WWE Has Hyped Roman Reigns Poorly During His Absence

Prior to aggravating a pre-existing hernia that required emergency surgery, Roman Reigns was becoming a subject of ardent fan skepticism.

He only has five moves. He's limited on the microphone. He's not Dean Ambrose. These were among the mounting complaints against Reigns as fans began recognizing that WWE had selected him as its next top star.

The pre-injury criticism only makes for a larger hurdle to climb as Reigns prepares for his return to the ring, so it's imperative that WWE properly hypes its next franchise player during his recovery.

Since undergoing emergency surgery that has sidelined him for the past month, Reigns' return hype has come in the form of lackluster promos via satellite, where the second-generation star is made to recite painful cliches and one-liners.

"I'd rather be with you guys in Brooklyn," Reigns said awkwardly as he forced a smile during the October 6 edition of Raw. He later followed up by deadpanning, "It's only a matter of time." Reigns' most recent interview was more of the same as he called out Seth Rollins on Raw this past Monday.

Based on the body of work during his young career, Reigns' promos have not been his strength. But instead of hiding this through slick vignettes, similar to how WWE has promoted the return of the Wyatt Family, WWE has opted to exploit and expose Reigns' shortcomings as a talker.

WWE Has Hyped Roman Reigns Poorly During His Absence

Injuries in WWE are a gift and a curse. They're a curse for obvious reasons, like missing out on TV time, paychecks and opportunities to ascend to the main event. But with no offseason in the WWE, injuries are one of the few ways WWE Superstars can take a break from the never-ending schedule to allow the hearts of fans to grow fonder in their absence.

A fanbase doesn't get any more nostalgic than that of WWE. There's even a feeling of nostalgia surrounding the return of Ryback as a babyface, despite Ryback's original babyface run ending in 2013. In addition to the built-in fan support for a returning WWE Superstar, there's also a template.

Triple H's comeback in 2002 was accompanied by weeks of well-produced videos documenting his relentless rehabilitation. Seeing the fallen gladiator work tirelessly to get back into a wrestling ring and do what he loved drew overwhelming sympathy for The Game, despite being a top heel at the time of his injury.

With Reigns, fans haven't seen one second of him running on a treadmill or even tossing a medicine ball. WWE has to do better than a generic Q&A in front of a black backdrop. If this is their handpicked star to carry the promotion into the next generation, his appearances as an inactive wrestler should be treated as a bigger deal than when he's healthy.

There needs to be a sense of urgency and palpable anticipation ahead of Reigns' comeback. Thus far, the Reigns comeback story has failed to impress.