Why Was Roman Reigns Hated by Fans During His ‘Big Dog’ Gimmick? Find Out

Despite Roman Reigns’ reputation as WWE’s biggest star, the Big Dog took time to earn respect from the fans before he became the Tribal Chief. Find out why his previous gimmick was hated by the fans.

By Rishabh Singh

Published on Aug 14, 2024 | 08:22 PM IST | 56.3K

Roman Reigns during his Big Dog gimmick. Image Credits: Getty Images

Roman Reigns is, without a doubt, one of the biggest stars in the modern era of WWE. But his success in the Stamford-based promotion was no low-hanging fruit. Reigns faced many obstacles and even rejection from the WWE Universe early in his solo career.

Roman Reigns made his debut on the main roster in 2012 alongside fellow Shield members Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. The Hounds of Justice ran roughshod in WWE by taking out major stars. However, The Shield broke up in 2014, leading the faction members to set out on their solo careers.

Unsurprisingly, all members of The Shield achieved immense success as solo stars. However, Roman Reigns faced significant backlash from fans due to his 'Big Dog' gimmick. At the time, Reigns was portraying a dominant babyface, but many wrestling fans felt his character and gimmick were forced.

Reigns, who was immediately pushed as a top star, nearly got booed out of arenas every time he made his appearance or cut a promo. In addition, his promo skills left a lot to be desired, as Reigns failed to connect with fans as a babyface, though he was presented as a blue-chip star.

In what was perhaps Roman Reigns’ most embarrassing promo, he seemed to have forgotten his line during his contract signing with John Cena in 2017. Taking notice, John Cena immediately exploited the Big Dog’s vulnerability, stating, “It’s called the promo kid; if you’re gonna be the Big Dog, you’re gonna have to learn how to do it so go ahead.”

At that point, fans even thought Cena went off-script and buried Roman Reigns but it was later clarified that the promo worked.

Interestingly, fans cheered for Cena over Reigns, although the former was considered the most polarizing star in WWE at the time. Even though Reigns achieved major success during his Big Dog gimmick, like winning his first WWE Championship in 2015 and defeating The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33, fans refused to accept him.

Nonetheless, Reigns finally grew on the WWE fans in 2020 after his heel turn. It was during this time that he became The Tribal Chief and formed one of the most nefarious and dominant factions in WWE, The Bloodline.

Reigns went on to win the Universal Championship and merge it with the WWE title. The rest, of course, is history, as the Head of the Table solidified his legacy as the fourth longest reigning World Champion in WWE history.

Also Read: Who Has the Most WWE Championship Wins and the Longest Championship Reigns?

Recently, the Original Tribal Chief made his groundbreaking comeback at WWE SummerSlam 2024. Despite his World Title loss to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XL, Roman Reigns has briefly turned his focus on conquering the new Bloodline led by Solo Sikoa.

Make no mistake, Reigns is going to chase the WWE Undisputed Championship again soon, as he was seen issuing a stern warning to Cody Rhodes before SummerSlam went off the air.

It’s only a matter of time before we get Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes III since the former has yet to exercise his rematch clause. Anyway, Reigns is currently listed as a babyface on SmackDown. It remains to be seen what the future holds for Roman Reigns.