MVP heard the argument that Roman Reigns is WWE’s most overrated main eventer, and he can only meet it halfway. There is one area where he thinks Roman may fall short of wrestling’s biggest names, but once the conversation turns to what Reigns actually does for WWE’s business, MVP thinks the argument falls apart.
While speaking on the Marking Out podcast, MVP was asked about Conrad Thompson’s comments from August. Thompson called Reigns an “industry plant” and argued that WWE spent years forcing him into the top spot until fans finally accepted him. MVP started with the one part he could understand. He isn’t convinced Roman has crossed over outside wrestling the way John Cena, The Rock, Steve Austin or Hulk Hogan did.
“I don’t know Conrad personally, but I know he’s done, he’s been real successful doing podcast shows with actual wrestling stars who know what they’re talking about. I can maybe see what he’s talking about only insofar as traditionally the biggest stars that we’ve had in wrestling have had, like, a mainstream crossover appeal. John Cena, like, you don’t have to watch wrestling to know John Cena. The Rock, Stone Cold. These were the guy, the man, and their fame transcended beyond pro wrestling.”
That distinction matters to MVP. He sees Roman as a massive wrestling star, but he isn’t sure random people who don’t watch wrestling would recognize him at the same rate as Cena or Rock. MVP even put numbers on the hypothetical.
“I don’t necessarily see Roman Reigns being the same, having the same level of popularity outside of wrestling. But the numbers say different in terms of his star power, his drawing power within wrestling. My perception, like, you walk down the street and ask 10 people, ‘Do you know John Cena?’ Six or seven of them are going to say, ‘Yeah.’ Walk down the street and ask 10 people, ‘Do you know Stone Cold Steve Austin? Do you know The Rock? Do you know Hulk Hogan?’ And, yeah, they know. I don’t know if Roman Reigns has that same mainstream crossover appeal. I don’t know. It doesn’t seem to me.”
That was about as much ground as MVP was willing to give Thompson. Once the discussion moved back inside wrestling, MVP pointed directly to the business Roman generates for WWE.
“But in terms of being the man for WWE, the numbers say different. His merch sales, ticket sales. Yeah. ‘Acknowledge me.’”
MVP then used something Brock Lesnar taught him about being “box office.” His point was that a real draw doesn’t simply appear on a successful show. Their name brings additional people through the door.
“When you add box office, I’ve talked about it before where Brock Lesnar was talking to, teaching him, when you become box office. If you do a show in some location and it’s a WWE show and Roman Reigns is not on the card and you sell, I don’t know, 20,000 tickets, if you add Roman Reigns, you’re going to sell another 5,000 tickets. So, I disagree very strongly with Conrad.”
The “industry plant” description got an even stronger reaction. MVP doesn’t see WWE choosing Roman and putting its machine behind him as evidence of anything unusual. In his eyes, that is literally how wrestling companies have always created their biggest stars.
“The industry plant, I think that’s absolutely ridiculous.”
When the host pointed out that WWE kept pushing Roman for years despite fans initially rejecting him, MVP didn’t deny that it took time. He just doesn’t think those years erase what Roman eventually became. MVP was even willing to admit that Roman may have needed longer than expected for everything to click.
“Every star is pushed by the office. Every star is, as they like to say, crammed down your throat. That’s how you become a star. Vince, back in the day, decided, ‘This is the guy I’m going with,’ and you beat everybody. Perhaps. Perhaps maybe it took a little longer for him to catch on, but I don’t think you can deny now his star power in wrestling.”
Thompson previously argued that WWE created Roman’s position by refusing to stop pushing him. MVP’s answer is basically that WWE may have opened the door, but Roman still had to become valuable enough that putting his name on a show meant more tickets and merchandise sold. He may not be The Rock on the street yet. Inside a wrestling arena, MVP thinks Roman has already proven exactly what he is.
Do you agree with MVP’s response to Conrad Thompson’s criticism of Roman Reigns? Let us know in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
