Wrestlemania 32 - World Heavyweight Championship: Triple H VS Roman Reigns

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Its official:

It’s onto Dallas, where the ironclad King of Kings battles his Kevlar-encased challenger, Roman Reigns.

As The Road to WrestleMania rounds its final bend, Roman Reigns finds himself, once again, staring down the finish line and the prize at the end of the run.

This time, however, it won’t be the unstoppable Beast Incarnate looking to deny The Big Dog, but current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H, the unyielding figurehead of The Authority and the man who effectively snatched the title from Reigns in the closing moments of the 2016 Royal Rumble Match.

That Reigns got back to this stage is remarkable enough: The tests he’s gone through since his Royal Rumble Match victory in 2015 would have caused a lesser Superstar to tuck tail and run. If nothing else, Reigns’ ability to plow past Lesnar and his best friend Dean Ambrose (again) at WWE Fastlane to earn the match with The Game should serve as proof to even his staunchest detractors that he’s made of stronger stuff than many gave him credit for this time last year.

Whether desire is enough, this time, will be the question. It wasn’t last year, when Reigns, riding a mantra of “I Can, I Will,” put then-champion Lesnar on his heels in the main event of WrestleMania 31 before Seth Rollins swooped in and stole the show.

This has been building since June 2nd 2014. That was the night The Shield was separated after Triple H promised Seth Rollins the world and he stabbed Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose in the back. Reigns wanted to carve his way through the Authority to get to Triple H in the aftermath of that, but ended up getting injured so that element was skipped en-route to Reigns' build as challenger to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 last year. That - along with the sufferin' succotash booking and it being made painfully clear that Reigns was 'the chosen one' - lead to Reigns being received with less than gracious applause and plans were changed with Rollins stealing the title.

Fast forward one year and we're in a similar position: a part-time champion has the title and Reigns has just won a match at Fastlane to send himself into the main event against said champion. Now the difference here is that Roman is facing the guy he has a long history with. And that, to me, is the key to making this work. Let's not just pretend this is from Survivor Series to this point, let's acknowledge that Reigns has been waiting the better part of two years to get this match and his opportunity to strike the death blow at The Authority; to win the title and end Triple H and Stephanie's "reign of terror".

Most folks aren't going to accept this anyway, so why not put the effort in to try and win at least a few more fans over with a half decent storyline? Sadly I feel WWE will likely just throw goons Reigns' way to dismantle with little to no effort and Roman will just be your typical Superman heading in to the obvious main event climax. Reigns was cheered for showing emotion and being a badass. He can be that again if WWE gives him the material to work with. If they don't its more of the same and Triple H gets cheered when he's supposed to be the big bad.

Anyway, what do you guys think about the WrestleMania main event this year?

 

[Y 2 Jake]

It makes sense, which switching Ambrose into the Reigns spot didn't.

It's hard to get excited when Reigns is already a two time champ. This should be his first coronation.

I actually think Triple H could win, purely because I'm not sure if I see him losing the title at his first defense.

 

[enviousdominous]

I've got nothing against Roman Reigns, I think it made perfect sense for the WWE to invest in him.

Booing Roman Reigns is fun, people love doing it. He gets pops here and there, but for the most part -- especially at PPV -- the haters rule the crowd. As a fan, I'll be very confused if Roman doesn't go heel.

I want HHH to win, mainly because for the first time in a long time I actually find myself liking him. Right now, I can't think of anyone else (besides Lesnar) on the roster who can wear the belt with nearly as much of a right to do so.

If Roman goes heel, then I could see myself finally taking him seriously as a world champion.

 

[Dave]

Is it bad that I really want to see Triple H keep the Championship at WrestleMania? Not because I am a huge Triple H fan. But because I have literally zero interest in seeing Roman Reigns as WWE Heavyweight Champion again. I mean, this will be his third reign in the last 4 months! That's insane booking. It's no wonder people don't give a shit about the Championship when it's being bounced around like a fucking tennis ball on ever PPV.

