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After losing his WWE Championship to his former brother Seth Rollins (who subsequently lost it to both of their former brother Dean Ambrose moments later thanks to an opportunistic Money in the Bank cash-in), Roman Reigns is in no mood. To top it all off, the crowd hates him for seemingly no reason, which was the subject of last issue. Roman’s still brooding in issue #10, but this time around, it’s across the pond as WWE is touring the United Kingdom.
Roman is still seething, and turns to his actual blood, The Usos. He and his cousins do all the stereotypical things an American would picture doing in the UK: they go see a soccer game, check out Buckingham Palace, and get into a fist fight at Stonehenge with Dean Ambrose that leaves part of the monument in ruins. You know, the standard stuff.
That’s really all this issue is. There are some entertaining moments, and the dialogue continues to be well written and consistent with everyone’s television character, but unfortunately not a lot happens. Roman is mentally stuck on getting the WWE Championship stolen from him, and we as readers are stuck there because of it, reliving that moment again and again. Seth Rollins is particularly entertaining in this issue though, as he insults Roman from atop a double decker tour bus over the loudspeaker.
There are a couple fight scenes in this issue, which are drawn very well by Serg Acuña, as usual. Roman and Dean get into it, fighting like brothers so often do, and the action is crisp and kinetic. Somewhat oddly, there is next to no in-ring action in this issue outside of a couple panels of flashback, so if you were interested in seeing some actual wrestling going on, you’ll be out of luck this time around. The flip side of that though is that we get to see some huge variance in backgrounds and settings, and they are all handled beautifully.
God, you suck to hang around, Roman.
Since most people reading this book are probably also fans of WWE television, I don’t think it’s a spoiler to bring this up: If you remember back to last year, right after Seth beat Roman for the title and Dean cashed in on him, a Shield triple threat match was announced for the upcoming PPV, Battleground. Then Roman Reigns got suspended in real life because of a wellness violation, throwing a monkey wrench into the whole thing (man, Roman screws up Shield-related television pretty often, doesn’t he?). This issue attempts to tackle that by weaving the suspension into the aforementioned Stonehenge high jinx, which is incredibly silly, but hey. They weren’t going to show him shooting himself with roids or anything, so this is as good a direction as any, I guess.
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The saving grace of this issue is absolutely the backup, titled "Becky Lynch: The Pun-isher" by Anthony Burch and illustrated by Becca Farrow. Becky has long been known for her love of puns — her finishing move is even called the Dis-Arm-Her (disarmer). This quick little side story sees Becky meet her match both physically and in puns and is charmingly written. It’s sure to bring a smile to any Becky Lynch fan’s face.
Is It Good?
This is a slow issue saved by a charming backup. Roman is still brooding over the loss of his championship, and unfortunately, we’re stuck on that journey with him for the time being. Until then, I hope you like watching Roman sit there angrily.
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