Robin

Roman Reigns is a natural heel.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he's a bad guy, he seems like a very nice guy, very positive, a real family man - the whole 9-yards of nice guy traits and I'd like to have a burger with him. As a performer he's electric in the ring and most everything about him screams badass, I'm a fan.

But does Roman Reigns have the personality of a natural character babyface? I do not think so, perhaps in another era but not in this one. Roman is extremely confident in himself, stoic yet seems like a sensitive, morose person as well. He is a talented dominant athlete, genetically gifted and born into a wrestling dynasty. A lot of these traits both superficially and deeply play into the makings of a amazing heel character. Also for better or worse, by the WWE promoting their authority figures as heel characters for so many years anybody who is seen to be pushed heavily becomes a good heel candidate, it is a blurring between reality and fiction. We are in an era were people love the underdog, Roman is by no means an underdog nor should he be.

Listening to many Roman interviews over the last year, something really sticks out to me in the question he's asked again and again; his reaction to his critics (eg: https://youtu.be/wCu24r6sa3s?t=10m10s). He says the critics opinions don't matter to him, that he is out there to entertain and they don't know what they're talking about. It is a very standoffish (heel) attitude; Roman is essentially saying he is "above his critics". While at the same time, he also says that people are welcome to voice their opinions and he loves any noise they'll make about him, in other words he loves the attention, and it would sound like he doesn't want to appear affected by it. As far as I can tell These aren't in-character statements, it's his personality. He's determined to be #1 and if you like it or not he believes in himself.

I think the "prototype" Roman Reigns seen in the NXT video above is a preview of his true potential. Witness how naturally he behaves this that interview, well before he was ever given a microphone for even a minute in the main roster. This is before he improved greatly on the mic this year. I love it, I love heels (Have since I was a kid) and natural heels especially. To compare; the late Roddy Piper was also a very nice guy who I met and experienced what a great guy he was but he was also a tough as nails bad boy and one of the greatest character heels, arguably the greatest in wrestling history.

Had a crazy idea I'd like to put out there, We've shown Sandow our appreciation and will continue to so in little ways, but the secondary goal to Sandow Appreciation Day was making WWE notice. What if we dedicate to a movement just about getting Sandow on TV and making WWE notice? #RawIsSandow or something ike this? The focus would be getting the hashtag trending during raw. It could even run week after week until they get it. Perhaps even find a way to expand beyond twitter, we may need a movement alike "YES!" or at least "Cesaro section".

Sandow Appreciation day is here and I have a few things to say! To me it hasn’t just been a chance to appreciate my favorite pro-wrestler, but also a chance to connect with a community of fans. Without going into too much detail, I’ve been trying to tranform my life for the better, and this event has been a catalyst to help me reconnect and really start to understand the power of twitter, tumblr, and non-inclusive communities in general. My 5 or so followers may notice I wasn’t here since briefly in 2011; I didn’t get it back then. I get it now and it’s thanks to this event.

Here’s my ANSI art for Sandow Appreication Day! I’m not sure if this is the *FINAL* version. What do you think, does it look finished? Did I properly convey the likeness of Sandow? Whenever it's done I’ll be posting this on Twitter for Mr. Sandow to hopefully see.