 What's good Josh boros back again with another video, so we're gonna check out Roman Reigns from hated hero to beloved villain man Roman Reigns's character arc has completely taken a 360 From what he was as a baby face that was being shoved down the fans throats my venturing man as the guy To where he is now where people are Start they're starting to now boo him legitimately as a bad guy as a villain since his interaction with Sami Zayn as a late But for the longest time he was the cool heel He'll champion, you know and then his character change and growth has been fantastic This will go down in history is one of the best heel turns to a character We've seen since like damn, they're Hulk Hogan in my opinion like this Saved his career in the trajectory it was heading so we're gonna check out when he was hated So when he's buck come beloved this whole story this whole saga by none other than wrestling flashback appreciate all love and support Let's get right into it Just on April 3rd 2017 the rule after WrestleMania 33 Roman Reigns stands in the middle of the ring A man who the WWE has been trying to build up as a conquering hero Hieropsy is the face of the company the night prior He became only the second wrestler ever to defeat the Undertaker at WrestleMania Which they should have turned up here that night. You won't understand just how big of a deal that is It's a feat that had only ever occurred once prior. Honestly, I think I Know a lot of people may not agree with this if you weren't gonna beat this if you weren't gonna have the streak stay intact I wouldn't have gave the street to Brock. I would have gave it to Roman As soon as I saw them people weren't rocking with it. You go with you go with the flow now You have people legitimately hate him because he beat the streak that and he would have been a maid man He would have been a maid man and that she would have been great in over 20 years And that moment is often touted as the most shocking moment in wrestling history The script for this night had Roman coming out to say some words about his victory and further cement his top guy status To the WWE universe, but that's not what happened. Instead the fans in attendance boo adamantly At a wrestler who in the story is supposed to be the good guy, but they throw obscenities at him and chant non-stop Not letting him get a word in they express their utter disapproval for eight straight minutes as Reigns just stands there Finally he says A trope often used by the most respected man in the business who he defeated the night before This was followed by him walking away to an even louder chorus of booze Now professional wrestling has a unique connection with its audience that no other scripted form of entertainment has and that's because the shows are live And in front of the audience that they're broadcasting to imagine in your favorite television show a character makes the decision You don't like and instead of just going to Twitter or complaining to your friends You're able to voice the disdain live as the actors are trying to perform their scripted dialogue and the cameras are rolling That's something that can only happen in wrestling crowd reaction is everything whether it cheers or booze Which in wrestling lingo is either called a pop if it's cheers or he if it's booze and the worst reaction is no reaction But in this instance Reigns is getting a reaction a huge reaction no less But not the one that the company the writers nor Reigns want to be getting but why is that to answer that question? We need to look at Reigns career in wrestling up to that point and the reason the fans were rebelling against him Reigns Whose real name is Joe Anoai is a direct descendant of the Anoai family one of the greatest Dynasties in professional wrestling his relatives include current stars like the Usos and countless WWE Hall of Famers including Rikishi Yokozuna, Peter Maivia, the Wild Samoans and another guy you might have heard of Dwayne the Rock Johnson Yeah, the Anoai family had more great wrestlers come out of it than just about any other family in history Wrestling was in Joe's blood although Joe didn't start training right away Focused instead on American football, which he excelled at even making several practice squads in the NFL But when his football career ended he decided to get into the family business in 2010 through his connection at WWE His impressive athleticism and his physique He signed a developmental deal at Florida Championship Wrestling the developmental territory for WWE Reigns was given the name of Roman Leackee and owed to his Samoan roots He wrestled some matches in FCW while receiving his initial training from 2010 to 2012 Early in his development, WWE brass saw something big in Joe and repackaged him as Roman Reigns He wrestled a few matches in the new developmental territory NXT before joining the main roster alongside fellow FCW alums Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins as part of the shield The shield would go on to be one of the greatest stables in wrestling history But it was originally pitched at the time by WWE champ CM Punk to be as mercenaries and the initial plans included Ambrose, Rollins and Cassius Ono better known on the independent circuit as Chris Hero But WWE decided to add their new pet project