Whether Roman Reigns or Jacob Fatu is the babyface in their feud depends on who you ask.
My colleague, Marcus Benjamin, will argue that Reigns is the villain, accusing him of underhanded tactics to retain the World Heavyweight Championship at Backlash.
Yet, in a company where nearly everyone cheats, and against a man who openly said he’d do anything to win, Reigns’ only crime was beating Fatu to the punch. In the famous words of the late WWE Hall of Famer Sid Eudy, “Do unto the man as he would do unto you
— but do it first.”
Still, if you’re looking for a hero between two rulebreakers, the difference may come down to transparency. In that regard, fans can count on the OTC.
After years of proving he could play fair or fight dirty, Reigns told fans in 2024, “I don’t want to confuse anybody. Some things change, but not me.”
In short, who he was is who he would continue to be. Zero ambiguity.
After winning the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 42, Reigns told fans they would see him through the summer, squashing concerns about his part-time status. As of Monday, Reigns is scheduled to appear on Raw for the rest of May, is advertised for Clash In Italy, and is working three out of five Mondays in June.
Promise made, promise delivered.
Reigns also didn’t mince words when Fatu demanded a title shot: win and become champion. Lose, and acknowledge the Tribal Chief.
In fairness, Fatu never agreed to those terms. Instead, he danced around the stipulation. He sold fans a hard-luck story while wearing a shiny new gold chain before surprising Reigns with the Tongan Death Grip, a move reserved for street toughs, not family, to coax Reigns into accepting his challenge.
Then Fatu lost.
Rather than acknowledge Reigns — as initially stipulated — he attacked him again on Monday’s Raw, taking out The Usos in the process.
To his credit, Fatu proved he meant what he said: he’d do anything to get what he wants. If that means acting like an animal, so be it.
Too bad that animal was a weasel. A big, bad, unhinged weasel, but a weasel nevertheless, willing to skirt the terms of war through non-committals, violent as they were, and family betrayal.
In a world of bad guys, Fatu is more Fredo than Godfather, and nobody ever cheered for Fredo.
