page_title: Persona and reception of Roman Reigns
section_title: The Shield and initial reception (2012–2014)
hierarchical_section_title: Persona and reception of Roman Reigns / Wrestling persona / The Shield and initial reception (2012–2014)
caption_attribution_description: English: The Shield (from left; Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns) at a WWE house show in Vorst, Belgium on November 8, 2013.
context_page_description: Professional wrestler Roman Reigns debuted on the WWE main roster in November 2012 as part of a faction called "The Shield" and was well-received by fans and critics. Support began to dwindle upon Reigns's transition to a heroic main event singles act in 2014, largely due to his perceived forced push. This would manifest itself in Reigns main eventing four consecutive editions of WWE's premier annual pay-per-view event, WrestleMania, while being booed in all four appearances. Crowd reactions to Reigns's four world championship victories have ranged from favorable to negative.
  Wrestling journalists have offered both praise and criticism for Reigns, noting both his talent and WWE's apparent attempts to conceal fan hostility towards him. David Shoemaker of Grantland wrote in 2016 that Reigns was the company's "most despised wrestler" in over 25 years. Fans have taken issue with Reigns over various reasons: his perceived special treatment, real-life demeanor, wrestling moveset, speaking skills and character presentation. After Reigns was suspended for drug use, Yahoo! Sports pondered whether he is "the biggest failure in professional wrestling history".
context_section_description: While in NXT (the new developmental system) during 2012, Reigns' character was described as a "businessman" who was "always dressed to impress" and viewed himself as "the most valuable commodity in WWE".
  Reigns debuted to the main roster as part of The Shield on November 18, 2012 at Survivor Series. After transferring to WWE's main roster, his character was changed to the "powerhouse" and "heavy hitter" of The Shield, as well as an "exceptional athlete". Noted as the least talkative of The Shield members, Reigns' character was tweaked from "the quiet muscle" to being an "ultra-confident" source of leadership with "quiet strength" in mid-2013. CM Punk alleged in an interview that he was constantly reminded to make Reigns look "really, really strong" despite The Shield being booked to lose to Punk at the 2013 TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs event. In 2013, Reigns was voted the Most Improved by Wrestling Observer Newsletter readers.
  During the 2014 Royal Rumble match on January 26, the live crowd cheered for Reigns over eventual winner Batista despite Reigns being a villain. Anoaʻi later acknowledged the reaction as "a cool situation". In mid-2014, Stone Cold Steve Austin said he saw great potential in Reigns while David Shoemaker of Grantland wrote that Reigns had "mystery and intensity" as well as "superstar written all over him".
caption: Reigns (right) as a member of The Shield in November 2013
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