Team SLTD are back once again to share our thoughts on the news that former WWE Champion Roman Reigns has violated the WWE Wellness Policy and therefore has been suspended for 30 days
@kieranthekiz (UKayfabe)
Stunned. That’s what the suspension of Roman Reigns left me, stunned. Of all the people on the roster to have been in violation of the wellness policy, he would be one of the last on my list. He was in such a top spot within the company, and I would like to assume that he had taken something that he wasn’t aware was in violation, and therefore has no option but to accept it. I do like the way he handled the news, he instantly tweeted his sorrow and regret. That’s what a man does, he owns up to his mistakes, he doesn’t makes excuses or point the finger at anyone else. I know a lot of the Roman haters/smarks will enjoy this news, however I feel that like Cena, his presence offers a lot to WWE programming, and there’ll be a huge void left in his 30 day absence. There’s no doubt he’ll come back even stronger, ready to do what he does best, prove people wrong each and every single night.
@callumowen98 (Facebook Manager)
As everyone should know by now Roman Reigns has been suspended for 30 days, instead of saying how idiotic it is for Reigns to fail a drugs test at his highest peak of his career after 3 solid PPV matches. I’ll speak about how WWE should treat this situation and how Reigns should be booked upon his return. Firstly his suspension ends 3 days before Battleground, as far as I know the Shield triple threat is still on. However in my opinion Reigns can’t be involved in that match, as it’ll be a bad media move by WWE for someone who has been suspended to be straight away placed in a main event for the biggest title in WWE without any involvement in the build for the match. Also Roman shouldn’t be drafted to any roster, as he’d still be under suspension when the draft takes place, but it also adds suspense to which brand Roman will be competing on once he returns.
For when he returns he can either come back as a fully fledged heel saying that he deliberately failed a drugs test because he was annoyed with the constant fan reaction, so he wanted to sink to their level by failing a test, or he can return as a more edgier Samoan bad*** face by taking on a heel that everyone hates for example Rusev. I believe Rusev could be the only top level heel that Reigns won’t get booed against. However this will be up for more discussion in 29 days or whenever Roman returns, but when he comes back WWE need to be smart on how they book The Guy, as fans but most importantly media pressure could be negative and it could cause the Roman Empire to crumble
@ALFarrand (PPV Rewind)
It was shocking to see the reports that Reigns had been suspended and all its done is put doubts in my mind about whether or not Ambrose was supposed to cash in and win at MITB. I’d like to think it was the plan all along for Ambrose to walk out as Champion but I feel it’s been done to keep a face as Champion for whatever reason. Going back to Reigns, I think he’s going to remain being held in a high regard, they’re going to protect him and his image extremely well. The spanner in the works for Battleground and the Draft is interesting although I am glad that the Shield Triple Threat will be scrapped. I want to see it, but I want to see it on a much grander stage.
@WWETOWNnation (The Fox Files)
Anyone that deliberately violates any policies put in place should be punished, and that’s exactly what has happened with Reigns. Rules are there for a reason, and Reigns broke the rules so therefore should be and has been punished. I wouldn’t expect Reigns in the same means to go against rules, though it does come as a shock. I do think with this happening that he may get de-pushed for a while when he returns, and they’ll do a hot potato with the title, although that depends on what happens in the future with the draft happening.
@TheWWEVoiceless (The Voice of Reason)
An absolute shock seeing Roman Reigns suspended by WWE for violating the wellness policy. Officials will be disappointed with all the time and energy into pushing Roman to be the top guy, and it all tarnished in one day. Personally, I feel we need more information to judge (i.e. this could be a substance that was not performance enhancing which Roman was unaware of). I respect Roman for owning up to this straight away like a man. I hope they use this as an opportunity to rebuild him, with new music, new gear and a new style.
@mrnebarry (Old Skool View)
Reigns isn’t the first to get busted as a champion and certainly won’t be the last. What’s potentially more damaging for Reigns & the WWE longer term is the fact they’ll be hard pushed to keep him the poster boy given the violation.
