man. This is not true. Roman Reigns is very popular outside the United States, especially in markets such as India and the Middle East where WWE’s appearances are not a regular affair. Even within the United States, women and children love Roman Reigns.
Roman Reigns is one of the highest merchandise sellers in the whole company. Be it in terms of shirts or action figures, his merch moves off the shelf like hot cakes. Women and children are drawn to his movie star looks and his Greek God physique.
It is only the adult male demographic that has a problem with Roman Reigns. This stems from WWE’s portrayal of Reigns as the underdog, as the man fighting against authority. As a man who looks like a million bucks and is obviously the company’s golden boy, the more mature audience member is not fooled by WWE’s portrayal of Reigns.
The Social Media Age
Speaking of this adult male demographic, there is a special breed of wrestling fan that has emerged over the last few years. This is the ‘smart mark’ or ‘smark’. Smarks are often disgusted and disappointed by homegrown WWE talent and are mostly in favour of superstars whom they’ve followed from independent wrestling. They are the most vocal section of the audience, constantly protesting WWE’s creative decisions.
This audience has turned the world of professional wrestling topsy-turvy in recent years. They look beyond the character that is being portrayed on screen and at the performer himself, sometimes rooting for the bad guy, the heel. This is especially true in case of superstars such as Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, two men who’ve come up from independent wrestling who play heels on television.
Is there a guarantee that the crowd will continue to boo Reigns if he goes heel? Chances are they will cheer for him in such a situation, throwing the narrative off the rails. As Reigns has said in the past, as long as people buy tickets and react to his in-ring performances, they are free to cheer or boo him.
Future
Roman Reigns is a key figure in WWE’s plans. The stock price is at an all-time high right now and the company is extremely profitable. Therefore, a change in character for Roman Reigns may not figure into the company’s immediate plans. Will he go heel down the line? Only time will tell.
(Riju Dasgupta is a professional wrestling aficionado and analyst, as well as a heavy metal musician for the bands Albatross and Primitiv. You can reach him atrdore2000@gmail.com)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)