Regardless, the only way that Reigns is a good champion is against someone like Seth Rollins. Now that would be interesting to watch. But since Rollins has a few months left to go on his rehab, I'd totally be behind Triple H hanging onto the Championship until around then. Have Triple H finally lose it to Reigns a few months down the line and then he brings back Rollins to get it back. It's not perfect but it's an alternative to what the WWE obviously has planned.

Reigns is the WWE's biggest baby face at the moment and the people are booing him out of the arena! It's ridiculous to think that he's going to get less cheers than Triple H, who is the heel, at WrestleMania! I really wish the WWE would start listed in to its fans more. They don't want Roman but there is nothing they can do about it.

Prediction-turned-obvious-choice: Roman goes over, duh.

 

[The Fabulous Rougeau's]

I still wouldn't rule out the chance of Ambrose being added to the match and making it a triple threat. They could run something along the lines of the authority continuing to play off of the and trying to build the jealousy between the two so that at Mania they go after each other.

This also free's up Brock for Bray instead of the alternative of booking Ambrose vs Brock and forcing Bray to work with some combination of his family against some combo of Ryback, Kane and Show.

 

[ShinChan]

Yeah We really have a predictable main event of Wrestlemania 32. I am not implying that predictable is bad though. Triple H really should not win this match. Let Reigns win this match. There is no other viable option. If Crowd cheers him, its all good but if they dont, there is always a heel turn waiting.

As for the other news, I would surely cheer Reigns against Triple H at Wrestlemania.

​

 

[Jeff Deliverer of Mail]

Is Triple H matches predictable though...? Remember Sting? Booker T? Those were sure wins that The Game made fools of the experts in both cases. Triple H rarely ever has a bad Wrestlemania match and I fully expect this one to be another great match. He had a great match with Sting and Daniel Bryan, now he'll have one with Roman Reigns, I'm sure there will be multiple shenanigans turning the climax to add to the drama. Now that Triple H is in the main event, his entrance should be something on par with a Fighter Jet landing in the stadium while he hangs on one of the wings, he lets go into a 150 foot mechanical hand, that explodes before dropping him into the ring in a metallic skull costume that costs a few million dollars. Then Roman Reigns changes things up for his own entrance, he walks through the crowd from a different direction.

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

Triple H thinks he's Ric Flair, and he wants to "make" Reigns like Flair made Sting and Luger. Except he isn't Ric Flair. And Reigns isn't over as a babyface. Reigns is going to get shat on by less than 100 000 fans. I have nothing against the guy really, I'm just reporting the facts.

Triple H will do suck it taunts, probably have some sort of Lemmy tribute entrance, and will get cheered by 90% of the crowd. Reigns will be even worse off than he is now. We've already seen Reigns win the World Title twice, there's nothing special about seeing him win it again and so its hard for the fans to really get excited or emotionally invested in this match. This isn't a must-see main event, and that's a problem.

 

[kadroan]

Triple H thinks he's Ric Flair, and he wants to "make" Reigns like Flair made Sting and Luger. Except he isn't Ric Flair. And Reigns isn't over as a babyface. Reigns is going to get shat on by less than 100 000 fans. I have nothing against the guy really, I'm just reporting the facts.

Triple H will do suck it taunts, probably have some sort of Lemmy tribute entrance, and will get cheered by 90% of the crowd. Reigns will be even worse off than he is now. We've already seen Reigns win the World Title twice, there's nothing special about seeing him win it again and so its hard for the fans to really get excited or emotionally invested in this match. This isn't a must-see main event, and that's a problem.

Reigns wins. I assume The Rock gets involved since he say he'll be at WM. I just hope this won't be like Royal Rumble 2015 all over again.

 

[Fugazi]

The past 2 years we've seen the WWE "Save" their main event. First with Bryan and then with Rollins. Since they seem dead set on this being the final match, our only savior is haitch, and I think WWE understands this.