instead Reigns who they already saw as a candidate to be the future face of the company They debuted in the main event of Survivor Series 2012 to take out Ryback so Punk could retain his title They were originally mercenaries claiming to seek justice though heels in their actions They often got incredible reactions from the fans. This was because there were three unique characters acting as a Bro, it's so crazy. They they were the future of the business, bro These three guys right here future of the business This was lightning in the bottle these this is rare where every member of the group has at one point became WWE champion or At the top of the cart. That's rare that every member of the group Became a mega star, bro. That's all whose intentions were unclear But they had laid havoc everywhere they went and were booked incredibly strong Reigns originally played the role as the brooding muscle of the group while Rollins was the architect and Ambrose was the unhinged Unpredictable one one unique attribute of the group was that they never came through the entrance ramp like the rest But rather came through the crowd this showed they were outsiders But also garnered a connection with the audience as they weren't separated by any barriers They were coming from the same place as the fans meaning fans could be inches away from the shield something that would be near Impossible on television shows compared to Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose two beloved veterans who made their names on the independent scene And were well-seasoned in the ring and on the mic Reigns was extremely raw But because of his stable mates, he was very well protected His lack of experience was never highlighted by long stints in the ring But rather by short periods in tag matches where he could dominate with limited exposure This was a smart way to handle the early booking of Roman as there are countless examples of wrestlers who were given too much time Can we go back to how he botched that so awfully trying to go over the top row beat This was a smart As a recount this example Evident as the shield dominated they did not lose any matches in their first six months on the roster Reigns they shouldn't have heavily not having his first Television till almost a year into his run when he defeated Daniel Bryan by disqualification Brian was someone who the fans adored even if WWE never saw him as their top guy But what exactly does that mean to be a top guy the face of the company? Well, it's exactly what it sounds like the top guy in the company who WWE relies on for the main event at their biggest shows To sell the most merchandise and is their top draw as Jim Ross long-time commentator and former head of talent relations at WWE said in his book WWE since it was WF had been a top guy company Bruno San Martino was positioned as a conquering hero that cavalcade of heels would try to take off the mountain But he was so popular that he held the championship for over seven years Then when this man bought the company from his father and planned a nationwide expansion He knew he needed someone to carry the company insert Hulk Hogan You know who had previously worked for Vince's father had been fired after taking the role of Thunder Lips in Rocky 3 He then created the Hulkamania gimmick in the AWA and Vince saw how the fans in the American Midwest were responding to him And knew he had his man Hulk Hogan was brought back to the WWE and was positioned as the guy Yeah, it's trapped to his back Hulkamania ran wild throughout the nation But the important thing is that even though he was pushed to the moon and hardly ever lost the fans loved him He was charismatic and had a connection with the predominantly younger fans Hogan was a conquering superhero Hogan's clean-cut good guy character Dominated as WWE went global and became the number one resting program in the world Even though he was shoved down our throat standing tall at seven of the first nine WrestleMania main events overall Hogan was Vince McMahon's ideal top guy bringing unprecedented success to the company However, just like Hollywood Vince McMahon loves a reboot and after Hulk Hogan left the company in 1993 McMahon was searching for his next Hogan and this is where we see a failure in the top guy booking style when McMahon was looking for His next face of the company He wasn't trying to stray too far off course and even though he had extremely talented wrestlers like Bret Hart whom the fans were Completely behind he couldn't get off the idea that they needed to be like Hogan Yeah, man saw Lex Luger Lex Luger was tan jacked and most importantly American Luga who had previously wrestled in the company as a heel named the narcissist was given the all-american gimmick wearing trunks that were emblazoned with the stars and stripes and body-slamming champion Yoko Zuna on board a World War two ship is a moment that screams. This is the top guy now He began a tour across the country in a bus labeled the Lex express He would greet fans and shoot a music video to a song called I'll be your hero This is an obvious example of the WWE telling the audience who their hero should be But the issue was the fans just didn't like Lex in the same way They liked Hogan they wouldn't boo him but the support behind Bret Hart