WWEs Roman Reigns Problem, Darby Allin Stuck, Heel Lacey Evans, More Quick Takes

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WWE TV is about to look a lot different without Roman Reigns around for the foreseeable future.Credit: WWE.com

If the Roman Reigns reports are to be believed, WWE will be in for a rude awakening this summer.

As PWInsider observed, the Undisputed WWE Universal champion is not slated to appear on any Raw or SmackDown shows in the months of July and August. The only exceptions as of now are Money in the Bank and SummerSlam, though he has since been removed from the advertising for next month’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.

Reigns taking time off will have a direct effect on both brands assuming he’s still a double champ by then. That’s also a major indictment on the company’s failure to create an abundance of new stars in recent years.

Darby Allin is well on his way to being one of those breakout stars in All Elite Wrestling, even in spite of his haphazard booking as of late. Coming off his loss to Jeff Hardy in the main event of Wednesday’s Dynamite, it feels like he’s lost a lot of his momentum from six months ago and isn’t as hot of a commodity as he once was.

Of course, there’s time to fix that, much like how WWE still has a chance to course-correct with Lacey Evans. The rumored heel turn for the former Sassy Southern Belle would be an awful follow-up to the emotional vignettes she’s been involved in since returning to TV.

This installment of Quick Takes will delve into Evans’ questionable character change, why AEW should tread lightly with HookHausen, which SmackDown star could use a heel turn and more.

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Although the idea of the WWE Championship and the Universal Championship being unified in a Winner Take All match was heavily hinted at many times ahead of WrestleMania 38, it still felt random when it was made official for Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar.

If the Brand Split was always going to remain intact, then there was never any point in unifying the top two titles. It would have been acceptable if Reigns appeared on both brands more consistently, but that has hardly been the case thus far.

Instead, the Superstars of Raw have had nothing to vie for since before ‘Mania, and SmackDown hasn’t been much better. Reigns’ reported absence from WWE this summer creates a more alarming issue: Will the Undisputed WWE Universal title be held hostage until he returns?

Even if the plan is for Reigns to defend at the upcoming stadium shows, that’s still two months of no televised title defenses. That’s in addition to how WWE has done little to prepare for this possibility and now has no one ready to replace Reigns.

Granted, Drew McIntyre and Cody Rhodes could slide into that spot, but they’ll have to dethrone Reigns first, and that doesn’t appear to be in the cards any time soon.

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Hook and Danhausen are no doubt among AEW’s most popular acts at the moment. As entertaining as they’ve been together, however, the company should be treading a fine line of not turning Hook into a total comedy character.

The silent-but-deadly suplex assassin received rock star reactions when he started having matches because he had a vibe about him that no one else on the roster did. All signs point to him being built up for a shot at the AEW TNT Championship, but that was before he and Danhausen crossed paths.

It’s less of a formal team and more of Hook simply looking out for someone he views as an ally, but a tag team match is what we’re going to get from them and the duo of Tony Nese and Mark Sterling on the Double or Nothing pre-show. It’s bound to be enjoyable, yet it feels like a slight step back from what Hook was doing previously.

Danhausen has a ton of value in his own right being as beloved as he is. Both men are over with the audience but for very different reasons, and it would be wise of AEW to ensure that this alliance doesn’t overstay its welcome.

AEW has something special in Hook, but comedy isn’t the route to take with him right now. AEW has enough tag teams, and thus pursuing a singles career should be of upmost importance to Hook.

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It was a mere month ago that Lacey Evans resurfaced on WWE TV for the first time in well over a year. Her various vignettes talking about her rough background were largely met with praise from fans who appreciated seeing her realism for a change.

Of course, the company had to go ahead and turn her heel simply because what they were doing was working, and already her gimmick is being tweaked for no real reason.

In all fairness, she has yet to actually turn, but it’s sure looking likely based on how her last two televised appearances were handled. That’s in addition to how she’s now a member of the Raw roster despite her vignettes running on SmackDown for that full one-month span.

Evans has spent the majority of her run in WWE (including NXT) as a heel. She showed promise as a babyface in late 2019 before losing whenever it mattered most and quickly reverting to her roots as a heel, but turning face again would have given her character a newfound motivation.

The exploitation of everything she discussed in her vignettes is perhaps the worst part of all. At the least, she should have stayed slotted on SmackDown, where it would be less likely she gets lost in the shuffle.

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Lacey Evans turning heel again is not needed at all, but Raquel Rodriguez is a different story.

The former NXT Women’s champion debuted on SmackDown following WrestleMania 38 as a babyface. Seeing as how she ended her NXT tenure also as a babyface, it wasn’t completely illogical for her to carry that character over to Friday nights.

The only issue is that she’s always been far more of a natural heel than a face, and that much has been evident in her recent matches. It was especially obvious during her SmackDown Women’s Championship clash with Ronda Rousey on SmackDown this week.

With Charlotte Flair set to take time off for the foreseeable future, the blue brand needs a new top female heel to take her place and Rodriguez fits that bill. She and Rousey clearly have chemistry as opponents and she’d be a fresh face in the mix.

The only other option would be Bayley, though there’s been no word on when she’s expected to return. No one else is remotely ready for that spot, but Rousey can help legitimatize Rodriguez in their rivalry regardless of who walks away victorious.

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Darby Allin vs. Jeff Hardy lived up to the hype on Wednesday’s Dynamite as a dream match for the ages, though Allin barely coming up short wasn’t an encouraging indicator of what his immediate future holds.

The way Allin was protected in defeat made it clear there could be a rematch eventually and that the company sees him as a star. That said, he certainly hasn’t been booked like one for the better part of the past six months or so.

Allin’s last notable victory came against Andrade El Idolo in the main event of Dynamite last month. Prior to that, he had fallen short of winning the AEW TNT Championship multiple times and lost to MJF in a hard-fought battle at Full Gear.

At this moment, it feels like Allin is stuck with where he is on the card and that AEW has no stable direction in mind for him. The same can be said for Sting, who hasn’t wrestled much lately and doesn’t have any singles matches on the horizon (which could be considered a positive).

Sting and Allin were involved in a pretty prominent match at last year’s Double or Nothing installment and so far, nothing has been announced as far as what they’ll be doing at this year’s installment. Despite that, he should be in line for a renewed singles push and go back to building momentum consistently. There’s too much talent and upside there for him to be underutilized any longer.

   

Graham Mirmina, aka Graham “GSM” Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.