WWE Must Avoid the Temptation of Marvel ‘Avengers’ Type Booking with Roman Reigns | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Exiting SummerSlam and looking at the next long-term installment of the Bloodline saga, WWE needs to tread carefully with Roman Reigns.

The Reigns return generated a huge pop and positive reactions from fans for obvious reasons, chief among them the old adage about absence making the heart grow fonder and the simple avoidance of Solo Sikoa suddenly wearing the promotion’s top title around his waist.

But the situation feels precarious.

Reigns just had one of the best heel-based storylines of all time, while the Bloodline rewrote what fans thought was possible as far as long-term storytelling in the sport. It was the staple example of how the Triple H era of creative has truly changed.

One mishap with Reigns now, though, could undo much of the progress made—by going the Marvel Avengers route.

Fans spent so, so much time in the Vince McMahon era that it’s not hard to see how it might go that way. Reigns returns to a big, happy reaction, then aligns himself with the likes of Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton and Kevin Owens. It would be WWE’s strange attempt at the famous “portals scene” from Avengers: Endgame, to say the least.

That happy, sudden babyface stable then goes on to eventually overcome the big evil Sikoa-led Bloodline in never-ending tag matches before dissolving. Reigns then has a hard time as a solo act once more.

Old WWE bookings that just mashed together good guys and bad guys for tag matches without much storyline or character sense are part of what doomed that division for so long, too. Reigns and Rhodes just giving each other disgruntled and/or distrusting looks while tagging at house shows, weekly live shows, and even PLEs would just douse the hottest storyline in the sport with lukewarm water.

Part of this fear also stems from a simple fact—this is what WWE always wanted. When the company forced that “big dog” version of Reigns into multiple WrestleMania main events despite a lukewarm or even indifferent reaction, the goal was to force him into this current levels of over with fans.

Were WWE still booking things like even a few years ago, creative might attempt a small victory lap of sorts by embracing that fully Cenaesque version of Reigns, almost as if an I told ya so.

Thankfully, and to be fair, early indications during and in the aftermath of the SummerSlam main event hinted things won’t go this route.

Most of that came down to Reigns’ reactions. He wasn’t doing a happy Cena wave to the fans who embraced him or yapping into the camera. He was clearly not thrilled with helping Rhodes retain his title, then mock-clapped in celebration. And at points, he was visibly disappointed to inflict damage on his own family.

Fans can only hope that measured storytelling continues because there is much to be resolved on the family front.

Reigns effectively relaying to the audience that he’s the only one who should beat Rhodes and that the American Nightmare can keep that title warm for him until he’s done with the family stuff would be a smart move.

After all, the man has to reel Paul Heyman back into the story and avenge him, for starters. Getting Jimmy Uso back in the fold and ironing out the issues there is a must.

Most compelling of all, though, is looping Jey Uso back into the fold. The Yeet man is both super-over with fans and stuck firmly in purgatory as a singles star. He’s a little too big to go after things like the Intercontinental title, yet won’t stand a chance at Rhodes’ title, nor get in the way of what should be a very, very long Gunther title reign.

Seeing Reigns and Jey make up and combat Sikoa’s stable is infinitely—no exaggeration—more interesting than the real Tribal Chief teaming with other random Superstars like Orton, who just happen to be babyfaces at the time.

Nuance is a must, of course. Ideally, Reigns does less straight-up heel gaslighting of his own family members, hints that he sees the error of his past ways and the tone shift for his Bloodline is palpable.

Not a full-on babyface thing by any means, but it’s probably an important dynamic to establish—because super-heel Rock, reality-blending, corporate heel Rock is right there for a ‘Mania feud next year.

It really doesn’t get much bigger than that as far as possible ‘Mania plans. Peeling back the layers to reveal that Rock was the one dishing orders to Sikoa this whole time is just fantasy booking right now, yes. But it would get fans behind Reigns in an unbelievable way while he doesn’t even need to lean babyface at all—he just needs to align himself against a type of villain every fan despises.

Done wrong, WWE fumbles the Bloodline saga at the finish line and signals a regression for the company’s storylines. Done right, it’s just more proof the weekly product is worth investing in and continues the most compelling arc—for Reigns and those in his orbit—in modern pro wrestling.