‘It’s Much Easier’: Roman Reigns On Choosing Between Babyface and Heel in WWE

WWE superstar Roman Reigns has revealed his preference between playing babyface and heel in the company. In his decades-long career with the wrestling promotion, Reigns has taken up several roles in the WWE playing both the protagonist and antagonist across multiple storylines. During a recent interview with Bloomberg, the former Tribal Chief explained what kind of character he prefers to portray on screen. “Well, the business is at its most successful with me as a heel, but the future looks bright [as a babyface],” said Reigns. “It’s much easier — I think babyface is an easier side to actually perform in. But, it’s so much more fun as a bad guy.” he added.

Roman Reigns has headlined WrestleMania multiple times in his career as the ‘good guy’. But for the last couple of years, his feud with the American Nightmare Cody Rhodes has seen the Samoan become more of a heel figure. This was not always the case. Reigns made his WWE debut 12 years ago as a member of a faction called The Shield. After playing a negative role for some time, Reigns quickly transitioned into a baby face. Things changed in 2020 after the multi-time champion returned after a brief hiatus to play a new character. His run as a heel figure lasted four years, ending earlier this year after being defeated by Rhodes in the WrestleMania 40 main event.

Following his loss at WrestleMania, Roman Reigns left the company on a break for an unconfirmed period. While he was away, the fans were vocal about their love and admiration for the former Undisputed Champion. He received an electric reception after an unexpected return at SummerSlam 2024. The premium live event saw Reigns win over the very same fans by whom he was rejected in the past.

The Bloomberg interview also saw Roman Reigns address the difficulties WWE faces around story-telling due to PG restrictions. He did acknowledge that the restrictions also allowed the company to reach a wider audience. “No offense to our predecessors and the people that came before us, and the ratings that they revolved around, but to me it’s more challenging to be able to tell these stories, and then it also allows you a broader audience to connect to, which I just really feel like is always the goal. We want to reach as many people as possible, and I think there’s a fine limit to when you can kind of cross that threshold where you push people off from the product,” he said.

While Roman Reigns has returned to the WWE, there is still no update as to what is next for the former Tribal Chief. Given the recent developments, WWE may be planning a fight between him and the new Bloodline chief Solo Sikoa soon.