Roman Reigns’ Babyface Run Is Officially Ruined

It has been two years since Roman Reigns turned babyface, and in that time he has headlined two WrestleMania events, reigned World Heavyweight Champion, and sparked multiple reunions of The Bloodline. Despite Reigns getting big reactions from the crowd and working against heelish acts over the last couple of years (such as The Vision, a dangerous Jacob Fatu, Solo Sikoa, and more), the character direction for ‘The Tribal Chief’ has been baffling. The August 17 edition of Monday Night RAW was the nail in the coffin for what has been a bizarre babyface run, with WWE officially ruining its potential.

Roman Reigns Failed To Find Babyface Redemption

• Reigns was WWE’s top heel for nearly four years.
• He mistreated his Bloodline family members and cheated against major WWE rivals.
• Reigns’ babyface turn did not see him seek redemption for his heelish actions.

Following his years spent as the vindictive, manipulative, power-hungry “Tribal Chief”, Roman Reigns returned after a hiatus at SummerSlam 2024, hellbent on taking down Solo Sikoa’s new-look Bloodline. Reigns’ return instantly brought him over to the babyface side of the fence, especially since he was taking on a heel in Sikoa. Fans went crazy for anything Reigns did… even though he hadn’t earned their love and support.

Fans felt like Reigns would go on a path to babyface redemption, seeking forgiveness from those he wronged; Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Sami Zayn, and others… only he didn’t. Sure, the family members did ultimately forgive him, but not because Reigns said sorry or showed any hint of remorse for his actions. Reigns simply asked for them to be by his side as equals, and they accepted. However, as time has pressed on, Reigns has steadily taken back supreme control of The Bloodline as its dominant leader, and his family members have simply fallen back in line without question. In two whole years Reigns has experienced very minimal character development

Roman Reigns’ Tribal Chief Character Is Fully Back

• Reigns has reunited The Bloodline faction in 2026.
• He is mistreating family members in WWE once more.
• Fans are still cheering for Reigns despite his actions.

In 2026, Roman Reigns has convinced both Jimmy & Jey Uso to realign with him, before then doing the same to Jacob Fatu. In the case of Fatu, it look beating him twice and forcing him to kneel, falling in line and “acknowledging” him, much like he did throughout the early 2020s to his other cousins. Despite him now being a “babyface”, Reigns is acting in the exact same way as he was previously – he even cheated to defeat Jacob Fatu in one of his title defenses, showing the same sort of desperation to keep hold of his title.

Despite Solo Sikoa being someone who Reigns has had trouble with in the past, and despite him making it clear that he wanted nothing to do with his family any longer, Roman Reigns wanted Sikoa to fall in line and kneel. In their segment on the August 17 edition of Monday Night RAW, his mistreatment of Sikoa was evident and the whole thing felt reminiscent of The Bloodline drama of years gone by when Reigns was a heel. He simply has not changed, has not been redeemed, and fans should not be cheering for him… but they do anyway. Regardless of his reactions. Reigns’ babyface character is a complete mess.

Solo Sikoa’s Refusal To Join The Bloodline Exposes WWE’s Failures

• Solo Sikoa has procured recent babyface momentum.
• Reigns spoke down to Sikoa on RAW.
• Fans cheered when Sikoa refused to join The Bloodline.

Solo Sikoa rejected Roman Reigns and The Bloodline on Monday Night RAW. Given that Reigns is supposed to be a babyface, Sikoa striking Reigns and beating down the group should have garnered a negative reaction. However, Sikoa’s refusal prompted a massive pop, showing just what the WWE audience actually thinks about Reigns, The Bloodline, and his recent personality. This has exposed once and for all the failures of WWE’s booking of Reigns in recent years, and just how ruined his babyface run has ultimately become.

Reigns is set to feud with both Solo Sikoa and LA Knight in the coming months, plus he is expected to defend his World Heavyweight Title against Penta in Mexico and Oba Femi down the line (perhaps at WrestleMania 43). All of these potential opponents are babyfaces – so should WWE simply cut their losses and bring back the full-blown heel version of Reigns to maximize all of these clashes? It would certainly make the most sense given that Reigns’ best work in WWE came as a bad guy, with so much more comfortable in that role.