Bully Ray and Dave LaGreca believe Roman Reigns came out ahead of Seth Rollins verbally during their recent WWE Raw contract signing.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray and LaGreca discussed the segment and said it helped rebuild interest in Reigns vs. Rollins for SummerSlam after Rollins’ solo promo the previous week.
There’s something about Roman Reigns.
And listen, I know Seth Rollins fans aren’t going to like this, but there was a lot of what Roman said last night that is true.
Roman is on another level from Seth Rollins.
He just is.
The Busted Open hosts said Rollins still had a good night, but argued Reigns won the verbal exchange.
I thought Roman won that war of words last night on Monday Night Raw.
Now, I thought they did a smart thing by having Seth get the best of him physically, but I thought in the verbiage war, Seth did have a good night last night.
I still think Roman Reigns beat him in that war of words.
Bully Ray asked whether the segment made the match more interesting than it was before.
Did last night’s segment want to make you see their match at SummerSlam anymore?
LaGreca said the segment got him back to where he was after Reigns and Rollins shared the ring two weeks earlier.
Yes.
What it did, it brought me back to where I was two weeks ago.
Two weeks ago, you and I were on the air talking about how great the segment was, how excited we are.
Last week was a step back. They got us back to where we were two weeks ago.
The discussion then turned to Rollins being stronger when he has Reigns across from him.
That tells you that the WWE made a mistake putting Seth Rollins out there by himself last week.
Doesn’t matter. We’re back.
The ending of Raw last night, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns contract signing worked.
Bully Ray said the segment showed why last week’s Rollins promo did not work as well.
Seth on his own, not nearly as strong as when Seth has somebody to play off of.
More specifically, Roman Reigns.
Bully Ray said most wrestlers benefit from having someone else in the ring to work with.
Most wrestlers, men and women, are stronger when they have somebody to play off of, something to feed off of, than just going out there alone and cold and being able to capture a crowd’s interest from the minute you start talking to the end.
The hosts also criticized Rollins for falling back on some of his familiar catchphrases during the segment.
It bothered me to no end because he had him.
When he started going and he started gaining momentum two weeks ago, Seth Rollins hit everything.
He didn’t need to do that lazy fallback.
They said Rollins already had the crowd before going back to the “visionary” and “revolutionary” lines.
It was like fingernails on a chalkboard when he was like, “I’m a visionary. I’m a revolutionary.”
He did have the crowd.
He didn’t need to go there, but he did.
Bully Ray said Reigns and Rollins worked because of their history together.
There’s a reason why The Shield worked.
The Shield worked because of the chemistry.
He said the final focus of WWE’s Shield video package being on Reigns and Rollins was not accidental.
The final shot you saw at the end of The Shield vignette video package was Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins shaking hands.
The focus was on them.
They are it when the world of the WWE, Seth and Roman are by far the stars of the show when it comes to The Shield.
The hosts also praised Reigns for shutting down “What?” chants during the segment.
Roman did a fantastic job.
How did he shut it down?
He shut it down by his verbiage.
They said Reigns cut the chants off by quickly hitting Rollins with stronger material.
As soon as that started to gain a little momentum, cut it off.
It was very, very short because what did he do?
Started throwing haymakers at Seth Rollins and then those “What?” chants became oohs and ahhs from the crowd.
Bully Ray said the reason the segment worked was because the promos felt real.
Last night worked so well because both men hit each other with brutal honest truth.
And the truth works because the truth is real.
And real is where the entire wrestling industry needs to go.
Real, real, real.
He said real emotion is what sells to the audience.
Real emotion sells.
And you heard the reactions of the crowd when Roman was landing those haymakers of real on Seth Rollins.
The hosts said Rollins’ message was similar to the previous week, but worked better because Reigns was in the ring with him.
Seth last night said a lot of what he said last week, but here’s the difference.
He’s not in front of Roman.
That’s the biggest thing.
Bully Ray said Rollins went too long the previous week when he was by himself.
