Roman Reigns confronts The Undertaker on ‘Monday Night Raw.’ (WWE.com)
Heading into WrestleMania 33, there is now speculation that the WWE may be ready to turn Roman Reigns heel. So is it really happening?
In recent days, there has been evidence both for and against this idea. First, let’s take a look at the evidence that suggests a Roman Reigns heel turn is imminent. It has recently been rumored that the match between Roman Reigns and The Undertaker will be the main event of WrestleMania 33 and that this will be The Undertaker’s final match.
With this in mind, it seems unfathomable that the WWE would not be fully aware of the fact that Roman Reigns would be the heel in a situation in which he forces one of the greatest WWE legends of all time into retirement for no reason other than to prove that he owns the ring. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter recently said that the company clearly knows that the crowd would have a highly negative reaction to this, though he wasn’t ready to conclude that this means Roman will be turning heel.
“There is obviously a reason that it’s going on last,” Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio. “…If Roman does win they know the reaction. Believe me. How they play off it, who the f— knows.”
Meltzer also said in a tweet earlier this month that the WWE is very aware of the fact that Roman will be booed in his match against The Undertaker and that they are planning accordingly.
We got a hint of that reaction at the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Friday night, when the crowd in Orlando, Florida loudly booed Roman Reigns every time the camera cut to him, even though Roman was just sitting there with his girlfriend out of character.
But a lot of recent quotes from WWE officials and from Roman Reigns himself have suggested that there aren’t actually any plans for a heel turn and that the company likes him where he is right now.
During a recent appearance on Talk is Jericho, Roman Reigns himself said that he didn’t see the point of a heel turn.
“The thing is, if I turn heel, what am I gonna become?” Roman asked. “Everything that’s been done? Why not just be me? No one’s ever been like me. This is uncharted territory. It can be anything I want it to be, so why put myself on one side of it? Why not just dabble? Why not have the full range? Do whatever I want? That’s how I feel. I’m the one writing this at this point now. We’re in the position we can do anything we want as long they make noise.”
Triple H made a similar comment recently, saying that Roman Reigns won’t turn heel because in some way, he already is a heel.
“The fans who say, ‘I don’t understand why they don’t turn Roman Reigns heel!’ Isn’t he already?” Triple H said. “If you believe what you believe, and you’re saying, ‘How can they not turn him heel? There is 70 percent of the crowd booing him out of the building!’ If that’s your belief, then isn’t he already the biggest heel we have? If 70 percent of that crowd is booing him, then he’s a heel. We’re just presenting him to you in a different way that makes you hate him.”
When Roman Reigns confronted The Undertaker on Monday Night Raw a few weeks ago, a lot of fans took this as evidence that a heel turn is coming, as Roman telling a legend like Taker that this is his yard now certainly feels like heel behavior. But the WWE on its YouTube channel the following morning edited out audio of the crowd chanting “Roman sucks,” something they obviously wouldn’t do if Roman was supposed to be the heel in that scenario.
For now, it sounds like the WWE plans to continue keeping Roman Reigns where he is, i.e. having him be a face to some members of the crowd and a heel to others, but it doesn’t sound like a full heel turn will occur at WrestleMania 33.