However, Kurt Angle believes that the current WWE champion should have been made a WWE heel much earlier. The Shield, which consisted of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns, originally served as a mercenary group for CM Punk and was very well-received by critics. However, the group split up in 2014, and Roman Reigns began wrestling as a heroic main event singles act, which was widely panned by critics and audiences alike. In response to this, WWE changed his role into heel in 2020, giving him the ‘Tribal Chief’ persona and making him the leader of the villainous group The Bloodline, which consists of his real-life cousins Jey and Jimmy Uso, Solo Sikoa, Sami Zayn, and Paul Heyman. This move was welcomed by many fans, one of whom was retired pro wrestler Kurt Angle. In a discussion on The Kurt Angle Show with Paul Bromwell, the 14-time professional wrestling world champion gave his opinion on Roman’s growth, saying: Following Jim Cornette’s recent sentiments that Roman Reigns’ stardom can grow even further if WrestleMania 39 sets him up against The Rock, it seems the only way for the WWE undisputed world champion is up.
