If you don't respect Roman Reigns now...

[Blade]

You're not a wrestling fan, just an asshole.

The man took a legitimate beating last night. Got a bloodied mouth. May have lost a tooth. And he didn't even get to hold the title at the end of the night. All those who hate Reigns wouldn't have been able to take a fraction of the punishment Reigns took.

Not only did he take a massive beating, he gave it right back to Lesnar. I mean, Reigns fucked Lesnar up. Lesnar was bleeding from, what, like three different places on his face by the end of the match?

And, on top of all that, the most important part: It was a great match. Worthy of a Wrestlemania main event. It told an excellent story, with Reigns getting destroyed, finally putting a real dent in Lesnar's armour, then not getting his moment of glory because he's still haunted by Rollins and the Shield.

So, take the stick out of your ass. Show the man some respect, you delusional man child.

 

[CharlesKane]

He took a beating and performed the same two moves he uses in ever match. Wow.

 

[rge2010]

I have never had any issue with Reigns. He looks great, he can go in the ring and although his promo work isn't great, it is certainly acceptable. What I will say is Reigns would work much better as a heel but thats just one man's opinion.

As for Reigns last night - the guy has wrestling in his blood, he started off at the bottom and has had zero handed to him. Came through NXT, had a brilliant run with The Shield and now is trying to elevate himself in to a legit Main Eventer.

He does promotional work, does house shows, probably granted a few wishes....he certainly has earned himself his place at the top of the roster.

Still, it is cool to hate the good guy, the one that the machine wants to succeed and the one that never wrestled in ROH.....

 

[laodaron]

You mention all of the things he DID do last night. You did not mention the things he did NOT do, so let's be fair. He didn't hit ONE flip. He didn't hit any super dangerous spots. He didn't excessively blade. Because of these things, Roman Reigns is garbage.

But really, goddamn, he was on fire last night. I mean, Brock looked phenomenal, too, but Roman Reigns really shoved shit into the faces of his haters. They'll ignore it, though, since Daniel Bryan is only the Intercontinental Champion now, but the indy marks will be partially sated by the fact that Rollins is the champ. But man, Roman was impressive last night.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Well, we can't say Roman doesn't sell for his opponent. He sure did last night .....but then, he had plenty of opportunity, didn't he?

I didn't think Roman-Brock was going to go the way it did. After all the "We don't want Roman" stuff, I thought it likely WWE had decided against Roman as their world champion at this time (whether they've decided against him forever remains to be seen) but I figured he'd get beaten by Brock after a hard battle, with the fighting certainly on more even footing than what we saw.

The point is that Reigns wasn't allowed by script to mount much of an offense. The company wanted Brock to appear as a monster....and he did....and the fact Brock lost the title without being pinned wasn't lost on anyone, I'm sure.

I respected Roman Reigns before....and still do. The tactics he launched in the moments before Seth Rollins cashed in were really dynamic....and Brock did a fine job selling them. Loved the way he was stumbling around after a couple of Superman punches.

What WWE is gonna do with Roman Reigns now will be highly interesting.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Those of you slating Reigns need to realise some stuff.

First of all, he did AS HE WAS TOLD by Brock, who was calling the match. It was very obvious the strategy, "I'n not giving you many openings, but when you get one you SHOOT...hit me as hard as you can". Each time, he bloodied Brock a bit more, playing into his "if he bleeds" mentality... then Brock told him to use the ring post to play off of Brock's only real "weakness", concussions at Mania... and he did, Whether he was legit concussed or not, Brock SOLD that and THEN Reigns got his chance.

Why it went down this way who knows? Maybe Roman DID fail Wellness and this was kind of the punishment. Maybe Brock balked at losing to Reigns but was happier for Reigns to be pinned after proving him human... Maybe Vince saw what Rollins did earlier in the night, turning the dogshit Randy Orton was producing and turning it into gold and said "fuck it, we're going with this guy". Brock didn't lose out and neither did Reigns here.

Reigns flaws were exposed in the match, by design... he hit too many Superman punches and Spears, part of his arc now is that he can incorporate that into his story, he finds a mentor or manager who teaches him more, a killer submission for example...so that next time he can be more prepared... If Zybysko didn't seem a bit flakey at the HOF he'd have been perfect for it.

