Roman Reigns has been the top star in WWE for years and for most of his run at the top he’s been a babyface. Reigns spent quite some time working as The Big Dog, but in 2020 he decided to switch things up by turning heel and embracing a new character known as The Tribal Chief.
The Tribal Chief persona has done wonders for Roman’s career and it sounds like he was more than ready to make the change by the time it happened. Paul Heyman talked about the evolution of Roman Reigns on Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin, and he explained that certain elements of The Big Dog character started to weigh on him.
“I’m still there as executive director. Roman Reigns has taken time off,” Heyman said. “With his condition, he’s not exposing himself to this pandemic that we don’t have a grasp on how severe it can be quite just yet. And, at the same time, he’s had enough of the creative. These things are running concurrently.”
“The feud-rivalry-story with Baron Corbin over dog food, and the infamous ‘suffering succotash’ promo, had weighed on him enough to where he said, ‘I’ve had enough. I’ve reached the cap. I can’t go any further as the Big Dog'”
“‘I’ve peaked, [but] as an athlete I haven’t peaked. As a performer, I’ve barely scratched the surface. I have so much more to offer, and since I’m taking time off, I’m not coming back as the same person. This is where I make my move. This is where I do, for me, what Lesnar did for himself when he conquered the streak. Something has to become my defining moment, and then propel forward from there — the catalyst to something completely different.'”
Since turning heel Roman Reigns has taken his career to the next level with a championship reign that has lasted over 1,000 days. Even though Roman is currently the top heel in the company it was recently reported that WWE is already making plans for him to become a babyface again and you can get more on that here.
H/T Wrestling Inc.