was just greater than the support behind Lex and his limited In-ring ability and lack of charisma compared to Hogan made the fans Well feeling different for this reason and probably with some concern due to the 1994 steroid trial of Vince McMahon Luger never won the belt and after losing at WrestleMania 10 where Bret Hart ended up capturing it He quickly fell down the card before he left the company this demonstrates that the fans aren't just going to like who the WWE tells them to like and this is what it's this is what it's been This is what it's been when it happens organically It's usually the best outcome when it doesn't happen organically and it's Shove down your throats and it it never comes off. It doesn't really work Especially nowadays you try to push someone Before people really organically gravitate to them The fans are gonna usually reject it and this is what happened with Roman Dressing fans are part of the show. They can form their own opinion such as how they force WWE to change the main event match of WrestleMania 30 and convince the bosses to put in Daniel Bryan Who organically was able to become the most over guy in the company even though WWE never saw him or booked him as their top guy No fans were able to change the story It shows just how much the company believed in Reigns early on that he didn't lose to Brian in his first ever singles match as the shield Progress they ended up working for the authority and being heels But the fans were still behind them and when they eventually abandoned the authority and became baby faces in 2014 Reigns took more of a leadership role further showing the fans that he was the member of the group who the WWE saw as the future face of the company another example of how much the company believed in Reigns was of the 2014 Royal Rumble where he had 12 eliminations breaking Kane's previous record from 2001 the fans didn't love this but as part of the shield Reigns was getting mostly positive reactions Shields were extremely popular and as much as fans like to bash WWE creative They did a great job with the hounds of justice Introducing three unknowns and making each of them credible main eventers in just two Not they did the booking was that once Seth Rollins betrayed the rest of the group and the shield broke up WWE's intentions on pushing Reigns to the moon became even more clear He also kept the shield gimmick wearing a combat vest during his matches and coming out to the shields entrance music As well as entering through the crowd This was WWE's attempt to capitalize on the immense popularity of the group and keep pushing him to the very top of the company Throughout the rest of 2014 Reigns character was booked to be an all-conquering ass-kicker But his in-ring work though not bad was not up to par with some of his contemporaries Including both of his former stablemates even though Reigns is quite charismatic His promo seemed overly scripted and that was hurting him. It was hurting him. It'd be different if the booking was more or less, I guess the same but his Charisma and his promos work the thing that's always saved John Even though you got tired of the booking was his promos his promos helped When you when you're out here saying suffering suck-a-tache Get them off the mic get them off my screen. Get them out of here. What are we doing in authentic? Which though not his fault led fans to reject him. Oh, yeah Reigns did have some success But the more he continued to dominate the fans started to turn against him because just like luga 20 years prior The fans don't like being told who to like this was never more apparent than at the 2015 Royal Rumble Where Reigns ended up winning the match over fan favorites such as Daniel Bryan But when it became clear that Reigns was going to win the match the fans booed enchanted We want refunds the heat was so bad that even roman's cousin the rock couldn't get the fans to cheer for Wayne The Rock Johnson is perhaps the biggest movie star on the planet But he first made a name for himself in the wwe and showing that wwe doesn't know how to learn a lesson His gimmick was as rocky my via a clean cut good guy playing off of his Samoan heritage Strikingly similar to roman leaki Reigns fcw character. This shows how wwe doesn't learn from its mistakes My via was supposed to be a good guy But constantly got boozed from the fans with chance of rocky sucks and signs showing die rocky die It wasn't until johnson turn heel and joined the nation of domination that his otherworldly charisma and talent became evident The reasons the fans booed is the blueprint and that's crazy. They literally just followed the blueprint. That's it That's all they did. They literally followed the blueprint. It just took them years later to do it That's it You had it the rock was the same way no one cared Until he started cutting promos and they started letting him be himself and say fuck it And that's when people cared. That's when people got invested when he started talking trash The same thing with the rock. I mean with roman it's they're from the same family I don't know how it took them this long to realize this roman should have been a heel a long time ago I'm glad that he is one now, but he should have been a heel Nah, it's you can't make this up. The rock is so important Is