Unless the WWE pulls a major swerve, it appears Roman Reigns is going to be the next World Heavyweight Champion.
The company aborted the push for the leader of the Roman Empire at WrestleMania 31 last year, opting to have Seth Rollins cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase and win the richest prize in the game without ever pinning title-holder Brock Lesnar. With Rollins' injury causing him to vacate the gold, the company doesn't seem willing to punt away its second chance at crowning Reigns.
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The tournament brackets were somewhat curiously constructed, and it all seems to be leading toward a clash between Reigns and his former Shield stablemate Dean Ambrose at the Survivor Series. The WWE could change direction and stray from the obvious, but the way the creative team has functioned in recent years, that's very unlikely.
If the Era of Reigns is going to come to fruition on Nov. 22, he needs to turn heel.
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The Survivor Series has a rich history of "screw jobs," the most infamous of which took place in Montreal in 1997 and also involved the WWE Championship. Vince McMahon told Bret Hart behind the scenes that he was set to retain the belt and then actually swerved him in real life, awarding it to Shawn Michaels in controversial fashion before "The Hitman" left for rival WCW.
A year later, at the only other time a tournament took place at Survivor Series, there was a kayfabe screwjob which saw The Rock shockingly turn heel and align himself with McMahon and his son, Shane, defeating Mankind in the finals to capture his first WWE Championship.
The WWE needs to reinvent history and turn back to when anything could happen at the Survivor Series by giving the fans another memorable turn. Reigns has improved vastly in the ring, but he's still getting booed by half the audience in response to the WWE shoving him down their throats, especially during the unstoppable early 2015 push.
The 2015 Royal Rumble Match winner also still encounters trouble on the microphone, so having Authority figure Triple H talk for him would do him some good. Also, with Rollins sidelined for 6-9 months, "The Game" needs someone else to support.
It wouldn't be as big of a swerve as The Rock's turn because the "Corporate Champion" literally came out of nowhere, while Triple H has already invited Reigns to join The Authority, only to be turned down...for now. Still, it would at least shake things up in the otherwise stagnant WWE.
WWE creative could go another route and make Ambrose do Triple H's bidding in the finals, which would instantly make his edgy character even more interesting. With how the "Lunatic Fringe" has been booked since The Shield split, it's unlikely.
The bottom line is if the Roman Empire is to begin at the WWE's annual Thanksgiving Week tradition, the rich history of heel turns at Survivor Series must continue.
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