Corey Graves believes Roman Reigns is inevitable.
Speaking on WWE After The Bell with Corey Graves, Sami Zayn and Corey Graves spoke about the mentality of never being happy and always striving for more. Zayn said that he was met with a certain response about the negative side of competition, and it was hard to comprehend.
Zayn: “I remember when I got to WWE, actually in NXT or something like that where it was very much the mentality, ‘You should be furious that you’re here. You should want to get out of here, you should want to be on the road. Everyone around you is your enemy. They’re all vying for your spot. This is a competition, and you have to be the best to get out of here, and if you don’t want to be the best, you shouldn’t even work here.’
“I remember a line, something to the extent of ‘If you don’t want to be the next John Cena, you shouldn’t even be here.’ I remember hearing that and being completely mouth-agape. Like, what? This is insanity. Let’s just say we’re in a room of 100 people. Let’s just say the next John Cena is in this room. There’s only one, so the other 99 people in this room should be miserable at all times aspiring to be that person? What kind of insanity is that?”
Graves then used the situation to compare WWE to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Graves said you definitely have your tentpole and franchise stars, but there’s also success in being a lower-tiered star like some of the MCU films now have.
Graves: “It’s really funny you use that analogy because I’ve been working with a lot of the NXT talent somewhat recently, and almost in a diametric opposition to that mentality of you have to want to be John Cena. I’ve been using the analogy of, as a talent, look at WWE as a Marvel Universe. You’ve already got your John Cena, your Randy Orton, you’ve got your Avengers. Roman Reigns is Thanos. But there have been how many multi-million successful Ant-Man movies? Because they fit.
“They all fit in the same world, and nobody grows up wanting to be Ant-Man. Everybody wants to be Thor. Everybody wants to be The Incredible Hulk. But there’s a place for Ant-Man. Obviously, Ant-Man resonates with the fandom in a very similar way that a somewhat obscure, or I hate to use the term B-level, but a less-than top-tier-level superstar from the way it’s listed.”
Zayn: “I totally agree. However, even those things, when done adequately, or really, really well, can create something that propels itself to an A-level and I’ll use the Honorary Uce as a very easy example.”
Graves: “Exactly. If you excel in your role, whatever that role may be, it is a valuable part, and there is room for growth and expansion and to become your own franchise.”
Roman Reigns was recently awarded a new Undisputed WWE Universal Championship in recognition of his passing 1,000 days as champion. Check out the new title design here.
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