According to the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, with John Cena now being a part-time wrestler in WWE, Roman Reigns has become the top merchandise seller of all the full time talent in WWE, and “there’s nobody ready to take his place.” As noted, John Cena will be taking time off WWE once again after WrestleMania to work on projects outside of the company, and he currently has four movies either ready for release or in production. Those films include The Wall, Daddy’s Home 2, Ferdinand and The Pact).
It was noted that in addition to selling the most merchandise of any full-timer, Reigns also gets the most reaction of any full-timer on Raw, even though it’s mostly mixed or negative. As noted, in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Triple H had the following to say regarding Roman Reigns’ heel/face status in WWE:
“People can look at Roman Reigns and say, ‘The failed attempt that is Roman Reigns,’ but Roman Reigns sells tickets,” said Triple H. “Roman Reigns gets one of the loudest reactions every night, whether that reaction is a boo or whether that reaction is a cheer. The fans who say, ‘I don’t understand why they don’t turn Roman Reigns heel!’ Isn’t he already?
“If you believe what you believe, and you’re saying, ‘How can they not turn him heel? There is 70 percent of the crowd booing him out of the building!’ If that’s your belief, then isn’t he already the biggest heel we have? If 70 percent of that crowd is booing him, then he’s a heel. We’re just presenting him to you in a different way that makes you hate him.”
