When WWE Forgets To Tell Their Story

At TLC last night, Roman Reigns failed to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship due to interference from the League of Nations and, apparently having snapped, proceeded to beat upon Sheamus and then Triple H.  It was a neat enough visual and the fans reacted positively to it.  It gives Roman Reigns a much needed edge and it takes him out of the title picture, which is a positive considering that they don't appear to be willing to give him the title at this time.

But unfortunately, it really didn't make any sense.  And in the end, their story will suffer and Reigns won't get the reaction they want him to.

Hopefully tonight will shed light on whether this was the beginning of a heel turn or not (I'm thinking it wasn't), but based on last night's commentary it didn't appear to be a heel turn.  It appeared to be the heroic face Roman Reigns beating on the crooked heel Triple H (despite the fact that that character is inconsistent at best).  But, again, that story hasn't been properly told.

Why exactly did Reigns beat on Triple H?  Triple H had nothing to do with anything that has plagued Roman Reigns.  At the very worst, he made him defend his WrestleMania title shot against Daniel Bryan.  But beyond that?  Nothing, really.  Rollins cashing in his title shot at WrestleMania was perfectly legal and didn't appear to be set in motion by Triple H.  Upon Rollins' injury, Triple H put Reigns in the title tournament (he didn't have to) and even offered him a direct route to the finals.  When Reigns refused, Triple H didn't really do anything to make his progress in the tournament any more difficult.  And when Reigns won, Triple H came down to congratulate him.  And what did Reigns do?  He attacked him, without any provocation whatsoever.  And, again, Sheamus cashing in was perfectly legal and didn't appear to have anything to do with Triple H.

Nonetheless, what does Triple H do?  He gives Reigns TWO title shots -- one on Raw, and one at TLC.  And even when Triple H came down to the ring at Triple H, did he threaten Reigns physically?  Does he threaten to fire him?  No.  He says "what's wrong with you?"  Not exactly worthy of a vicious attack.

If this is the first step in a Reigns heel turn, then cool.  But if we're supposed to consider Reigns the hero here, then they forgot to tell the story.

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LIVE TLC thoughts - December 13, 2015

9:54 - Paige vs. Charlotte will be interesting since Charlotte appears to be going through a heel turn, whereas Paige recently turned heel and is really only a heel through her actions and relationship with Charlotte as a face.

9:50 - Again, a World title reign would've been preferable.....but this is better than nothing.  Then again, this IS typically the championship that seems the champion become a jobber.

9:48 - I still love how Owens randomly yells at Cole during his matches.

9:37 - In a perfect world, Ambrose would be competing for the World title (or the champion) and Owens would have a lengthy reign with the Intercontinental Championship.  But that's not the hand we were dealt.  As such, I hope we see an Ambrose win here because this guy desperately needs a big victory.

9:33 - Sorry, but the Royal Rumble hasn't ended with fans cheering in years.

9:18 - Rhyno has the strangest body ever.

9:10 - I'm still sad that we never got to see an AJ Lee/JoJo backstage segment.  The adorableness would've been off the chart.

9:00 - With great brutality, ADR is fiercely throwing all of those chairs around Jack Swagger.

8:52 - Wait, is ADR wearing completely different gear than what he was wearing during the social media lounge segment?  I would've sworn he was wearing black kneepads and trunks during that segment?

8:28 - I appreciate and respect what these guys are willing to put themselves through....but some of these spots annoy me.  Like, from a kayfabe perspective....if Big E is on the ground outside, presumably out of commission....and an Uso is in the ring, with a ladder set up, why would he decide to risk his body and his advantageous position by diving to the outside on top of a ladder?

8:10 - On the other hand, it looks like both the Lucha Dragons and the Usos have new gear.  Side note -- I like how the Usos wear the same shorts but different colored arm sleeves and tights.  I'm predicting that the New Day win here, but if they don't I'd like to go with the dark horse and see the Lucha Dragons win.

8:06 - Sadly, no new gear for the New Day.

8:00 - Are they really banking on the League of Nations bringing in those last minute buyers?  I guess I refer a new faction with some relative main event fresh faces than the Authority again.

7:41 - A kind word about WWE:  I like the new Royal Rumble logo.

7:33 - I honestly cannot remember the last time I was less enthusiastic about a WWE program.  The only reason I'm watching is because The Walking Dead, The Leftovers, and Once Upon A Time have all had their midseason finales and won't be on tonight.  There is really nothing else to watch.  But very little about the booking tonight will make me happy, and a lot of things could potentially make me annoyed.  I don't anticipate lasting the entire night with these LIVE thoughts.

By the way, does the whole Team BAD "Unity!" thing scream typically WWE mentality of meddling?  The fans have already taken to Sasha.  They already like her.  She's already over.  There's already a connection there.  Yet WWE feels like every person must have this over-the-top personality and catch phrase.  So instead, they have her acting in a way that seems totally counter to what got her over in the first place.

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