Imp’s WWE Adventure

Lesnar vs Reigns IV: Down As Smooth As A Dog On A Slide

2015 was a most wonderful year. We had the lows of the Royal Rumble, the highs of WrestleMania 31 and the middling Irish roads of Sheamus the WWE Champion. Looking back, man, this was the year.

This was the year our favourite slide fully titled and we plummeted face first into the rubbery ground of the playpark. But us crazy wrasslin’ fans continued to fly again and again, face first down that slide expecting better results. Each and every time we got back up, declared how shit that felt and climbed to the top to slide down once again.

It’s either a tale of resilience or stupidity. “I mean he keeps pummelling his face into the ground, but he does get back up every time.” With the television shows successfully goading us into having just one more go on the slide, convincing us that it surely won’t be as bad this next time. But nothing’s changed, even with a more pleasant curve, you’re in for some pain if you keep going down that slide face first. So are we resilient or we idiots?

Then here we are, 3 years later in 2018 and all the other playground activities have been purposefully worn down to make the SLIDE OF PAIN more appealing. Some of your friends tell you to just go play at a different park, but despite all the bumps and bruises you’ve got so many fond memories at this one. Moving on to another would be like leaving a piece of you behind. Literally, with all those parts of your face solidified onto the ground.

Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns IV wouldn’t be too bad if we hadn’t gone done this slide two times already this year, I’m still bruised from that last one where they tried to reassure us with a safety cage. However this time we’re promised the promises are real, WWE are finally going to let us slide down feet first again. For some reason I keep telling myself to believe them.

That’s my current state of mind, do I jump back down the SLIDE OF PAIN? Not knowing if I’ll really be landing on my feet? The tilt of the slide is looking less vertical than it was earlier this year, but I’m real beaten up and the kids at those other wrestling playparks have been real nice to me. In reality Lesnar vs Reigns IV feels like I’m being asked to fly down face first one last time with the promise that it’ll be the last. Should I believe them?

Back in 2015 I wasn’t super happy about Reigns’ sudden push to the moon, but there was still a hope that everything could turn out alright as we headed into a new era in WWE. Rollins’ cash in was an amazing moment, a stroke of genius that ended up catapulting all three members of the S.H.I.E.L.D. into main event stardom. The future seemed to be on the shoulders of those three men, even with Reigns present as the best of the three, that was no bad thing.

However, then the fixation became apparent. The build to WrestleMania 32 shifted Reigns as he was suddenly painted as an underdog up against Authority. My feeling during early 2016 was to just let them get it over with. WWE had pulled out last second the year prior, this was the Samoan’s time to dethrone Triple H, walk out as WWE Champion and carry the company into the future.

And? Two and a half years later, we’re back in that same place. Hell, I could have written this exact column half a year ago and it would be word-for-word. Roman Reigns – and therefore WWE – has been in a stall for what feels like forever. Pushing him as the top guy on TV, building him up for a full year to once again decide not to launch.

Heading in to New Orleans, we were back at that crowning stage from WrestleMania 32, but with the opponent of 31. The play appeared to have come full circle, then they pulled out AGAIN. Why? Who the hell knows, all I can say is things since have felt very weird. Like the WWE car full on stalled and they’ve been trying to get the engine running for the past 4 months.

Which brings me to the title of this column, for the third time my mind is set at the stance of just wanting to get it over with. Let them give Reigns his crowning moment so we can move on… I don’t know about you, but this is the third match this year to have that feeling going in. It feels like yet another attempt to get Reigns over, when I felt like they’d really hit on something during his runs in the summers of 2016 & 2017. The character has made sense, just very inconsistently.

I don’t want Reigns to turn heel, I don’t care about Lesnar not being there, I just want them to move on. For God’s sake, crown Roman Reigns as your top guy. Again. Every year huge strides are made with his character in the Summer, to only be completely disregarded come the next WrestleMania season. WWE needs to move on or well and truly risk alienating their fans. They’ll only willingly get hurt so many times before it burns and scars.

Without strong, consistent writing, no road WWE choose is good. It doesn’t matter what the ‘who’ or ‘what’ is if the ‘how’ and ‘why’ suck balls. WWE, desperately needs more consistency. Who does 50/50 booking help? Changing character motivations on a whim? Building a story to only then go and How I Met Your Mother it right at the end with the world watching?

We all know that story built was the one they really wanted to tell, if they’re disregarding fan response and pushing Reigns why do they care how the fans react? New York will boo, who cares? You made your bed WWE, why cry for sympathy when it’s time to lie in it? SummerSlam will not go down smoothly, but at least it will happen… right?

Just get the crowning of Reigns over with and move on. In the 3 and half years it’s taken you to get to this point, I already have.

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Thanks for reading! How are you guys feeling heading into SummerSlam? Should I have put Roman’s face on the dog? Let me know in the comments below. We are also currently recruiting new writers with the opportunity of posting here on the Lords of Pain main page, so if you have ever wanted to write here then why not sign up via the picture below and get started today!