by Hanley! » Apr 09, '18, 11:48 am
Reigns is pretty damn good in the ring. He's downright great when paired with someone equally talented or more talented than he is. His moves look cooler and he moves better than Cena ever has in the ring. He probably sells better, and he doesn't bellow out spots. He's a definite step up from Cena in terms of his actual wrestling, if you ask me. Particularly when you consider how bad Cena was at this stage of his run.
The big problem with Reigns is Cena. We've just been through ten years of a plastic corporate hero that the fans didn't really want, who was still shoved down their throats repeatedly. And now WWE are giving fans another one. There's a level of exhaustion now that just wasn't there for Cena. Fans waited patiently for WWE to be done with Cena so they could properly enjoy the show again, and then WWE gave them Cena 2.0. They're just fucking done with it.
As a four time Wrestlemania main eventer, a multi-time world champion, and a presumably very rich dude, it's hard to have much sympathy for Reigns. But he is in many ways a victim of circumstance here. He is genuinely talented and could have become a massive success if he was pushed at a different time or in a different way.