Dumb Question on Reigns Heel Turn

Hi, Scott. I’m a moron and don’t understand how turning Reigns heel will help him avoid becoming a Cena-esque divided fanbase guy if/when he becomes the face of the company.


In the short term, what are the chances that people who currently dislike Reigns going to start cheering him as a (theoretically) cool heel?

In the long term, regardless of their short term response, are the people who currently don’t think Reigns is a good enough wrestler/talker going to start acting "appropriately" (in WWE’s mind) by cheering him in six months/two years/whenever he turns back babyface? Will his inadequacies be accepted just because he had been a heel such that they accept a Bryan or an Owens or a Balor not being the top guy?

​It’s the Rock theory. You turn him heel and hope that the fans will then rebel against that turn eventually and "organically" turn him babyface, at which point WWE dramatically throws up their hands and goes "Well, you forced us, so here’s your top hero Roman Reigns as a babyface now!" and the people go "Aha! We got one over on them!" and thus everyone gets what they want. ​And really, that’s how it’s SUPPOSED to be. You push the person that you want as the top star, but do it in such a way that the paying customer believes that THEY made the decision for you.