Reigns proved he has progressed a HELL of a lot in a short space of time, but Rollins is clearly WAY ahead in all areas so it's logical he got the nod over Roman... If they're smart, they start repackaging Roman slightly as of now, get him in better shape so he can ditch the vest... get rid of the Shield music/entrance, give him some more moves... Then not only is he in the hunt, but he's gonna start making some clean kills.

 

[Mac]

I never not respected Reigns, my only gripe was that he wasn't ready to be in the main event of a WrestleMania. He took a beating and he looked legit and most importantly he walked out of WM looking stronger than he did going into it. Hopefully this will allow him to get another year of build up before they put the belt on him.

 

[Blade]

He took a beating and performed the same two moves he uses in ever match. Wow.

So by the process of elimination, you don't respect Reigns, so you must be an asshole...

He took a beating from a man who's literally world class at beating the shit out of people. Only Cena and Punk took a beating as brutal as that, and even they didn't fuck Lesnar up in return. He sold it brilliantly, and helped to tell the great story. You must not realise how wrestling works if you think that the amount of moves you have has any correlation to your ability at putting on a great match.

Also, I'm going to quote you again, just to point out the ridiculousness of you saying this...

He took a beating and performed the same two moves he uses in ever match. Wow.

While proudly sporting a Mick Foley avatar. Like, are you a real person?

 

[stonecoldstunner]

That was a VERY entertaining match. Reigns really got my respect. Brock is a total beast and you have to be nuts to get into the squared circle with him, those knees gotta hurt!!
And Brock is really a great WWE performer. He can dish it out and take it. Just a monster.
Heyman's expressions were classic as always..and then Rollins cashing in was great from a storyline perspective. Can't wait to see RAW tonight, Reigns and Lesnar are total warriors!!

 

[ECPirate37]

I thought the psychology of the match was great. And I do respect Reigns more now for taking that beating, and still being able to dish it out. I agree with the previous poster than it seemed he only did four moves. Brock didn't do many moves either; they just punished one another.

It was a fun match, and ended exactly as I expected. I'm excited to see what happens next.

 

[CharlesKane]

So by the process of elimination, you don't respect Reigns, so you must be an asshole...

He took a beating from a man who's literally world class at beating the shit out of people. Only Cena and Punk took a beating as brutal as that, and even they didn't fuck Lesnar up in return. He sold it brilliantly, and helped to tell the great story. You must not realise how wrestling works if you think that the amount of moves you have has any correlation to your ability at putting on a great match.

Also, I'm going to quote you again, just to point out the ridiculousness of you saying this...



While proudly sporting a Mick Foley avatar. Like, are you a real person?

1. Mick Foley did a hell of a lot more than take a beating and hit the same two moves in every match. He used a very diverse move set built around who he was fighting and was a legend on the mic (Something Roman has zero chance of ever being)

2. Any guy on roster can go out there and take a beating and barely get any offense in, so what he deserves for doing something anyone else could have, is a job. Not respect.

3. I can disagree with someone without throwing insults. I don't believe that everyone has to agree with me. You started off your thread insulting anyone who disagreed with you, so defend your position how was this different than any of the countless matches Roman had with Big Show.

Roman Reigns formula match
1. Show up
2. Get beat down
3. Superman punch and Spear
4. Wait for everyone to kiss his ass

 

[gravedigger]

I respect Reigns. I'm not sure how much I respect you though for calling those who don't assholes.

I thought Reigns and Lesnar did a phenomenal job last night of conveying the story of the up against it challenger who believed he could slay the unstoppable beast. My only criticism of the match was that I felt the wrong person ended up wearing the crimson mask. The spots were Brock was legitimately cut open from Reigns were fine, however, I would have found it harder not to be hoping Reigns would find a way to stop Lesnar if he was looking beaten to a pulp. How the match played out was fine, well executed, I just imagine blood running down Reign's face would have told a stronger story of what he was up against.

 

[ArcherCC]

Still, it is cool to hate the good guy, the one that the machine wants to succeed and the one that never wrestled in ROH.....

Seriously this is where all the hatred for Roman comes from, freaking wrestling hipsters.

I loved the match last night, I would compare it to Lesnar/Cena at SummerSlam but Roman sold it so much better last night. He laughed in the face of the Beast multiple times, screamed in defiance, Cena just sat and took it the whole time.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Always respected Reigns. In fact, WWE should feel little guilty for people not taking him as they should because of bad booking. He is perceived as someone handpicked to succeed who was handed over anything(why shouldnt he perceived like that, unless if it was his Shield work WWE didnt maked us care about him and maked him "Superstar of the Year" which was clearly rigged and after he comed back feuded with Big Show and even looked bad in that feud only to handed him Royal Rumble win after that). As oposse to, lets say Bray Wyatt, who is exacly like that only with less talent and work from Roman and more slower build that makes you care on some level to him even with his win/lose record.