It may be foolish but I want to baleeb that they will give the win to haitch, then have haitch drop the title later to an actual face(Cena). WWE could be stubborn here though, they say "we gave you something you wanted the past two years so this year it's our turn".

As much as I'm not exciting for a Ramen reign, I'm expecting a lot from this year after the mess of a mania so I'll accept a Ramen champ as long as he loses it to someone in the following months.

 

[Sean Valjean]

We've seen Reigns reach the mountaintop twice before in only a few months. He was just champion a little over a month ago, so it's hard to care about him winning his third title at Wrestlemania. That's a problem, as the question of "Can Reigns finally win the big one?" was probably the only interesting thing about the guy.

They don't have a MITB winner to bail them out this year, and there's very little chance that someone else will be added to the match. The roster is just too thin and the only super over babyface, Dean Ambrose, has his hand full with Brock.

At least the match should be good. Triple H always brings it at Wrestlemania and Roman is more than solid in the ring, despite what his haters may believe. His match with Brock last year was getting really good before Rollins turned it on its head. With Trips raising the intensity up a notch with that beating on Raw, this could be a pretty badass fight between two badass dudes.

As for who wins? Smart money says Roman, but stranger things have happened. Hunter could win because his reception will be warmer and the company probably doesn't want their biggest show ending with their top hero being booed out of the stadium. Though closing Wrestlemania with the mega heel on top isn't exactly ideal either.

One way out might be having Roman go full heel and mercilessly beat the tar out of Triple H, to the point that he goes way over the line because he's that desperate to win. Like he damn near tries to retire Hunter. The Mania fans would boo him to death, and Roman can just flash that grin of his and keep the beating going until the pin is academic. Roman gets the title and finally goes heel at the same time. I think a lot of fans could live with that outcome.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Reigns is winning, I don't think he's turning heel, he's going to be their golden boy (which I don't really have a problem with) so in turn he's going to have a decent match with Triple H, he will overcome the odds, he will win the title and stand on top of the company.

I got nothing against Reigns but this match is a formality, it's a done deal and it's a match I'm not particularly interested in so lets just get it over with.

 

[OYDK]

The general consensus is lack of interest. So they need to do something to generate interest in this match. A straight up, one on one for the title isn't going to do that. They've gone big stakes with Shane/Taker and they need to find some sort of way to one up that with Reigns/HHH, if that's even possible. Off the top of my head, get Shawn Michaels involved somehow as a heel. Have him repeatedly Superkick Reigns, re-form DX or some shit, I don't know. Than have him be special guest ref. Shit, get Bryan involved too. And Rollins. Who cares if all those names are going to "make the crowd boo Reigns harder", guy's getting booed no matter what, might as well make the match awesome.

They NEED to stack the deck in HHH's favor. Literally make it seem like Reigns has no shot at all at the title. If they put a little bit of doubt in people's minds, this match becomes a whole lot bigger.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

First of all, no more Authority standing tall at the end of RAW. After what happened last night, Roman Reigns has to destroy every single one the Authority sends after him. Not beat them, destroy them. He has to be 100% badass going into this. Don't try to book him as an underdog. He's a 2-time World Champion, he's 6 foot 5. It won't work. Book him like fucking Conan the Barbarian going into this. That will buy him some cheers.

Secondly, no more Triple playing the crowd. Last night, Triple H was a fucking babyface. The way he raised his hands in the air at the end, I know it can be adrelanine talking that time, but heels don't pander the crowd. Bring back 1999-2000 Triple H. Have him beat up The Rock in the build-up. Yeah, that's right. Rock is Roman's family. Take advantage of that. Have him pedrigree Roman's father. Hell, you can even turn this into McMahons vs Anoa'is. Do everything you can to make the crowd like Roman. Giving him some build to his character by using his family is a smart first move.

