Prior to WrestleMania 32, Roman Reigns was pegged to be the next John Cena. At first, it sounded like a crazy quest for WWE officials to actually accomplish such a feat. To become the next Cena, Reigns would have to break into the world of entertainment and pop culture and have a gimmick theme that can be used as a meme all throughout the internet. Reigns needed to become the man who can never lose clean, but on top of it all, he had to become the babyface that ran the place. The WWE had a tall order.

As time went on, the love that WWE fans had for Reigns began to decline. When he was with the Shield, Reigns was the powerhouse, and the cornerstone and figurehead of the triple powerbomb the Shield became notorious for delivering to one superstar after the other. The three-time WWE champion was also the aggressor that they needed to remain relevant and capture the WWE Tag-Team championship. Together, they became arguably the greatest stable in WWE history.

image via WWE

Reigns then entered a singles run, which became a hindrance, rather than a step in the right direction in his WWE career. Fans resented him for winning the Royal Rumble, even though he was favored by those same fans years before. When he was exposed by himself, his microphone work became his Achilles heel, despite having a great body and a handsome face. Put CM Punk’s talking ability on Reigns, and he becomes the most popular star in the company.

Even though Vince McMahon and WWE tried to work miracles, Reigns just didn’t get over with the group that matters most. For moms and children out there, Reigns is still a favorite. That may be the biggest problem facing the former-WWE Tag-Team champion. WWE writer Joey Styles believes moms are the reason for Roman Reigns’ endless push.

“Bottom line is, if our chairman thinks he sees a future star as a babyface, that’s how things are gonna play out … But the answer is Vince thinks it can work. He’s been right much, much, much, much, much more than wrong over the course of the last 40 years. I’m sorry, but I’m not gonna second-guess the chairman.” “That’s part of it: Moms are the ones who bring kids to shows. Kids like Roman Reigns. Moms like Roman Reigns. That’s the reason. Just because some people boo him doesn’t mean everyone doesn’t like him.”

This writer attended WWE Raw in Pittsburgh, which many grade as a very good episode. For Reigns, he was verbally buried by Stephanie McMahon in the opening promo. She even went as far as saying he’s a loser. Then, Reigns was pinned clean by Finn Balor, which was the third time in the last few months that’s happened. It’s safe to say Reigns is in the doghouse with WWE officials. Reigns has remained protected during his push, until now.

[Image via WWE]

Edge and Christian commented on Reigns’ suspension and wellness policy violation. They talked about why Cena is the face of the company. He’s never failed a drug test with the WWE. If they truly want Reigns to be the face that runs the place, that simply cannot happen. Reigns knows that, but it seems the moms and children don’t care. It’s their prerogative to love him, and Reigns may always be over with that demographic.

Nobody can look into a crystal ball, except for WWE officials. His future in the main event is coming into question. At first, he was slated to face Seth Rollins for the new WWE Universal championship. Now, Balor is in that spot after beating Reigns. Allow that to reverberate for a moment. Balor, in his main roster debut, beat Roman Reigns. The moms and children weren’t fans of that. Maybe, that’s the problem.

[Image via wwe.com]