Because, lets face it, if they maked fans care before Rumble you wouldnt have to tarnish great story(and it is great story even if it was pulled out lame) where superstar with legacy of his family has something to prove and where he can prove that at the biggest stage of them all. And if that story was done right you wouldnt have to have Rollins to get in there to save Reigns career(eventhough he was pinned now he has good chance to make us care for his work) but you could just go in that Mania match and cheer. Because if done right you wouldnt perceive Reigns as Stephanie Mcmahon aka someone who was handed everything and there is nothing you can do about it. So I blame WWE and their booking for that.

 

[Navi]

Oh he took a beating alright, but anyone who thinks that getting into the ring with Brock Lesnar, and isn't going to get their ass handed to them is just, well nuts.

Reigns made a good showing of himself last night, and hopefully he's won some fans back. It will be interesting to see who they put him with next, and let's hope it's not friggin Big Show.

He needs to have matches that can showcase what he can do, not snoozefests with a 7 footer. Hopefully he'll enter a feud with Rollins. Those two have had great matches in the past. Will be watching RAW tonight to see the fallout from this.

 

[Blade]

1. Mick Foley did a hell of a lot more than take a beating and hit the same two moves in every match. He used a very diverse move set built around who he was fighting and was a legend on the mic (Something Roman has zero chance of ever being)

Cool. But he's most known for getting beaten up and putting a sock on his hand.

2. Any guy on roster can go out there and take a beating and barely get any offense in, so what he deserves for doing something anyone else could have, is a job. Not respect.

So you're saying that no pro wrestlers deserve our respect for getting beaten up because what they're doing is just their job.

Wow, it's like you were created in some lab to be the most perfect IWC stereotype ever.

3. I can disagree with someone without throwing insults. I don't believe that everyone has to agree with me.

I'm not throwing insults. I'm stating my opinion that anyone who disrespects Roman Reigns is an asshole. And it shouldn't even be considered an opinion. It should be just accepted as fact that if you disrespect anyone who's done absolutely nothing wrong, then you are a flaming sack of shit. That's, like, being a decent human being 101.

You started off your thread insulting anyone who disagreed with you, so defend your position how was this different than any of the countless matches Roman had with Big Show.

ACT 1:
Still high on his own confidence, Roman Reigns walks into Wrestlemania. Unintimidated, unabashed, and ready to take some damage to get the win. He won the Rumble. He's dominated WWE in Lesnar's absence. He comes from one of the greatest families in all of professional wrestling. People boo him, but it doesn't matter. Surely he's the one to defeat Brock Lesnar. It's his destiny.

And yet, as he watches Brock Lesnar come down the ramp, he can't help but feel a twinge of doubt. A twinge of fear. This guy is a badass. This guy ended the Undertaker's undefeated streak. And all at once, it hits Reigns. This is the main event of Wrestlemania against a vicious beast.

DING DING DING. The bell rings. It's on. Out of a strange combination of fear, nerves and hubris, Reigns goes on the attack. And it lasts all of ten seconds. Lesnar beats Reigns away, and delivers an F-5. Just like that, all the confidence is knocked out of Reigns.

ACT 2:
The F-5 is hit. Reigns is stunned and hurt. How could he have let that happen? Surely he's better than that. Goddamn it, he's an Anoa'i! He's beaten everyone in his path so far without breaking a sweat!

But that doesn't matter. No amount of genetics or preparation make you better than a beast. And Reigns begins to learn this as Brock Lesnar beats the piss out of him. Reigns actually begins to laugh at his own stupidity for ever thinking he could go toe to toe with Lesnar.

He takes Suplexes and punches and kicks. He starts bleeding. He loses a tooth. It's just a formality by this point. Reigns gets a couple of good shots in, but they don't matter. Undertaker, Cena and Punk all got some good shots, and they all still fell. Reigns is losing. Reigns has already lost. He lost the moment he stepped foot in the ring with Lesnar. He takes another couple of F-5's. Kicks out. Reigns has some balls, but it's just a question of when Lesnar chooses to end it at this point...