If you’re by yourself and you’re up there for 10, 11 minutes just spouting and talking, you’re going to lose the crowd.
And he did.
The hosts also praised the way the segment built anticipation when Rollins returned to the ring.
Seth had left the ring and Roman was basically like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. That’s it? You’re just going to leave?”
We see Seth selling on his face all of these lines that are landing and eventually that makes Seth come back to the ring.
The walk back to the ring is so important because it builds anticipation within the crowd.
Bully Ray said Reigns’ ability to make eye contact with the crowd is part of what separates him as a promo.
Roman looks at the crowd when he’s cutting a promo.
When he’s talking, he’s addressing.
I don’t think there’s anybody that delivers a promo in the ring better than Roman Reigns does.
Bully Ray compared Reigns’ crowd connection to a concert performer making the audience feel personally addressed.
Roman looking at the crowd makes a connection with the crowd.
He looks at them because he’s speaking with them, to them, at them.
He’s making them as much of a part of this as Seth Rollins is.
The hosts said Reigns is not chasing cheers, but is using eye contact and presence to make the moment resonate.
He’s not chasing the hug like, “Please cheer for me.”
What he’s doing is in the eye contact, he’s resonating.
It’s very small. It’s very psychological, but it works.
Bully Ray also pointed to the crowd’s body language as proof that the segment was effective.
When Seth starts to come back to the ring, the people start to boil.
When Roman and Seth stand up, the people start to stand up.
That’s body language.
Those are cues for, all right, something’s going to happen.
He said the crowd reaction matters more than any single person’s opinion.
So many times, young wrestlers, “Bubba, what did you think?”
What did the crowd tell you?
That’s my response.
I might have thought the match sucked, but if 20,000 people are cheering their asses off, it doesn’t matter what I thought.
The crowd told you they loved it.
The hosts then compared the careers of Reigns and Rollins, saying Rollins has never reached Reigns’ level as WWE’s top star.
Roman was picked by Vince and it worked and Seth was picked by Hunter and it hasn’t so far to the same level as Roman.
They said Rollins has been great, but Reigns has been positioned and received at a higher level.
Has Seth ever been the number one guy?
Seth Rollins? No.
When it comes to that level of being over.
The hosts pointed to Reigns’ lengthy title reign and historical comparisons as separating him from Rollins.
They kept the championship on Roman Reigns for a long time and were discussing Roman in the same breath as Hulk and Backlund and Bruno.
Seth has never been in those conversations.
Bully Ray said Rollins being behind Reigns is not meant as disrespect.
There is no disrespect in the truth.
We have put Seth over to the moon for his strengths.
We’re not burying him for his weaknesses.
Bully Ray said Rollins’ weaknesses are simply what make him second to Reigns.
What we’re saying is his weaknesses are what make him number two to Roman.
That’s it.
So if Seth is a nine, which is a great score, Roman’s the 10.
The hosts said Reigns stands with only a few WWE names from the past 15 years.
Roman in the world of professional wrestling is a 10.
Seth Rollins is a nine.
Nine is great.
When it comes to Roman, Roman’s a 10.
They said only John Cena and Cody Rhodes have come close to Reigns’ level in WWE over that period.
Listen to the names that over the last 15 years that come in even close to Roman.
Cena, Cody, that’s it.
The hosts said Reigns’ overall presentation is part of why he is at that level.
Roman is like a deity.
He is godlike in the WWE.
His music is godlike, spiritual.
The way he carries himself, the look on his face, the time in which he takes to make everything mean something.
Bully Ray said the dynamic works because Reigns and Rollins are pushing each other.
Roman is forcing Seth to be better.
And in a way, Seth is forcing Roman to be better.
That’s why it’s working.
That’s why two weeks ago it worked.
That’s why last night it worked.
Bully Ray said the segment accomplished its goal by making him more interested in seeing the match.
After last night, I want to see Roman and Seth at SummerSlam.
The business of the match was accomplished.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Busted Open Radio, with a h/t to Wrestling Headlines for the transcription.
