Vince McMahon wants WrestleMania 32 to be the start of “several years” of Roman Reigns in the top spot previously held by John Cena, Dave Meltzer has reported in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter. “As of right now, the plan is for Reigns to go over and be the top babyface in the company for years to come,” he states.
The company attitude is that it doesn’t matter if fans boo. It isn’t the late eighties and success isn’t tied to one wrestler on top, the brand is what’s over and most fans will find something to like somewhere on the card. John Cena is living proof that boos or cheers aren’t damaging for a franchise babyface, and if anything, the diverse reactions could be a good thing. It certainly propelled Cena to huge levels of business. He’d get booed out of the building each week, but all the numbers he did blew the rest of the roster away.
Reigns isn’t likely to find that same level of success straight away. His merchandise numbers are good and he regularly has excellent matches, but he isn’t quite at Cena’s level of charisma.
Despite any shortcomings, WWE are committed to their project, and Reigns will go over Triple H at WrestleMania before dominating for years to come.