The Big Dog, Roman Reigns, has been at the top of the WWE ladder for a long time now. While the man himself has divided the WWE Universe to its core, it is no secret that Roman Reigns is one of the company's biggest stars in the modern era.
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A 3-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion & a 4-time WrestleMania main-eventer, Roman Reigns' track record speaks for itself. That often leaves people asking - Where did it all begin?
Readers might recall that Roman Reigns was pushed to superstardom ever since he won the 2015 30-Man Royal Rumble match.
As we all know, that win itself subjected Roman to a lot of criticism, leaving the fans frustrated due to a lot of indirect reasons. Ever since then, The Big Dog has been a controversial figure in this industry.
So it all leads to us asking one important question - What if Roman Reigns never actually won the 2015 Royal Rumble Match?
The next few slides will look at 5 potential alternate scenarios if Roman Reigns never went on to win the 2015 30-Man Royal Rumble Match...
#1 Who Else Could Have Main-Evented WrestleMania 31?
As we all know, Roman Reigns eventually went on to face Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31. However, Seth Rollins' cash-in at the end labeled the whole situation "Heist Of The Century".
If Reigns never won the 2015 Royal Rumble match in the first place, it leaves us with a few other contenders for the WrestleMania 31 Main-Event match.
Bray Wyatt? The Eater of Worlds had scored an impressive 7 eliminations to his name for the 2015 Royal Rumble match (the highest for that event, only to be followed by Reigns & Rusev with 6 eliminations). Wyatt eventually went on to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania 31, only to lose to the Deadman (which is still an honor, by the way). Does Bray Wyatt vs. Brock Lesnar sound like a potential money-making main-event for WrestleMania 31? I'll let the readers be the judge of that.
Rusev? Back then, The Bulgarian Brute was a force to be reckoned with. As mentioned above, he did eliminate 6 people in the 2015 Royal Rumble Match. In early 2015, Rusev had a lot of heel heat riding with him. Accompanied by Lana, Rusev was one of the best heels at that point in time. But, we know that he went on to face John Cena at WrestleMania 31, only to lose against the Cenation. Does Brock Lesnar vs. Rusev sound like a potential money-making main-event for WrestleMania 31?
Dolph Ziggler? Cesaro? While many other names sound like they'd be a decent pick for main-eventing WrestleMania 31, it is only one name that triumphs over the rest:
Daniel Bryan. Let's be real now. The WWE Universe wanted the underdog to finally win this one. Sure, he did main-event WrestleMania last year, but then Bryan got injured after WrestleMania 30, due to all the neck injuries piling up. So the WWE fans thought that they could re-witness all that WrestleMania 30 magic once again in 2015. Unfortunately, due to the bad structuring of the 2015 Rumble Match itself (& Daniel Bryan's unexpected elimination), the fans decided to hijack the show & as a result of that, Roman Reigns got booed for winning in the end (even if that was not his fault).
So, no matter whom you pick as a main-eventer in this alternate scenario, one thing is for sure - People wanted Daniel Bryan to win. Either that or the whole Rumble match was poorly structured from start to finish...
#2 Re-Imagining Four Consecutive WrestleMania Main-Events!
WrestleMania 31 - Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar. WrestleMania 32 - Roman Reigns vs. Triple H. WrestleMania 33 - Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker. WrestleMania 34 - Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar (again).
Four consecutive WrestleMania main-events: All headlined by The Big Dog, Roman Reigns. Would Roman Reigns have accomplished this feat if not for his 2015 Royal Rumble win? I know, a Rumble match pales in comparison, but just think about it - Roman Reigns winning that Royal Rumble Match was an unofficial kick-starter for his ultimate superstardom that would follow.
Re-Imagining four consecutive WrestleMania main-events is no easy feat. It leaves a lot of possibilities open, & requires a separate 10-page article dissecting not only Roman Reigns' but other wrestler's fates as well.
Even if The Big Dog would have headlined either of these WrestleMania main-events without winning the 2015 Rumble match, it would be safe to assume that the controversy following each & every match would not be the same in this case.
Basically, this whole Roman Reigns saga is a long-term decision made by the WWE (whether you like it or not). Reigns winning that Rumble match officially started this saga. His first WrestleMania main-event was Plot Point One. All the WrestleManias that followed signifies his journey of overcoming obstacles & achieving several milestones (like defeating The Undertaker at WrestleMania). By overcoming each step, Reigns' story progresses further towards the climax, and that was supposed to culminate at WrestleMania 34, against Brock Lesnar once again.
Unexpectedly, Reigns was made to lose for some reason, and now the fans think that the climax will eventually take place at SummerSlam 2018 (against Brock Lesnar). Whether you like it or not, the Roman Reigns story starts and ends with him eventually overcoming Brock Lesnar as his final obstacle. All the WrestleMania main-events in between were just catalysts progressing this story forward, and that is why it is very hard to re-imagine four consecutive WrestleMania main-events without Roman Reigns.
It is a whole other matter of whether WWE has managed to successfully execute this saga so far or not. But as a writer myself, I have to commend the WWE for being faithful to one single story spanning across several years...
