MONDAY NIGHT REIGNS-O-METER #50: Tracking Roman Reigns’s ability to beat the odds and come out on top

Roman Reigns is one of the most divisive and talked about WWE performers in history. The company makes desperate play after desperate play to make him their number one star – with limited success. How do they do it? What do they do?

I’m Tom Colohue and this is the Monday Night Reigns-O-Meter.

Monday Night Reigns-O-Meter – Royal Rumble Omnibus Edition

I’d just like to open this Reign-O-Meter with a simple, factual message. Nobody works harder than Roman Reigns.

I mean, obviously, Finn Balor worked a full hour in a match at the Royal Rumble and then went on to wrestle in a huge main event with John Cena on Raw, but Roman obviously still works harder.

I mean, I haven’t forgotten Cena, who came in eight spots earlier than Roman Reigns to the Royal Rumble match and also himself would go on to that same main event.

And there’s Seth Rollins, as we all know, who pulled double-duty in back to back matches, both of which he lost, after a prolonged time in the Royal Rumble himself.

No, of course I’ve not forgotten both Asuka and Sasha Banks, with Sasha in particular lasting the length of the whole Royal Rumble before going on to artistically face plant the floor on Raw.

But apart from Finn Balor, John Cena, Seth Rollins, Andrade Cien Almas, Adam Cole, Ember Moon, Asuka, Shinsuke Nakamura, Sasha Banks, and apparently Ronda Rousey, nobody works harder than Roman Reigns.

Or The Miz.

Before the Rumble started, the expectation was that the young, spry up-and-coming future somebody Roman Reigns might just sneak a win. He wasn’t the favourite but he was definitely in the conversation? Why? Well, it’s what the fans want, as evidenced by the loving chorus of hatred that rained down on Reigns when he entered at no. 28.

Well harnessed, Reigns and Cena would go on to be the Big Show and Kane facing Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura’s heroic Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns from back in the day.

Making a great connection to the ultimate beauty that is the power of smark tears, Roman Reigns convinced an entire arena of WWE fans that only bad things happen, that only their greatest fears really exist, that the end of the world will be heralded by The Shield entrance music. And just like that, even though fans around the world were decrying the chances of Nakamura, saying that he’d been buried, wasted, wasn’t going anywhere, those same people chanted his name, sang his music and loudly declared the name of the opponent they wanted for him.

By the way, I would have totally loved to see Nakamura vs. Lesnar but hey, thanks for making his decision for him Philadelphia. We’re cool.

Also of note, Roman Reigns eliminating his occasional brother in arms and at other times just some guy, you know, Seth Rollins. You might think that makes Roman a bad guy but, let’s be honest, Roman saw that Seth’s legs were on fire and very physically encouraged him to stop, drop and roll. Roman saved a life last night, people. Legends never die.

The next night of course, Roman’s road to Wrestlemania started by getting rid of his Intercontinental championship rematch in a concerted effort to get that belt as far away from him as possible. Next week he’ll be winning his place in the Elimination Chamber and shortly after he’ll be on his way to the mania main event ah. First though, there was some wrestling.

Now, as you all know, I much prefer to watch Roman doing double superman punches and drive bys on the Miztourage – and maybe one day the subsequent Mahaltourage – than to actually compete one on one with my boy Mizzy Mizzington, but at least we could be confident that Roman had no chance of winning last night.

Roman, no longer wearing his heel face and with Seth Rollins conveniently absent so people forget about Roman being evil until the proper time, took on the hugely popular, massively over and supreme talent of The Miz, who everyone apparently hates. Roman, who apparently everyone loves, has clearly broken the rule of physics, leaving hatred as a nice, warm thing and love as the true evil of the world.

I mean, I always knew but I’m glad we can all learn and grow together, you know?

Roman lost, which I have never seen him do before. Two nights in a row, too! What were the odds of that?

Odds Counter
– Shinsuke Nakamura
– Finn Balor
– John Cena
– Rey Mysterio Junior
– Randy Orton
– Dolph Ziggler
– Goldust
– Other guys? I’m not watching it again yet
– The Miz
– The Miz, as one of the aforementioned other guys I forgot about
– Curtis Axel, twice
– Bo Dallas, twice

Did Roman Reigns beat the odds?
No but with a list that long I think even Roman didn’t stand much of a chance, did he?

by Tom Colohue

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NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S COLUMN: MONDAY NIGHT REIGNS-O-METER #49: Tracking Roman Reigns’s ability to beat the odds and come out on top