MVP strongly disagrees with Conrad Thompson’s characterization of Roman Reigns as an “industry plant,” arguing that Reigns’ ability to generate business for WWE speaks for itself.
Speaking on Marking Out, MVP acknowledged one part of Thompson’s argument, conceding that Reigns may not yet possess the same mainstream recognition as names such as John Cena, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin or Hulk Hogan.
“I can maybe see what he’s talking about only insofar as traditionally the biggest stars that we’ve had in wrestling have had mainstream crossover appeal. John Cena, like you don’t have to watch wrestling to know John Cena. The Rock, Stone Cold. Their fame transcended beyond pro wrestling,” MVP said. “I don’t necessarily see Roman Reigns having the same level of popularity outside of wrestling.”
MVP offered a simple comparison to illustrate his point.
“You walk down the street and ask 10 people, do you know John Cena? Six or seven of them are gonna 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? Yeah, they know,” he said. “I don’t know if Roman Reigns has that same mainstream crossover appeal.”
However, MVP believes mainstream recognition and Reigns’ drawing power within professional wrestling are two different questions.
“In terms of being the man for WWE, the numbers say different. His merch sales, ticket sales,” MVP said.
Recalling something Brock Lesnar once explained to Omos about being a box-office attraction, MVP argued that putting Reigns on an event can directly increase demand.
“If you do a show in some location and Roman Reigns is not on the card, and you sell 20,000 tickets, if you add Roman Reigns will be in the tent, you’re going to sell another 5,000 tickets. So I disagree very strongly with Conrad. The industry plant, I think that’s absolutely ridiculous.”
MVP also rejected the idea that WWE’s sustained push of Reigns invalidates his success, arguing that promotions have always selected wrestlers they believe can become major stars and presented them accordingly.
“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,” he said. “But with Roman, it seemed like it was maybe 10 years of that. 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.”
MVP believes Paul Heyman’s partnership with Reigns also played an important role in his development, particularly after Reigns found another level during the pandemic era.
“I would be willing to bet that Heyman contributed a lot to his growth. I think he would probably tell you the same thing,” MVP said. “I don’t think there’s anybody that’s worked closely with Heyman in that dynamic, that relationship, that didn’t grow coming out of it.”
While acknowledging that Heyman isn’t universally popular, MVP pointed toward several of his most prominent wrestling relationships.
“Everybody don’t love Heyman,” MVP said.
“Ask Brock Lesnar what he thinks about Paul Heyman. Ask Roman Reigns what he thinks about Paul Heyman. Ask CM Punk what he thinks about Paul. And not that I’m even on that level, but ask MVP what he thinks about Paul Heyman.”
For MVP, Heyman’s track record is difficult to dispute.
“Most of the guys that are in some kind of working relationship with Paul Heyman come out of it better for it,” he said.
MVP also believes Reigns’ career could eventually extend far beyond professional wrestling, predicting that Hollywood will ultimately come calling.
“I will bet a dollar to a dime that at some point Roman is going to go the way of The Rock and become a movie star. He has got the presence, the good looks, the charisma,” MVP said. “Roman Reigns will be an actor. He will be a television star. He is that dude.”
That led the discussion toward The Rock himself. Although MVP remains a major fan of Dwayne Johnson, he questioned whether Johnson’s Hollywood career currently has the same momentum it once did.
“I am a fan of The Rock. He’s one of my all-time favourites, no question about it,” MVP said. “But his Hollywood career, if we’re keeping it real, has been struggling a little bit lately.”
MVP compared the situation to other long-running action stars whose box-office dominance eventually declined.
“Twenty years. Even Arnold, Stallone, these guys, after a certain amount of time it kind of tapers off,” he said. “I’m not disparaging the man. I’m just alluding to, is he as hot as he was?”
He suggested that branching into another area, potentially music, could offer Johnson a fresh challenge.
“Sometimes you got to go away to come back and be a star again,” he said.
MVP noted that Johnson already has experience singing and playing guitar, but questioned how a full-fledged music project from someone of The Rock’s stature would ultimately be judged.
“If he decides to go down the music lane and put out a country and soul album, he has a built-in audience of people that are just, because they like him, they’re going to give his endeavour a chance,” MVP said. “But how is he going to be measured? Because he’s The Rock. If he puts out an album, it’s not 10 times platinum. Did he fail? If he puts out an album and sells a few hundred thousand, is that a failure?”
Having released music himself, MVP said his own motivation was simply having another creative outlet rather than attempting to become a major recording artist.
“I had a talent, something that I enjoyed doing, and had an outlet to be able to do it,” he said.
He also stressed that performing a complete musical set would present a very different challenge from cutting a wrestling promo.
“For him to go out there in front of people and cut a promo is one thing. But if you’re going to tour and perform and sing, that’s something new,” MVP said. “He sat out there on a stool with his guitar and sang some songs, but he didn’t do a 45-minute set of music. That’s a big difference. There would be aspects of that he would have to learn, that he would have to get comfortable with. But if anybody can do it, that dude can.”
MVP ultimately returned to Thompson’s criticism of Reigns by recalling a line he heard during a backstage argument while working for Impact Wrestling.
According to MVP, producer Jason Hervey and Austin Aries became involved in a heated exchange, during which Aries delivered a comment that has stuck with him ever since.
“Hervey was a little pushy, telling Aries to get ready, and Aries and Hervey had a heated exchange, and Austin Aries said something that I’ll never forget, and I’ve carried it with me for a long time. Especially when it comes to wrestling and podcasters and dirt sheets,” MVP said. “He said, I can do your job, you can’t do my job. So to that I say, Roman Reigns can do Conrad’s job. Conrad, in no capacity, could do Roman Reigns’ job.”
MVP clarified that his criticism was directed toward Thompson’s take rather than Thompson personally.
“I don’t know Conrad personally, but I know he’s been real successful doing podcast shows with actual wrestling stars who know what they’re talking about,” MVP said. “Conrad is a podcaster, a fan who is entitled to an opinion. But I don’t know how you can intelligently detract from Roman Reigns and what he’s contributed to the wrestling world.”
Reigns currently holds the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and successfully defended the title against Penta on Monday’s Raw in Mexico City.
