Well, the WWE has done it again. Roman Reigns is being pushed as top face headed into Wrestlemania. PPV fans reacted as expected, prompting attempts to explain the dilemma, sometimes. using video game analogies.Reigns will face WWE World Heavyweight Champion of the World Champion, HHH, in Dallas.In other words, we're stuck with a main event whose finish is already decided by the audience. As someone at work said "well, it IS scripted, right?". Sure. But I don't know what's going to happen on The Walking Dead, even though it's scripted. I mean (SPOILERS), Jesus in the bedroom? Who saw that coming? Just because it's fake, doesn't mean it has to be predictable.
But surely, anything can happen on the grandest stage of them all, right? Well, sure. But fans know that HHH has a full-time gig as COO of the WWE. He's not going around making appearances as champ, because he's already got a bigger title than champ. Further, better than half of fans at live shows feel like Reigns is getting a push by WWE management (part of whom happens to be that same HHH). So there's a better than 90% chance that the boss leaves Dallas with the title around his new guy. The other 10% is worse - that HHH will just delay the payoff to the storyline until next Monday's RAW, or the next PPV. Hint to the WWE: for the money folks are paying for WM tickets, they should get a payoff in the story that night.
How can we fix this problem? For starters, HHH needs to start putting roadblocks in Roman's way. If I was facing Reigns, I'd want him to wrestle without the riot gear he currently wears to the ring. HHH OWNS THE COMPANY, so he can easily make that happen. And he could even do a nice segment mocking Reigns for wearing all that gear. Great heel behavior often involves honesty, and this would be a logical step. Hunter has been involved in actively stripping Reigns of the armor before, but c'mon. He's The Game, so he should get this done with his brain.
Next, our supposed hero needs to overcome some odds. HHH doesn't seem suited to doing run-ins, I mean, why would the COO hide under the ring, or run down and interfere in matches? But Roman's life has to be made more difficult. One option would be a blatant use of power - HHH could just order officials to DQ Reigns. A quick 5-count in the corner later, Reigns is headed to the showers as a loser. Wait, is that a CLOSED FIST? Sorry, ring the bell.
Maybe HHH could hire some muscle to rough Reigns up. Unfortunately, we've seen that already. And it wastes talent that's needed elsewhere on the WM card. The Wyatts, for example, can't be picking fights with Roman if they're going to be facing the Titans, or the Brothers of Destruction, or whoever. Maybe he could use Titus O'Neil. Oh, wait, nevermind.
Lastly, we need Reigns to actually take his opponent seriously. He's facing THE GAME. Umpteen-time champion. If you want to give this a main event feel, Roman needs to prepare to face a master tactician. And you know who would be PERFECT for that? Daniel Bryan. I've already written about that a bit here. It could work the way HBK worked with Hunter vs. the Undertaker at WM XXVII. IN the runup to that, Sean Michaels came out and lectured HHH, letting him know the enormity of the task facing him, and at the same time asking what made HHH feel like he could beat the streak when Michaels could not? Daniel has a similar back story to play upon. He's climbed that mountain, and he can also claim bitterness at the ease with which Reigns has reached this level. The weight he could bring to the matchup would be a huge plus.
Finally, address the other side of the match. HHH is COO. It doesn't make sense for him to be champ, does it? Maybe you could show HHH enjoying being a regular wrestler again. But that would take a lot of his time away from running the WWE. Or he could start altering rules to make it easier for him to remain champion, like removing the (mostly ignored) ideas of required title defenses. A better option might be planning a post-Wrestlemania tournament for the title. Hunter could announce plans to retire as champion after Wrestlemania, and start running promos for the tournament. Suddenly, a Reigns win seems to upset established storylines, instead of fulfilling them.
Here's hoping the WWE follows at least some of these tips, so we're still interested in the outcome of their main event.
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