WWE Hall of Famer: ‘I have never seen Roman look so secondary in my life’

Is Roman Reigns losing his alpha status to The Rock? A WWE legend weighs in.

As concerns and criticism surround Cody Rhodes and his presentation since WWE’s apparent shift in WrestleMania programming, there is as much concern about Roman Reigns and how he came off during the WrestleMania Kickoff last Thursday after The Rock stepped up and outshined him in a face-off with Rhodes.

During a recent episode of the Busted Open podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray made a straightforward critique about the Tribal Chief and how he looked like a co-star next to the Hollywood megastar.

“I have never seen Roman look so secondary in my life,” said Bully Ray.

Along with host Dave LaGreca and fellow WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry, the multi-time tag team champion discussed how The Rock made everyone on stage seem small next to him, most notably Reigns, the Head of the Table. Bully Ray pointed out how Rock led the pack as he, Reigns, and Reigns’ special counsel, Paul Heyman, were leaving the press conference. He also noted how it was Rock who got in Paul “Triple H” Levesque’s face, telling him to fix it after Rhodes decided to challenge Reigns for his Undisputed title at WrestleMania.

“If I’m Roman, I’m doing the talking, and Rock’s trailing and let the Rock be behind me. I’m the champion. I’m the Head of the Table. Rocky’s coming in and just taken over,” Bully Ray said.

In his observation, Mark Henry explained that wrestlers learn to get closest to the hard camera because it makes them look bigger. As Rock stepped forward to confront Rhodes, Henry detailed how Rock opened up his body to the stationary camera, which gives viewers a consistent perspective of the action.

Despite Rock being a star who knows he’s not the second guy in any equation, Henry said that WWE will have to correct this by having the Undisputed Universal Champion remind certain people to know their role.

“If I’m Roman Reigns, I don’t want to look short, and I don’t want to look small. I’m Roman Reigns. I’m the Tribal Chief. You’re here to visit,” said Henry.

Roman Reigns and The Rock are scheduled to appear on SmackDown this Friday night. It’ll be interesting to see who stands front and center as these two share the screen in primetime on Fox.