Roman Reigns' WrestleMania Plans, Roman Reigns vs Brock Lesner?

There’s an old adage that still holds true in the world of professional wrestling: You lose on your way out.

To quote Vince McMahon, it’s a time-honoured tradition—the perfect way to give back to the business. A whole host of legends have followed this mantra, including Stone Cold Steve Austin, the “Nature Boy” Ric Flair and the “Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels.

But after last year’s WrestleMania shock, could the Undertaker be the latest name to be added to that star-studded list?

With doubts lingering over the Deadman’s future, many see his loss to Brock Lesnar—and the resultant shattering of his 21-0 WrestleMania Streak—as ‘Taker’s way of signing off.

Either way, such a monumental victory for the aforementioned Lesnargot him over like no one before. Of course, in the long-run, it is not necessarily Lesnar who’ll benefit from this rub. Whoever goes on to dethrone the Beast Incarnate will ultimately be the real winner—being elevated to an absolutely stratospheric level.

And it’s no great secret that the man in line to topple Lesnar is the returning Roman Reigns. In the last few weeks, he’s obliterated everyone in his path, and he’s already been made the odds-on favourite to win the Royal Rumble. WWE has Roman Reigns penciled in to win the 2015 Royal Rumble before he moves on to defeat current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 31, but the decision is still met with some concern. Critics worry Reigns still needs a lot of work before he can be considered ready for that type of push, including working on his promo skills, as well as working better in lengthy singles matches.

The article goes on to say that “Reigns will still be considered as the new top babyface,” but with the cracks starting to show, it begs the question of whether or not he’s truly the right man for the job.

Truth be told, the two factors that the article mentions—his promo work and the length of his matches—are indeed a couple of areas in which Reigns must still prove himself.

Admittedly, though, he’s only working within the parameters thatWWE Creative has set for him.

Aside from that, the article also alludes to another interesting point in the suggestion that Dean Ambrose is the only other star in the running for Reigns’ spot. And with John Cena and Randy Orton discounted due to age, and Daniel Bryan’s injuries shrouding his future in doubt, it may be difficult to argue against that.

Over the past few months, Ambrose has developed his character immensely and become one of—if not the—most exciting performers on the roster. But how likely is it that the WWE wants a man it touts as a “lunatic” to be the face of the company going forward?

It's probably not very likely.

So with no one else to assume the mantle, could Reigns be given the nod by default?

At present, the only other standout candidate—beyond Reigns and Ambrose—it their former partner, Seth Rollins.

Rollins has had an exceptional year and been the company’s top heel for the past few months. But that in itself is the problem—he’s a heel. To take Reigns' spot as the top babyface, he’d obviously need to turn. Would it really be wise to drop the villainous character that the company has spent so long building up?

Furthermore, Rollins doesn’t necessarily have the look of the face of a company—both inside the ring and out of it.

So again, it looks like Reigns will retain his spot. Sure, there’s still plenty of work to be done, but he has showed before that he can deliver the goods when needed. He may not be the perfect choice to claim the scalp of Lesnar, but he’s probably the most appropriate candidate from the WWE’s current crop of talent.

Nonetheless, it's interesting to hear news of emerging doubts within the company.

Of course, if you disagree, then feel free to voice your opinions in the comments section below—be sure to let me know your thoughts and feelings on any of the issues that were covered in the article.