Who wins? Since it's Triple H, I can't really know. Triple H is known for putting over the babyfaces that should be put over and the babyfaces the company likes like, Batista, Cena, Bryan, Benoit. He's also known for not doing so in several occassions like Booker T, or rooting to beat Cena at WM 22. So the ending of the match, will come down to as to how much the fans have gotten behind Roman. Because if they haven't, I wouldn't be surprised to see HHH win this just to send the fans home happy.

 

[DirtyD79]

First of all, no more Authority standing tall at the end of RAW. After what happened last night, Roman Reigns has to destroy every single one the Authority sends after him. Not beat them, destroy them. He has to be 100% badass going into this. Don't try to book him as an underdog. He's a 2-time World Champion, he's 6 foot 5. It won't work. Book him like fucking Conan the Barbarian going into this. That will buy him some cheers.

This. With Daniel Bryan it made sense to have him playing the underdog. But a big man like Roman Reigns should be destroying everything in his path whether they be heel, face, tweener, or whatever. Fans want to see someone like Brock Lesnar, not some big grinning jackass who spouts off shit like "tater nuts" or "sufferin' succotash."

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think there's a good chance that this match will turn out like Lesnar vs. Reigns last year in that it'll be much, much better than most people are anticipating or expecting. Let's face it, the build for Lesnar vs. Reigns was one of the most abysmal for a WWE Championship match in WrestleMania history, but the match itself was a highly physical roller coaster that genuinely did a lot of good for Roman Reigns as it showed that he's a genuine tough guy. This year, however, there'll be no surprise MITB cash in, no Seth Rollins there to generate buzz, and it's all but written in the stars that Roman Reigns leaves WrestleMania as WWE World Heavyweight Champion to hold the title for, quite probably, most of, if not the, rest of 2016.

A good number of fans aren't looking forward to the probability of Reigns winning the title as they're just not into the guy. To say Reigns isn't over isn't accurate, he does get a decent response much of the time, but I don't believe he's over at the level he should be or has the ability to warrant a significant run as WWE Champion. With that being said, however, it's ultimately Vince's ballgame and it'll go down exactly the way he wants it to so if Reigns is champ for most of, if not all of, 2016, that's how it'll be unless enough fans truly rally against Reigns to such a degree that Vince has no choice but to alter his plans. The problem with that little scenario is that it's extremely, extremely rare for enough fans to be that specifically solidified towards one common goal; the last one I've seen in quite a long time was Daniel Bryan, but Bryan's no longer wrestling and no other wrestler is anywhere close to his level of popularity. So, might as well get used to the notion of Reigns pretty much ruling the rest of 2016.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

First of all, no more Authority standing tall at the end of RAW. After what happened last night, Roman Reigns has to destroy every single one the Authority sends after him. Not beat them, destroy them. He has to be 100% badass going into this. Don't try to book him as an underdog. He's a 2-time World Champion, he's 6 foot 5. It won't work. Book him like fucking Conan the Barbarian going into this. That will buy him some cheers.

I agree with this. Building Roman Reigns as an underdog doesn't work because the guy's got too many of the cosmetic tools working for him that Vince prizes. He's a tall, dark, handsome, 250 pound slab of beefcake that nobody's going to buy as an underdog.

He looks like someone who could be a badass, he has the build, he has the size, he has the Samoan heritage and, kayfabe, Triple H broke his nose last night and it required surgery to fix. If you want the adult males to possibly buy into Reigns, don't make him a nice guy, don't make him quiet and somber, make him into a friggin' animal that's out for unholy vengeance every bit as much, if not more so, than to win the WWE Championship. Don't worry about the nice guy route, jack up the intensity and the passion beyond the few theatrics he uses prior to using his signature moves.

 

[Sean Valjean]

First of all, no more Authority standing tall at the end of RAW. After what happened last night, Roman Reigns has to destroy every single one the Authority sends after him. Not beat them, destroy them. He has to be 100% badass going into this. Don't try to book him as an underdog. He's a 2-time World Champion, he's 6 foot 5. It won't work. Book him like fucking Conan the Barbarian going into this. That will buy him some cheers.