he is arguably one of the most beloved figures in professional wrestling? It was clear to the fans that the wwe was trying to use the rock to get some shine on reins And the fans were not having any part of it and this wasn't the good kind of heat when a heel riles up the fans So they hate him. This was go away Yeah, the fans didn't want to accept that reins was their top hero even though in the storyline That's how he was being represented after failing to win at wrestlemania 31 Reigns wrote out the year in similar fashion and went on to main event wrestlemania 32 Against triple h who was supposed to be the clear heel the head of the authority who constantly got in Reigns way Trying to screw him at every turn another example of wrestling loving a reboot It's a similar story to the one triple h's real life father in law Vince McMahon had played to rocket stone cold steam and they tried to they tried to do that story And it didn't work You want to know why it didn't work because people liked stone cold people wanted to see him The authority figure in vince McMahon people didn't like roman. He just didn't give a fuck. It didn't work He lost in the beast guy during the attitude era while that feud is often considered the greatest in wrestling history The rehash was not so successful as even though he was being booked as the underdog fighting the corrupt authority Reigns received a lot of heat during the match at mania with a loud chant of roman sucks while fans cheered for the supposed heel Triple h Fast forward to wrestlemania 33 where he defeated the undertaker The inciting incident for the start of this video a year after that He may have entered wrestlemania 34 against Brock lesnar and even though lesnar defeated reigns It took six f5s and the crowd weren't happy with herds of fans leaving the stadium early because none of the guys in the main event Were who they wanted one important thing to know is that even though crowds Fucking Taboo reigns out of the building He was still a huge global star who had great merchandise sales and particularly appeal to children This was the reason he continued to be booked in prominent roles And why like his closest contemporary john senor vince mcman and wwe creative refused to turn him heel Senor is an example of a top guy who a large segment of the fans hated off the crowd Mainly grown men would chant senor sucks and the women and children would chant let's go senor But even though a large segment of the fans had disdained for him He was still booked as the face of the company because his merchandise sales and draw were big enough And therefore along with the fact that vince mcman can be persistent to a foal wwe didn't turn roman heel during this period However, the fact that he sold shirts didn't stop the live crowds from continually pushing against him And the fans at home from tuning out because of this the wwe booked several shield reunions So we could get a rub from his former stablemates It was only with his shield brethren in tow that reigns got something that resembled the reaction wwe desired even though the backlash continued reigns continued to rack up accomplishments winning four world championships However on october 22nd 2018 reigns came out to the crowd and though it started with the usual booze and heat that most reigns promos received It quickly became real reigns would speak out of character Saying that his real name was joe and that he previously been living with luke nia when he was younger And unfortunately it had returned you could hear a pin drop as the fans couldn't believe it They watched on in shock with some being driven and this was this was a crazy emotional moment. Remember watching it live The real the real person the real guy came out and told them What was going on and for the first time? Damned in in his entire career in wwe The fans cared it didn't come off scripted. This was him talking about How he's feeling and what he's dealing with and the fans Cared and this should have been a recipe from when he came back They need to less script them be more himself tears even the ruthus wwe fans showed their love and admiration for reigns wishing him the best during his recovery Luckily reigns came back on the february 25th 2019 episode of raw to a huge ovation from the crowd And announced that his luke nia was back in remission reigns returned to competition and had a match at wrestlemania 35 Where he defeated drew mack entire it was during this run that for the first time in his singles career He was getting the babyface reaction from the fans that wwe had hoped the bulls started to sink in He turned into 2020 and reigns challenged goldberg for a match at wrestlemania 36 Fans started to remember why they disliked him in the first place because once again He was being booked as an all-conquering hero despite fans not feeling like he'd earned that role The booze were not as strong But they were being felt because even though the audience could acknowledge the fact that joe and awai the person was a hero for Overcoming luke mia They still didn't feel like roman reigns the character had earned the role he was receiving the covid 19 pandemic Caused reigns to opt out of his match at wrestlemania since he was immunocompromised Reigns sat out several months until he returned at the 