Lesnar then begins actually disrespecting Reigns. He takes off his gloves and gives him a slap. Reigns laughs some more, making Lesnar angry. The more Reigns resists his inevitable loss, the more punishment he has to take as a result. But he can't lay down and die. He can't let down his family.

And then, maybe out of instinct, Reigns pushes Lesnar into the ring post. Lesnar begins to bleed profusely. The beast is hurt. Reigns goes on the attack. Superman punches. Spears. Lesnar isn't out by any means, but Reigns has hurt Lesnar. Maybe actually he can win this...

ACT 3:
Then Seth Rollins' music hits. He's sprinting down to the ring. Case in hand. He cashes in, and suddenly, it's a triple threat match. Then, after Reigns makes the mistake of interrupting an F-5, Rollins takes him out, and it's all over.

Rollins grabs the title and runs away. Reigns, who believed he could win because of his family's history, loses because of his own individual history. His former best friend has betrayed him one more time. And though he proved that Lesnar might just be human, Reigns is human, too. And his human mistakes cost him everything...

We fade to black as Seth Rollins stands at the top of the ramp, with HIS WWE championship in hand.

That's a fucking epic story.

Roman Reigns formula match
1. Show up
2. Get beat down
3. Superman punch and Spear
4. Wait for everyone to kiss his ass

Yup, Roman Reigns matches are formulaic. You know what else is formulaic? All of professional wrestling. All of storytelling. All of entertainment. Our lives, by their very nature, are formulaic.

But you're unnecessarily butthurt over Reigns' push because he's not your favourite. And because of that, it's fine to insult Reigns, but if you believe someone is insulting you, you jump into defense mode.

 

[Dave]

You know what I respect more than I respect Reigns? The fact that the WWE stayed true to the spirit of the match; the same spirit they have been crafting ever since Reigns won the Royal Rumble. Now, I wasn't amongst the fans of the decision to have him go over but the WWE made damn sure that everyone knew that Reigns was fighting with his heart. And that match last night was full of heart, determination and courage on the part of Roman Reigns.

Lesnar is a beast, he's got at beating the shit out of people. And guess what, he stayed true to his character too. He beat in Reigns like it was the easiest thing he'd ever done. And in the end, Lesnar might not be leaving the event with the WWE Championship but he's leaving there as something we all thought he was.

I respect Reigns a whole lot more now than I ever did and was genuinely pleased by his performance last night. He sold the match to me when I was watching it. Taking a beating from Brock and smiling throughout was fucking awesome. By the end of the match, I had hopped down from on the fence and was firmly in the corner of Reigns. That is commendable to say the least. Great story telling at its finest and finally the WWE has managed to get Reigns over. At least with me.

 

[CharlesKane]

I'm not the slightest bit in defense mode, you are the one desperate to make everyone agree with your opinion of Reigns. And yes, your statement is an opinion.

I did not insult Reigns, just stated I didn't see anything out of him that he hasn't shown before. Do I think that he has entitlement issues, yes I do. The way he acts in interviews has shown that. Which brings up the respect aspect of your argument. Reigns has repeatedly shown disrespect for wrestling fans, so no I don't think wrestling fans owe him respect either. I don't fault people that do respect him, that is their choice.

As for taking a beating, it is NOT A REAL BEATING. It is his job to sell his opponents moves, if Brock were trying to actually beat the hell of Roman, we'd be having a completely different discussion.

 

[Aquaman6686]

You're not a wrestling fan, just an asshole.

The man took a legitimate beating last night. Got a bloodied mouth. May have lost a tooth. And he didn't even get to hold the title at the end of the night. All those who hate Reigns wouldn't have been able to take a fraction of the punishment Reigns took.

Not only did he take a massive beating, he gave it right back to Lesnar. I mean, Reigns fucked Lesnar up. Lesnar was bleeding from, what, like three different places on his face by the end of the match?

And, on top of all that, the most important part: It was a great match. Worthy of a Wrestlemania main event. It told an excellent story, with Reigns getting destroyed, finally putting a real dent in Lesnar's armour, then not getting his moment of glory because he's still haunted by Rollins and the Shield.

So, take the stick out of your ass. Show the man some respect, you delusional man child.

