Roman Reigns On Heel Turn Being Pointless, Vince McMahon, Struggling With Some Scripted Promos, More
Recently on Talk Is Jericho, professional wrestling legend Chris Jericho spoke with three-time world champion Roman Reigns. Among other things, Reigns talked about whether WWE Chairman Vince McMahon ever coaches him on how to deliver lines, getting booed, why becoming a full-blown heel does not make sense for him, and gaining creative freedom.
According to Reigns, McMahon has never told him how to deliver his lines. In the view of 'The Guy', he has struggled on the microphone at times when his lines did not resonate with him on a personal level.
"No, he doesn't tell me [how to deliver lines]. He never told me how to deliver lines." Reigns continued, "the toughest part is just the verbiage or if something's written for you and you can't, like, connect to it. And you see it. It is what it is and you see it. But you have a job."
Reigns indicated that building trust with McMahon takes time, but he is getting there now. Also, Reigns stated that he connects with his scripts more now, which can be attributed in part to WWE gaining a better understanding of 'The Pick Of The Litter'.
"You've got to build equity. It's one thing, do you know what I mean, to drive the car while he's in it, but it's another to have the keys. You've got to earn that equity. You've got to build that over time and you've got to get that trust. I think we're there. I think we've been there for a while. And I think I connect to the stuff that I do a lot better now."
On the subject of getting booed, Reigns said that getting reactions is most important.
"We get it all the time, babyface/heel, babyface/heel, babyface/heel, like, I'm just me. I've always had kind of a? I rub people the right way or the wrong [way]. You either like me or you don't." Reigns added, "but as long as you rub people some way, yeah, man, you have a position in show business."
Reigns claimed that the interesting aspect of his crowd reaction is that the WWE Universe competes to voice their feelings of 'The Big Dog'.
"I don't know how else to say it. It's loud. But the thing is it's cool because they compete. They compete. The people who like me, they're going to cheer. And the guys who don't? Did I say, 'the guys'? The guys my age who don't, they want to be louder, so, like, it becomes a thing. And that's what it's all about. I mean, this is the world that we live in today. Not everybody is going to like you and people want to see you do good, but not that good." Reigns said, "yeah, as long as they're coming, as long as they're making noise, have fun, man. Boo the s–t out of me. Like, if it's making you cooler with this dude and that dude next to you and y'all are having a great night, please, say all you want to me. I'm a grown man. You're not going to hurt my feelings. Do you know what I mean? My wife is not going to think any differently of me."
In Reigns' estimation, there is no point to him turning heel and he suggested that being a tweener guarantees his deafening greeting from fans.
"The thing is, if I turn heel, what am I? Am I just going to, like, become a chicken like, just like everything that [has] been done or why not just be me? Like no one has ever been like me. This is an uncharted territory. It can be anything I want it to be, so why put myself on one side of it? Why not just dabble? Why not have the full range, do whatever I want, be 'The Guy'? Do you know what I mean? That's how I feel. I'm the one writing this at this point right now. We're in a position [where] we can do anything we want as long as they make noise."
Reigns stated that is he has accomplished a lot already in his WWE career, but he is still forging his own legacy. 'The Samoan Bad Ass' divulged that he is looking forward to gaining more creative freedom.
"I'm still building that equity. Like, I don't even feel like I'm driving the car by myself yet, on my own road, so when we get to that point, I feel like I have unbelievable creative liberty. Do you know what I mean? And just where it's not even responsibilities or where you get to that comfortable point where it's only about art, it's only about what I want to do and the stories I want to tell because, as a human, there are a lot of reasons why I do what I do. But this is a job and there are certain things that we have to provide for, and take care of, and a life we live."
Drink in some Jerichohol here, man. If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit Talk Is Jericho with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: Talk Is Jericho