Why Roman Reigns' Run As A Babyface In WWE Was So Bad, Explained
William Smith
Published Mar 28, 2026
Quick Links
Roman Reigns is now the best performer in the WWE, regarded for his tremendous larger-than-life persona and work as the leader of The Bloodline. The member of the legendary Anoa'i family rose up through WWE's developmental brand, NXT alongside Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose as part of the highly successful faction, The Shield. The trio dominated the WWE landscape for well over two years, laying destruction all over and going through every obstacle to cement their status as top prospects of the future.
However, after the group disbanded in 2014, the time to mold Roman Reigns into the megastar of this generation had come. Reigns was long foreseen by Vince McMahon to become the next big attraction for WWE since his arrival in the company, but his initial start was nothing but a huge disaster that led to WWE struggling with Roman Reigns for the next so many years. So let's dive deep and explore the subject of Roman Reigns' failed babyface run at the start of his singles career.
RELATED: 12 Things Fans Should Know About Roman Reigns’ Life Outside WWE
Roman Reigns Retained The Essence Of The Shield After The Stable Was Disbanded
The Shield was a highly popular faction during its run in WWE, known for their dominance, brotherhood, and long winning streak. The trio of Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns captivated the audience not only with their in-ring talents but the overall presentation that made the group special.
However, in 2014, Seth Rollins betrayed his cohorts, eventually leading to the group's untimely demise. All three superstars went their separate paths with different creative directions. However, looking at the popularity that the Shield garnered during its run, WWE had decided to retain the spirit of the group through Roman Reigns. The future Tribal Chief (unlike the other ex-Shield members) kept a lot of the group's look, including their ring gear, a very modest remix of their theme song, and their ring entrance from the crowd. This was the start of WWE's long-term plan to position Roman Reigns as the successor to their previous golden goose, John Cena.
Roman Reigns Was Involved In Feuds With Top WWE Superstars Right From The Beginning
While Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose continued to feud with each other after the Shield disbanded, Roman Reigns was involved in much bigger feuds with the reigning top stars of WWE at the time. The Big Dog was involved in a major feud with Randy Orton and later on found himself in his first-ever world championship match at a WWE pay-per-view.
Other than that, he found himself facing stars like The Miz, Kane, and Big Show with the fans starting to get behind him. Moreover, Reigns also found himself in a few encounters with the man he was supposed to succeed as the face of WWE, John Cena, who gave his best effort to push Roman's early push.
RELATED: Roman Reigns Says He Trusts WWE With His Life, But Not With His Family
The Early Popularity Of Roman Reigns Began To Diminish
Roman Reigns took a short hiatus in the summer of 2014 due to getting surgery for a hernia. He had not done much before going out of action, but despite that, Reigns was crowned as the winner of the Slammy award for 2014 WWE Superstar of the Year. The Big Dog's win surprised some to the point where they started accusing WWE of fixing the results, despite the fact that Dave Meltzer and Pro Wrestling Insider claimed the fan vote was authentic. Moreover, from December 2014 to January 2015, Reigns' positive crowd reactions were diminishing.
The reason for that was mostly seen due to Reigns having an extremely limited moveset when in the ring, forced promo delivery, and an attitude unbecoming of a top fan favorite. Furthermore, Reigns was trying to be like John Cena. He was in the limelight of some of the worst promo segments, notably against Seth Rollins and Big Show, and many fans did not think that he was good inside the squared circle.
RELATED: Is The Shield The Most Successful Star-Making Stable In Wrestling History?
The 2015 Royal Rumble Was Clearance Evidence Of Roman Reigns' Failed Babyface Push
Roman Reigns' breakthrough was upon the WWE Universe as the company had decided to give him a monster push with a win in the 2015 Royal Rumble match. The night that was supposed to be the biggest one of his young career turned into a nightmare that Reigns would always remember.
The Head of the Table entered the 30-man over-the-top-rope-melee at #19 much to the loud boos of the audience in Philadelphia who were not happy to see him in the match and were much agitated with the elimination of the fan favorite from the match Daniel Bryan. Moreover, WWE sought to use The Rock in an attempt to get him over, but it failed as well. Roman Reigns won the match and was endorsed by The Rock in the end, which was received by much displeasure from the fans.
That night made it clear that WWE failed in establishing Roman Reigns as a heroic babyface and marked the start of WWE's massive struggle to get him over with the audience as a hard-luck underdog. That lasted until 2020 when they chose a completely different direction and Reigns debuted the ongoing heel gimmick that made him the biggest attraction in the company and fulfilled WWE's long prophecy of making him the flagship star of this generation.