2020 Attacking the new universal champion On the following episode of smackdown reigns aligned with heel manager paul hayman turning heel for the once he did this I was like yes Our prayers had been answered from the the wrestling gods above I was like yes, they did it They did it They finally pulled the trigger and They have never looked back and I love it the first time in his solo run He quickly won the universal title at payback. This may seem like another example of reigns being shoved down our throats No The real change happened after he began a feud with his real-life cousin Jay Uso reigns and jay had a series of great matches great Including an exceptional bow at hell in a cell in an iQuit match and it was here that reigns started to fully develop His new character He made jay acknowledge him as the tribal chief a symbol that he's the best of his family During this run it was hard to judge him in terms of crowd reaction Because it happened while the wwe wasn't allowing fans in attendance But he was doing what fans and critics agreed was the best work of his career It improved his craft both in the ring having extraordinary matches against the likes of kelly Owens and daniel bryan As well as being great on the mic when fans finally returned at wrestlemania 37 Reigns was met with proper heel heat But there were also some cheers because the fans loved what they had seen during the pandemic And even though he defeated two fan favorites in daniel bryan and edge Nobody was upset with the outcome because reigns was now playing a real character and not just a broad corporate idea of a hero The tribal chief in many ways is reigns accepting the fate that wwe had put on him for so many years as the top guy Now he is a character who not only believes he's the top guy in the company But won't shut up about it He also formed the bloodline a dominant stable consisting of his cousins the usos as well as newer members Solo sekoa another member of the noi family along with honorary member sammy zane while telling the fans and his competitors That they must acknowledge him the bloodline so far has been one of the most interesting and best stories the company has had in years Since then reigns has become the most over guy in the company and is doing the best work of his career He may be getting heat from the crowd But this is the good kind of heat as this is what the story calls for and even then he's also getting cheers because of Just how damn entertaining he's been and that's where the backlash came from the wwe universe wants to be entertained And they weren't being entertained while the inevitable continued to happen The fans pushed against reigns being the babyface top guy for over six years when he finally turned and showed how much he had improved He became the top guy in the audience's mind No, he's not the next hulk ogun or johnsina But he is the first tribal chief and that brings us back to april 3rd 2017 Reigns can't cut his victory promo because the booze and chants are too much The crowd would not acknowledge that he was trying to speak This was just the wwe universe asking for a change in a way that is only possible in wrestling The audience of anything is the most important factor when you're trying to entertain reigns career journey shows how big of a Role the fans can play wwe stopped telling us that we should like him and gave us a character that we grew to love And even though it took quite a bit more time than they had hoped with a current championship reign of over 800 days The longest since hulk ogun in the 80s reigns is undoubtedly the top guy that the wwe thought he would be and the audience Definitely acknowledges him This is good, man. This was a great video fantastic video Y'all go subscribe to restaurant flashback if you haven't already I'm in much agreement with everything he said in this video Roman reigns is the this is the version of him. We should have gotten so many years ago And now he's actually before he was getting like he was getting heat But a lot of people were giving him cheers because they were just he was cool He's a cool guy to like now Now he's getting the good proper booze People are still acknowledging him But he's getting the proper booze because we actually have some baby faces and we want to see finally defeat Uh roman reigns, but ultimately this was this was fantastic It's it's crazy to see How things have changed from where roman was to where he is now he is On another stratosphere, and I am looking forward to how things will shape up for rest of mania um This uh, this uh this year so comment down below Let me know which version of roman reigns do you guys prefer? I know there's a lot of you guys that prefer the the the baby face the big dog roman reigns Over the tribal chief roman reigns. Let me know which version of him. Do you prefer for me? It's not even a question tribal chief all fucking day I this is the best incarnation best version of roman. We have gotten in my personal opinion So let me know down below, but I appreciate all the love and support you guys have shown on the channel Road to 150k and I am still you know the speed of youtube wrestling champion of the world And of course you're in the clutch world heavyweight champion. Appreciate y'all kicking with me. See y'all next time. Peace