Roman Reigns won Superstar of the Year in 2014 and followed it up with a 2015 Royal Rumble Match victory, but he hasn't gotten over with every member of the WWE Universe.
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Reigns, the obvious winner of the Rumble Match, was booed mercilessly by the WWE Universe upon winning the Rumble Match from the 19th draw, but WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair believes that he has a bright future ahead of him if the WWE allows him to grow naturally.
"It takes time for young talent to grow. It's not just a name, they've got to build a brand," Flair told GiveMeSport.com. "Fans have to become attached to the brand and that's hard to do and it takes more than one or two years. Legends like Steve Austin didn't just turn up and start talking like that either, it took him time as well. Roman [Reigns] has got so much talent that fans are going to have to be patient with him. It doesn't happen overnight. If people are upset with Roman it's not over a lack of talent. Fans are always going to have their opinion, but Roman has a fantastic future ahead of him."
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Reigns, 29, has been the WWE's hand-picked next big star since The Shield split up last June.
The WWE started to push him even before that, as he dominated his traditional Survivor Series match in 2013, eliminating four of the five opposing members on the other team and then he was booked to break Kane's elimination record by throwing out 12 Superstars in the 2014 Royal Rumble Match.
After The Shield split up, Reigns was booked as an unstoppable monster and a hernia injury that sidelined him from September-December may have taken away time for him to develop, but the WWE didn't change its plans.
The WWE made Reigns look good again at the Rumble this year and even booked Daniel Bryan -- fan favorite heading into the bout -- to get eliminated early in order to get him out of the way for Reigns' win.
To diffuse the boos the company expected at the Rumble, they even had The Rock return to help Reigns thwart off The Big Show and Kane at the end of the match.
Flair said pairing Reigns with his cousin The Rock may not help him as no one is bigger than The Rock, and he had to get over naturally as well after he was rejected as a babyface early in his career.
"I don't pay a lot of attention to him talking on the mic but I think he's okay," Flair said. "Fans look at Roman and they want him to sound like The Rock and that isn't going to happen. The Rock didn't become The Rock overnight either though. It took him a few years as well to nail down who he was and what he was about."
Reigns is set to battle Bryan this Sunday at Fastlane at the FedEx Forum in Memphis to determine the No. 1 contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 31.
Reigns is expected to win that match and go on to face Brock Lesnar at the "Show of Shows" on March 29 at Levi's Stadium in California, despite him not being organically over.
Things can change, but it seems the plans that have been months in the making will come to fruition and Reigns will soon be the WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
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