You're just completely, 100% wrong. All Roman Reigns proved was that he is nowhere REMOTELY close to being ready to be a main event Superstar. All he did the entire match was get tossed around and smile, then hit his normal two moves. It was the worst match on an otherwise great card, and if it wasn't for Seth Rollins, it would have gone down as one of the worst main events in WrestleMania history. It was absolutely god-awful and a massive letdown after such an awesome WrestleMania.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Roman Reigns showed that he's got legit toughness last night. He & Lesnar had a very, very physical bout and they were giving each other some pretty stiff shots. I think he gained some needed credibility last night as he had what ultimately turned out to be the best match of his career.

For me, it wasn't that I didn't respect Reigns, I did prior to the match and I still do, but I still don't see him as being ready for the title. He still has the promo, character, and personality issues he had before and if he's able to improve there, it'll only happen over time. During that time, he can gain more credibility with the possible pursuit, or one of several who could be pursuing the title over the course of the summer, and MAYBE he'll be ready before the year is over.

Still, Reigns showed a lot of guts last night. He took a helluva betting and managed to give a pretty good one as well. WWE did a fantastic job of protecting both Reigns & Lesnar with Rollins' worming his way to the title. If Rollins is to be champ for the long haul, I just hope they don't book him to look like some ineffectual bitch who can't do anything without half the locker room interfering on his behalf.

 

[QBall111]

It's not that people don't respect Reigns. He's just not ready. He fought that match great and both men sold it very well. He proved last night that it takes more than a superman punch and a spear to bring down Lesnar. This will expose him more to other competitors. I feel he will try to get a shot at Rollins and we will see that exposure that the punch and spear did not work. I feel Wrestlemania was not about getting the win for Reigns but maybe an approach to changing his character and giving him a few new moves.
We don't like that Reigns has limited moves, but same way we don't like Cena and his five moves. Difference is, WWE will expose that to the fans on Reigns cause he's not their top draw as Cena is.

 

[Miko]

I've never locked up with anyone so I can't have an opinion.

 

[Blade]

You're just completely, 100% wrong. All Roman Reigns proved was that he is nowhere REMOTELY close to being ready to be a main event Superstar. All he did the entire match was get tossed around and smile, then hit his normal two moves.

Uh, that's the exact same thing that happened to John Cena and Undertaker. Are they also not ready to be a main event superstar?

The fact is, Reigns came off look better than both the aforementioned guys. Regins hurt Lesnar. He made Lesnar bleed at three different points in the match. Suffice to say, Reigns looked really strong.

Reigns and Lesnar worked together really well and got the crowd emotionally involved in the match. At first, the crowd were super smarky, but by the end, they were actually into the match, to the point where nobody was thinking about Rollins. That speaks volumes about how underrated Reigns is by the smart marks. Though they'd never admit it. It would hurt their indy street cred.

It was the worst match on an otherwise great card, and if it wasn't for Seth Rollins, it would have gone down as one of the worst main events in WrestleMania history. It was absolutely god-awful and a massive letdown after such an awesome WrestleMania.

Oh stop being such a drama queen. There are at least 10 Wrestlemanias with easily worse main events.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Uh, that's the exact same thing that happened to John Cena and Undertaker. Are they also not ready to be a main event superstar?


Oh stop being such a drama queen. There are at least 10 Wrestlemanias with easily worse main events.

What happened to Undertaker last year with Lesnar was one of the worst decisions in WWE history, don't even get me started on that crap again.

And I said "IF it wasn't for Seth Rollins, it would have gone down as ONE of the worst WrestleMania main events". Learn how to read.

 

[PeterSellersSTL]

Well said OP. I knew Roman Reigns could deliver, this wasn't a technical masterpiece and that's not what I wanted to see. I wanted to see a stiff worked shoot-esque fight and I got that and it was amazing. Just the sheer brutality of the match made it the best of the night and the atmosphere was electric in there. They don't like Reigns but they were into the match, really into the match.

I'm laughing at the people who thought this was going to be a Lesnar Goldberg redux.

Rollins looks like a piece of shit who not only stabbed Reigns in the back again but also robbed us of a definitive winner between Lesnar-Reigns. WWE's MVP and the biggest heel since Jericho in '08.

Reigns - took an ass beating and maybe MAYBE was on his way to getting back into the fight. He had Lesnar down. For all the talk of not being ready, it turns out fans don't know shit and they should give the guy a break.

Lesnar - greatest Champion in a long, long time. He has become mythical since ending the streak and I'm so happy he's back on a new contract.