Jerry Lawler On What Happens Backstage When A WWE Superstar Becomes “The Guy”

Sunday night at WWE No Mercy, John Cena faced Roman Reigns in a highly anticipated match, and Reigns continued to assert his dominance in WWE when he beat John Cena in the middle of the ring.

It’s no big secret that WWE officials want Roman Reigns to be the top guy in the company, but his push hasn’t gone over well with the fans. On a recent episode of his podcast, Dinner With The King, Jerry Lawler talked about what goes into picking “the guy” and why the fans sometimes push back.

“The reason for that match was, we talk about mythical passing of the mythical torch, I think that’s what that match basically represented. In WWE, you have to have, there always have been and always will be, a pecking order in the talent roster. And you usually have that one featured guy that is considered “the guy.” That, obviously, is a Vince [McMahon] decision on the final say-so on who will be “the guy.” You have to feature him, or “push.” Sometimes if the fans don’t feel that person is ready for that big push, they resent it.”

Roman Reigns said in an interview a few months ago that he’s a locker room leader now, but Lawler has noticed over the course of his career that when someone becomes “the guy” they tend to drift away from the rest of the roster due to the perks that come along with having the top spot.

“Yeah, I think so. You know what is a funny thing in the business? When you get to be “that guy,” you suddenly no longer dress in the same locker room as all rest of the guys. You have your own bus. You have your own locker room. You’re not in the one big male talent locker room. There is a little bit of a fallacy in the fact of the guy that is “the guy” is the locker room leader; that is just not necessary real. A guy like Brock Lesnar; you never see Brock. He’s always on his bus or his own locker room. You never see him. He stays in there until basically it’s time for his match. He goes out and comes back, and then he’s gone.”

Do you believe that Roman Reigns is the right person to be the top guy in WWE, or do you feel that someone else should be given the chance? Sound off in the comments below.