3 ways Roman Reigns' unfortunate absence has benefited WWE Raw

Before getting started, we wish all the luck in the world to Joe Anoa'i in his battle against leukemia.

Roman Reigns has been the centre piece in WWE for more than four years now. He headlined four consecutive WrestleMania PPVs from 2015 to 2018, he is a three-time WWE Champion, one-time Universal Champion and a Grand Slam Champion.

The list of Reigns' accolades are endless. However, the WWE Universe did not welcome him as WWE wanted. The WWE fans received The Big Dog predominantly in a negative tone - often booing him out of arenas, and cheering his opponents.

Even WWE had to change most of their plans last minute due to this backlash. Reigns was initially planned to beat Brock Lesnar at both WrestleMania 31, and WrestleMania 34. But a huge negative reaction forced the creative to alter the results in the respective matches.

While Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract at WM 31, Lesnar defeated Reigns clean at WM 35.

However, the sudden news of Roman's leukemia hit the WWE Universe hard - even Roman's die-hard haters. The sadness was intensified when he revealed that he was initially diagnosed with the same eleven years ago, and he was in remission. Albeit temporary, WWE lost one of its top stars, but like any other business, WWE has to move on. And in all the sadness, there is a silver lining.

On this list, we will take a look at a few reasons why Roman's absence is a blessing in disguise for RAW. This article is in no way meant to defame or hate on Roman Reigns. As mentioned earlier, we wish Joe all the luck in his battle against leukemia.

So without further ado, let us begin.

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#3 No more centralised storylines

The biggest problem with RAW was that even though it was a three-hour show and had a roster stacked with talents, the creative did not care for anyone other than Roman Reigns. Much of the episodes were focused on him (or The Shield, when they were together).

The biggest example is the latest edition of Hell in a Cell pay per view. There was only a single proper feud from RAW heading into the event - the one between The Shield and the team of Braun Strowman, Dolph Ziggler, and Drew McIntyre, whereas SmackDown Live was full of awesome feuds.

However, this changed after Reigns left. Currently, there are many ongoing feuds on RAW. The feuds between Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, Baron Corbin and Braun Strowman, and Ronda Rousey vs Nia Jax - all look good.

#2 Better opportunity for mid-carders

WWE treated its mid-card as if it never existed, as there were no proper storylines for the mid-carders. However, after the current turn of events, things look bright for them. The team of Chad Gable and Bobby Roode are getting time to shine.

Elias also had a sudden face turn, which propelled his value to a higher level. The Intercontinental title feud is one of the hottest feuds in WWE today, and the tag team division is legitimate again under the Authors Of Pain.

Honestly, the mid-card is back to prosper again on RAW. The creative are forced to experiment new dynamics since they lost their top guy.

Elias' face turn was one of such a new dynamic. Even though Elias had one of the biggest crowd reactions every night, WWE was reluctant to pull the trigger on him. But now he is a babyface, and is on the verge of a mini-push.

#1 The top guy

It is no secret that Roman Reigns was the face of WWE. He was the centre piece of the company, and the entire storylines were built around him. Reigns main evented four consecutive WrestleManias - something even John Cena, Stone Cold Steve Austin, or The Rock didn't do. Hence when Roman stepped down, there is suddenly a huge void to be filled.

WWE could tackle this in two ways - either have a new top guy or employ more than one top guy. During the Attitude Era, there was more than one top guy in the company. However, lately it hasn't been the case - especially after 2010.

Now WWE has Braun Strowman, Drew McIntyre, and others to contend to be the top guy of the company. It is entirely possible that WWE may go back to having more than a top guy to keep the main event scene fresh. Once Reigns returns, he can have feuds with multiple top stars.