Couldn't have said it better. I would love for the build for this to be similar to HHH/Orton at WM 25 where every week one guy did something horrible to the other and made you want to see them kill each other in their big showdown.

Basically what I'm saying is that next week, Roman needs to break into Triple H's house and superman punch his kids.

 

[Dilligaf]

Triple H keeps saying "I am the law" does he think he's Judge Dredd or something?

Then on SD he pulls what looks like a Japanese flag week sanitary towel out of his pocket making a statement how he has Reigns blood on his hands.

Although I think it would be awesome if he comes out as Judge Dredd on a Lawmaster at WM32, as he did the old Terminator killer last year at WM31.

 

[Spencesc11]

They played the best hand they could. Still some uncertainty if they want Ambrose to be the potential face of the company and with all the injuries and the back storyline this could actually turn out ok. Going forward though I would do this....

Reigns defeats HHH at Mania (Crowd boos)
Ambrose defeats Reigns at Xtreme Rules (Crowd erupts)
Reigns wins the re-match at Payback with a full heel turn
Reigns retains at MIB vs. Ambrose with his new Corporate Roman Empire (HHH, Sheamus, Del Rio, and Rusev). (Rollins wins MIB)

Rollins becomes face and him and Ambrose reform as a DX parody antagonizing Reigns heel regime. Culminating with a triple threat at Mania next year Reigns (C) vs. Ambrose (Rumble Winner) vs. Rollins (MIB winner). Where Ambrose & Rollins agree that no matter what Reigns doesn't leave Mania with the Title.

 

[@smarkmouth]

The turn is going to happen. It has to happen! I have no doubt that the match itself will be terrific, but the storyline will have no footprint in the history books, unless something big happems. In or near the match itself.

One thing in this match is a virtual certainty, the Rock is getting involved. I'd like to see Rock help Reigns turn the deck on Triple H. And after Reigns is crowned WWE Champion, a spear for Rocky as well! Turn him into the number one heel, and keep him the hell out of the Authority's good graces. A heel is an island. All the while, you've planted seeds for Rock vs Reigns, which may or may not happen. It can be as simple as Reigns not wanting to share the spotlight with anyone, not even The Rock. That attitude inevitably spills into his friendship with Ambrose as well.

 

[Khalifa]

I'm obviously in the minority here but I genuinely feel HHH is the one going over and I don't see that changing. We all pretty much expected HHH/Reigns match since Seth Rollins went down with an injury. I even asked KB what he thought about Reigns becoming a 3rd time world champ when Mania is done (after the Rumble). Now though I can't see HHH losing. My thoughts have changed because Reigns went from being cheered quite a lot coming into the new year to losing almost absolutely everyone that was in his corner since then. The heel HHH will get a way louder pop at Mania than Reigns so I really don't know what to expect if Reigns was to win the main event, it could end up like when Hulk turned on WcW for the NWO and the rubbish filled the ring. If Reigns is to win, the match cannot be last, the crowd just won't like it I don't think. However if you're going to have Roman Reigns winning the title but not in the last match at Mania, what would be the point?

The match itself should be good as you can count on HHH making the match watchable.

WWE really stuffed it by giving Reigns two title reigns before Mania, now him winning the belt isn't the same. He was already champion so who cares if he wins it again, definitely not the same feeling as what it could have been. It's best off you starve him now to hopefully get the crowd back on his side.

It's not like HHH winning is a bad thing either as it could easily set up Rollins vs HHH when Rollins returns giving Rollins that huge face pop if WWE decide to go there. I don't dislike Reigns so whatever outcome doesn't phase me, but I think if WWE want Reigns to be their guy, wait another year.

