Roman Reigns is currently booked to face The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33 next month in what could end up being a huge year for The Big Dog in the WWE.
That's because the latest speculation has suggested Reigns will take on Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 34 next year for the Universal championship in a push that will culminate with him becoming the next top babyface in the company, overtaking John Cena.
While many fans are against this decision, the former Shield member is actually the perfect superstar to replace Cena as the top babyface in the WWE, and here's why.
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Loved by kids
Although you may hear boos ring around arenas when Reigns makes his entrance, there are dozens of kids that absolutely love what The Big Dog stands for, much like they love what Cena stands for too. See the similarities already?
Whether the more adult fans like it or not, WWE is a PG product and therefore, has to think about the children watching and provide them with a good role model which they can get behind. Reigns is exactly that and he works that role well.
Love/Hate Relationship
Similar to Cena, Reigns also has a love/hate relationship with the fans, so much so that they also chant 'Let's go, Roman! Roman sucks!' It's very rare that a superstar gets this kind of reaction from the WWE universe.
The fact the crowd is reacting this way towards The Big Dog shows that he is connecting with his audience, which means he is doing his job right. Take a look at WrestleMania 32, he was basically booed out of the building, but the fact he is causing a reaction is good in the eyes of the WWE as it means fans are talking about him, which helps with publicity of the company.
Top Merchandise Seller
Kids love Roman, and that means more merchandise sales. According to Forbes, Reigns had the third highest merchandise sales in the WWE in 2015, behind Cena and Daniel Bryan, but ahead of Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.
While The New Day probably replace Bryan in the rankings now, this stat only further backs up the case to have him as the company's top babyface. The fact he is in the top three shows he is the WWE's biggest and most important babyface alongside Cena, and hence would be a fitting replacement for him as financially and marketability wise, he would help the WWE make money.
His promos are improving
While The Big Dog has definitely been able to put on main event worthy matches, his promos have always been a bit of a problem for him ever since he began his singles push. However, we've come a long way from Tater Tots and beanstalks. He isn't quite at Cena's level of promos yet, but with some more work, he should be able to get there.
For example, after being bombarded with boos following WrestleMania 32 last year, he bounced back with his 'The Guy' promo on RAW the following night, truly trolling the fans that hate him while also having the kids love him even more. It boosted the love/hate relationship fans have for him, which is only means good things in the eyes of the WWE.
Heel potential
I mean, some fans have been begging for it to happen for many years now, just like for Cena, and it could work a treat at the right timing. Some would like it to happen during his match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania but that is unlikely to happen.
Yet, the opportunity is there for it to happen in the future, and they could potentially make Reigns turn heel when he is the top babyface in the company. However, they would need another babyface to replace him at the top of the WWE until he turns back. It probably wouldn't last long, but it has the potential to send shockwaves across the wrestling world.
The perfect chance for them to do this could be when Cena returns after filming one of his movies only for Reigns to spear him and turn heel in the process. Their feud could then culminate with a win for The Big Dog at WrestleMania in 2019, turning him back to face at the end of the match by helping Cena up.