Over the next several weeks, WWE will put a lot of time, effort, and energy into making Roman Reigns against Logan Paul at Crown Jewel feel like a massive match, but there’s one aspect of the build that could hold it back. Both men are Lamborghinis in their respective lanes. Reigns is in the middle of a career-defining stretch as the leader of the Bloodline stable and unified WWE champion. Paul is a self-made millionaire and the head of a social media empire that has landed him prolific boxing matches and a contract with WWE.
It’s a match made in sports entertainment Heaven, and one that will elevate Paul’s status with the company while adding another feather to Reigns’ cap as a main event draw. There aren’t many of those left in the professional wrestling business, and the argument could be made that Roman might be the last one left working with WWE full-time. There’s The Rock and John Cena, but they have both feet firmly planted in Hollywood at this point in their careers. It’s Roman Reigns and then everyone else… except maybe for Paul, who brings an absolutely massive audience from YouTube. There’s one problem, though, as these two media titans build towards their Crown Jewel main event match: Logan Paul wants to be the face of the feud, and he isn’t one.
Due to his background as a celebrity first and wrestler second, fans aren’t naturally going to be driven to cheer for him. Paul insisted on being turned face following his WrestleMania 38 match with The Miz, but that isn’t how things work in professional wrestling. People will boo for and cheer for whoever they want to and can sometimes flip seemingly out of nowhere. Just ask Liv Morgan, who seemingly overnight went from a loveable baby face to a champion who WWE can’t and won’t expose to live crowds anymore.
Logan Paul Must Embrace His Inner Heel
Coincidentally, if Paul wants to learn how to embrace his inner heel, he must talk to the man he’ll be working with at Crown Jewel. WWE shoved Roman Reigns down fans’ throats for years as the next big baby face. The heir apparent to John Cena that no one in the crowd asked for or wanted. Only when he embraced the dark side and took on the Head Of The Table persona did he finally begin to pick up steam as a face. Now he’s typically cheered when he’s on television, even if he’s more of a tweener than a traditional bad guy or good guy. Paul needs to learn from Roman Reigns’ experience and lean into fans booing him if that’s what they want to do. Pushing back against that will lead to an unnatural feeling during the build and the match itself.
The unpredictable aspect of the fight at Crown Jewel is the Saudi Arabia crowd. There’s a decent chance they end up backing Paul on November 5, but that isn’t guaranteed. Over the next several weeks, the odds are good that Paul will again be exposed to a live crowd on Friday Night SmackDown, and it seems likely that he’ll be booed when that happens. If WWE wants to do this match justice, it’ll need to encourage Logan Paul to embrace the fans’ reaction, whether it’s what he wants or not. Heel Paul against face Reigns is the best way forward as the build to Crown Jewel continues.