 

[Navi]

I'm kind of meh about this whole feud, been going on far too long now, since the Shield split, so yea I'm over the whole thing. Not only that the predictability factor is equivalent to "If you fall off a boat in the middle of the Pacific will you find water?" Yup I'll probably be in bed before the match even starts if it goes on last.

Now with Donald Trump leading the Republicans in the polls, and the news media bringing up all sorts of WWE references regarding him, can the main event be changed to TRUMP vs HILLARY CLINTON. Now that would something worthwhile watching. I have a feeling she's a cagey little bugger and would fell him with a low blow.

 

[laodaron]

The fantasy booker in me is hoping for a Dean Ambrose turn at WrestleMania. After his 25 minute ultraviolent street fight with Brock that he BARELY loses, he comes out during some supposed DX/Shawn Michaels interference with Roman and HHH. He takes out DX, takes out HHH, and it looks like he's saved Roman. The crowd is super hot for Dean. And then he hits Dirty Deeds on Roman, pulls HHH onto Roman, and HHH stays champ.

This opens a whole feud between Roman and Ambrose that can last well into the Summer. It lets Brock take his time off. It lets HHH be the champ to drop to someone like Rollins or someone else. It also establishes a "non-Authority" heel in Ambrose, and helps Roman to get over as a babyface. The argument only has to be that Dean claims he's a better wrestler than Roman, so if Dean isn't going to be the champ, he sure as hell isn't going to let Roman be the champ.

I know that this is purely fantasy, but I don't want to see them turn Roman. Giving in to smark demands like this only fuels the fire. Additionally, it's a great move to swing a guy who is only going to be in Roman's shadow (because of how Roman is booked, not for any other reason) and will only ever be the number 2 babyface during this Roman push into the number 1 heel position. It allows Rollins to have flexibility when he comes back, since the smark audience is going to give him at least a few months of babyface pops. Plus it opens up fun stuff like Ambrose v. Styles, Ambrose v. Ziggler, etc.

In all reality, we're going to see a Michaels/DX/NWO run in on Roman, and he's literally going to fight off 4 or 5 of the greatest superstars ever and pin HHH clean in the dead center of the ring. I'm a MASSIVE Reigns mark, I love the guy, but booking him like that is career murder.

 

[Terry Gyimah]

The fantasy booker in me is hoping for a Dean Ambrose turn at WrestleMania. After his 25 minute ultraviolent street fight with Brock that he BARELY loses, he comes out during some supposed DX/Shawn Michaels interference with Roman and HHH. He takes out DX, takes out HHH, and it looks like he's saved Roman. The crowd is super hot for Dean. And then he hits Dirty Deeds on Roman, pulls HHH onto Roman, and HHH stays champ.

This opens a whole feud between Roman and Ambrose that can last well into the Summer. It lets Brock take his time off. It lets HHH be the champ to drop to someone like Rollins or someone else. It also establishes a "non-Authority" heel in Ambrose, and helps Roman to get over as a babyface. The argument only has to be that Dean claims he's a better wrestler than Roman, so if Dean isn't going to be the champ, he sure as hell isn't going to let Roman be the champ.

I know that this is purely fantasy, but I don't want to see them turn Roman. Giving in to smark demands like this only fuels the fire. Additionally, it's a great move to swing a guy who is only going to be in Roman's shadow (because of how Roman is booked, not for any other reason) and will only ever be the number 2 babyface during this Roman push into the number 1 heel position. It allows Rollins to have flexibility when he comes back, since the smark audience is going to give him at least a few months of babyface pops. Plus it opens up fun stuff like Ambrose v. Styles, Ambrose v. Ziggler, etc.

In all reality, we're going to see a Michaels/DX/NWO run in on Roman, and he's literally going to fight off 4 or 5 of the greatest superstars ever and pin HHH clean in the dead center of the ring. I'm a MASSIVE Reigns mark, I love the guy, but booking him like that is career murder.

But by doing that the crowd would love Dean if he cost Reigns the title in that way considering the crowd they just literally hate Reigns