@Chica_SLTD (Wrestle Chica)
I have to start by saying that this really did come as a shock to me. Reigns has such a clean image that to do this doesn’t make any sense to me and believe that this has been an honest mistake on Reigns’ part. That being said he has done it and it has happened but what happens now? Honestly am not really sure but I do think that Reigns doesn’t deserve anything more than his 30 day suspension.
I completely understand and get that what Reigns has done is inexcusable and that his suspense is rightly deserved, there is a rule in place and he broke that rule. However people make mistakes but people also deserves a second chance and deserve an opportunity to show that this was just a mistake and I believe that Reigns deserves this.
How this will now work on air am not really sure although I do think that Reigns should be taken out of the main event picture only because he will not be able to build this up although I do not think he should be taken out of the main event all together but his return will have to be worked right and hopefully with a new image people will be a bit more receptive to him.
@Tybo_SLTD (Tybo Talks)
I was shocked by the news of Reigns failing his drug test, of all the people to fail a drug test Reigns just does not look the type. That being said it has happened, and he has handled the situation better than most others have in his situation. I cant see him failing because he has been taking hard drugs, so the assumption is that he has taken something that he wasn’t aware was on the list of things he cant take.
I honestly think this could be a blessing in disguise for Reigns and for WWE, to get him off TV for a few weeks, lets fans miss him a little instead of this forced push he is in the middle of. I think it would be good to have him come back with a new attitude, gear and music, although I cant really see it happening.
With regards to his suspension being up days before Battleground and if he should be in the match, simply put yes he should be in the triple-threat match. If he has been suspended for taking illegal class A drugs then he should be punished a lot more, but if this was just a simple mistake on Romans part then the punishment should end with the 30 Day suspension and no fans or media outlets can really argue, as the wellness policy is to be suspended, not to be suspended then be in the dog house for the next 6 months. After the 30 days is up WWE and Reigns should move on from it as soon as possible.
@TomRobinson5199 (Armbar Analysis)
The news on Roman Reigns is pretty big, with the Big Dog probably being the most high profile suspension in WWE due to violating the wellness policy. Randy Orton was suspended twice for violating the policy but it was not like he was the top guy whenever he was suspended. Roman Reigns was the WWE Champion only a few days ago and the big news coming out of this from Dave Meltzer was that the WWE knew about the failings before Money In The Bank, which could have been a major factor for Roman initially losing clean and dropping the belt to Seth Rollins.
The fact that they still announced the Battleground main event with Roman being involved, with the apparent knowledge of Roman failing the test, would seem to indicate that Roman’s probably still going to be in that main event. I’m not sure whether that’s the right decision or even if the wrestlers are supporting of this move, as a cynical wrestler in the back may question why someone that has done wrong is still being promoted more than they themselves are.
I personally believe that with the timing of the suspension being right before the big draft, I think Roman’s suspension does throw a big curve ball into their plans. There’s a part of me that believes that they will be very unhappy with Roman so this could see the Samoan out of the main event scene for a long time. It seems that the Big Dog has found his way to the dog house.
@AdamOB_UTS (Under the Spotlight)
What timing, huh?
Roman Reigns finds himself on the cusp of becoming this generation’s John Cena and he ends up getting suspended for violating the WWE’s wellness policy. It’s a serious bump in the road for the big dog, who was already suffering as the face of the company, drawing insufficient numbers at house shows recently and losing the respect and admiration of a lot of fans along the way.
I’m not going to judge Roman for what he did, or why he did it. Nobody’s perfect and all that jazz, but he does have a serious uphill battle ahead of him when he returns. Whether he comes back with his spot in the main event picture still intact, or ends up being demoted to the upper mid-card, Reigns has to run a serious gauntlet for the rest of 2016.
Personally, I think he’ll have no issues getting back to where he was, but I hope the WWE can make the best of a bad situation here and use this to alter Reigns’ character to the point where we can be comfortable watching him every week. Whether it’s a heel turn or not, something needs to be done to sort out the hatred he receives on the daily, and this suspension should give the creative team plenty of time to come up with something to fix it.
So that’s what Team SLTD thinks about the Roman Reigns situation, but what are your thought? let us know below
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