#3 It Indirectly Alters The Paths Of Several Other Wrestlers As A Result
Throughout Reigns' journey from winning the 2015 Royal Rumble up to the eventual climax of his saga (whenever that happens), he has encountered several wrestlers.
If somebody develops a time-machine and alters events by not letting Roman Reigns win the 2015 Royal Rumble, the whole landscape of this company could change as a result.
Some events, such as Daniel Bryan announcing his "retirement" after WrestleMania 31, was a long time coming, and a single glitch in the past cannot change that. But other events, or other 'wrestlers' specifically, such as Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, Braun Strowman, Sheamus and several others - What about them?
Brock Lesnar is technically the ultimate villain of this saga, so without this long-term scenario taking place, where does that leave him? Roman Reigns is responsible for Undertaker's second loss at WrestleMania (so far). Would WrestleMania 33 yield a different path for The Deadman in this alternate scenario? A more pressing question - Would The Undertaker be NEEDED if not to establish himself as another milestone in this ultimate saga?
The Roman Reigns-Braun Strowman feud was pretty great. It also helped Storwman get over with the WWE audience in a massive way. But by looking at this story in a 'macro' manner, Strowman was just another obstacle standing in between Roman and destiny. Sure, he was a huge obstacle, but still a supporting character nevertheless.
Would Strowman be as huge as he is right now without feuding with The Big Dog?
Sheamus. What about him? Well, if the reader remembers - Sheamus cashed in his MITB contract during Survivor Series 2015, just after Reigns had defeated Dean Ambrose in order to become the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. What followed was Reigns desperately trying to win his title back from Sheamus whilst many other side characters such as The League of Nations and even Vince McMahon prevented him from doing so.
As always, Reigns overcame this roadblock eventually. Nowadays, Sheamus is associated with Cesaro as one-half of "The Bar". But would things have been different if not for that disastrous angle with Reigns during the late 2015-early 2016 period?
I could go on and on. Just as I stated in the previous slide, we need a separate 10-page article for this point alone. All the reader can do is contemplate, the 2015 Royal Rumble is more important than we think...
#4 What Happens To Roman Reigns Himself?
While we can always talk about the 'paths' of wrestlers surrounding The Big Dog - What happens to Roman Reigns himself?
Well, the first obvious conclusion would be that Roman Reigns wouldn't have been as controversial as he is now.
Boy, that 2015 Royal Rumble win alone somehow pitted all the hardcore wrestling fans against him. Just that one single booking decision, and the fact that they never altered his character from its morals has led to an uphill battle for fans to not only embrace this saga but to accept the WWE product as a whole.
Like I said, you can put The Big Dog in any number of WrestleMania events you want, you can pit him against any number of WWE Legends as you wish, but everything would not be the same (or as controversial) for him if not for the 2015 Royal Rumble victory.
It shows us that some booking blunders can attach itself to a long-term story like a viral disease.
In the end, what happens to Roman Reigns in the future is not that important of a question really. He is going to be booked for main-event matches at some point or the other. The important question is not "What happens?", the important question should be "How Does It Happen?"
With that being said, let's jump right into the last potential scenario, which to me, is the biggest question we should ask ourselves here...
#5 Who Would Eventually Become "The Face Of WWE"?
Alas, there are so many memorable (and not so memorable) matches that establish WWE Superstars as 'The Next Big Thing'.
In the context of the 2015 Royal Rumble match, readers would easily assume that Daniel Bryan would be the 'right guy' or the eventual Face of the WWE if not for Roman Reigns.
This situation is more complicated though, Daniel Bryan's semi-retirement announcement came due to so many injuries piling up on him. A change in booking decision does not necessarily erase those numerous injuries altogether. So it is obvious that the weight of those injuries would have sooner or later forced Daniel Bryan to make that decision.
That leaves us open with interpretation. Other than Daniel Bryan, it is actually very hard to pick a current WWE superstar at that point of time capable enough to become the ultimate face of the company. Because remember, we are talking about 'the guy' as in Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena - Wrestlers who defined their generation.
Maybe someone from NXT? That would make some sense. Seth Rollins? Dean Ambrose? Sure, Daniel Bryan has returned once again, but times have changed since then, and Roman Reigns has capitalized during all the time in between.
Whether you like it or not, maybe 20-30 years into the future, people will look back at this point in time and immediately associate Roman Reigns with it. It could have been Daniel Bryan, if not for the injuries.
What it ultimately boils down to is the 2015 Royal Rumble match, and Daniel Bryan's semi-retirement announcement. Both of those events are indirectly responsible for shaping the landscape of WWE today. It all depends on the booking though, they have to finish this Roman Reigns saga some way or the other. Otherwise, it would be a waste of four years of long-term buildup leading up to this point.
By looking into "What If" scenarios from the past, we learn more about decisions and events that have led up to this point. If Roman Reigns had not won the 2015 Royal Rumble match, someone else could have been at the forefront of this industry today. What do you think?
Sound off in the comments. Maybe WWE could re-focus on Daniel Bryan after this Roman Reigns saga gets over, who knows? What I do know is that we have to watch SummerSlam 2018 in order to find out. Will the Roman Reigns story finally culminate during 'The biggest event of the summer?', or will this storyline drag even further?
