On February 25th, 2019, Roman Reigns returned to WWE for the first time in four months to announce that he was in remission after his hard-fought battle against leukemia. We, like everyone else, commend Roman Reigns for his strength and resilience. When he said that “this is no retirement speech” on October last year, he meant it, and he fought through valiantly, like the warrior that he is.
In between his time off, he even managed to get a role in Hobbs & Shaw, The Rock‘s Fast & Furious spin-off. Not many people realize just how difficult it is to function with leukemia, but Reigns is truly something special. With his return, fans were naturally delighted. While he was a polarizing figure until last year, his absence and Brock Lesnar’s second Universal Title win made fans realize just how valuable a full-time, fighting champion is.
It reminded them of their disdain towards part-timers and Lesnar’s extended Universal and World title runs. While Reigns may have gotten cheered in the early going of his return, the question begs – how long will that last?
The fact of the matter is that live audiences love to boo Roman Reigns. His “polarizing” figure may often be compared to John Cena‘s, but the fact of the matter is that it was very different, and everything that Reigns has had to go through was no real fault of his own. The blame for that can mostly be placed on WWE.
It won’t be surprising at all if Roman Reigns gets booed fairly quickly after his earlier-than-expected return. Fans may respect Reigns, but they won’t allow WWE to tell them how to react to him. As we said, it’s no fault of Reigns per se, and it dates all the way back to 2015 at the Royal Rumble PPV.
Fans hoped (and expected) that Daniel Bryan would win the Rumble that year. After all, he was the fan favorite and didn’t win the prior year when they thought he would, so WWE would definitely right their wrong, right? Wrong.
It was Roman Reigns who predictably won the Rumble, much to the ire of the fans. He would then become a victim of bad booking, and Reigns would never really receive the love that he deserved from the WWE Universe. And it’s not necessarily for the fans to blame either. WWE had constantly put Reigns in unfavorable positions throughout the years, constantly irritating fans who expected or wanted someone else in that spot.
Despite the incredibly negative live reactions that Reigns got, WWE insisted that they wouldn’t stop pushing him and that he would be the top guy, whether fans liked it or not. After all, the company decided to take a new direction – it wasn’t the superstar who would be the biggest draw – it was the company itself.
If you think about it, it’s not exactly crazy, if not a popular approach. WWE continues to be increasingly profitable by the year, each calendar year seeing them reach all-time profits. Even WrestleMania which was defined by so many icons no longer necessarily has to have a top name to draw – it’s the name WrestleMania which markets itself.
Though not exactly competition, it’s an approach that UFC has taken as well. Continuing with Reigns being a polarizing figure, WWE hasn’t really lost money because of it. Moreover, they invested a lot of time and money into Reigns, and with Vince McMahon‘s status in WWE uncertain with the re-introduction of XFL, The Big Dog could very well be the last major star that McMahon creates, and he’s well aware of this.
While it’s uncertain as to whether Reigns will reach the “Megastar” status of John Cena, The Rock, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan, what’s certain is that he will continue to be the top dog in WWE for years to come. Fans may likely boo him, but there may come a point much later in his career where fans begin to appreciate Reigns for the performer that he really is – talented, hard-working and relentless.
Reigns will continue to give his blood, sweat and tears for the company, and similar to how John Cena began to get more favorable reactions from 2015-onwards, Reigns may reach that period as well.
Do you feel that Reigns is deserving of a negative reaction even after all he’s been through? Voice your opinions in the comments below!
