Road Dogg Discusses Roman Reigns' Evolution Over His Last Five Years In WWE

Roman Reigns began showing flashes of his "Tribal Chief" character with his "This is my yard now" promo the night after WrestleMania 33, where he defeated The Undertaker. However, Reigns would revert back to his babyface tendencies for the next three years, until a pandemic-enforced hiatus in 2020 gave WWE the perfect excuse to pull the trigger on his heel turn.

"Road Dogg" Jesse James was recently asked on "Oh You Didn't Know" if WWE waited too long to allow Reigns to embrace his dark side, and if the decision surprised him.

"No, I don't think so," James responded. "You gotta let stuff sit, you gotta let stuff simmer. I know that's unpopular in today's day and age, where I can get whatever I want, and I can get it right now. Sometimes you gotta sit on this, and see which way the wind blows. Boy, it blew in the right direction, because look [at] where we stand now, and where he stands now — as an individual and superstar."

James believes WWE has benefitted enormously from Reigns' timely character shift, stressing that the decision to not give in to pressure from fans in 2017 "speaks volumes" about fans "who hated Roman" all those years ago.

"People hated him, they hated him," James said of Reigns. "They hate him now, and yet everybody in the soldout arena, of which there are a lot of them now, acknowledges him on the weekly. They listen to his every word, they are hanging on his every word, and every facial [expression] in these in-ring promos."

James proceeded to praise Reigns' character work as part of the ongoing Bloodline saga, going as far as to say he and the Bloodline members have produced "award-winning" television through their weekly segments. 

"It's the best I've ever seen in wrestling. I'll say that without a shadow of a doubt," James added. "Roman getting down on his knees and crying, and then hitting [the low blow] ... that hurt my heart."