So when will the Roman Reigns backlash fully kick in?

[LBGetBack]

He was already getting some boos in the summer when the Superman push was really getting going.

They brought him on last night to get his upcoming Royal Rumble win and Mania Main Event push kick started.

It won't work. Not in 2015. 2005? Yeah. Batista worked. Reigns would've worked bigtime.

But this won't work. Fans don't go for this type of stuff anymore. Ambrose is the guy who works now. Amazing that they don't see it. They are so out of touch.

So will Reigns be getting booed out of the building at Rumble, or will it kick in a little later?

 

[HurriKane]

I feel if WWE doesn't want backlash for Reigns winning the Rumble, then the final two should be Reigns and a huge heel that somehow gets major heat earlier in the night. As much as I love Ambrose, I think Rollins should take him out backstage so he won't make it to the Rumble, and then Rollins somehow makes it to the end, where Reigns comes out and destroys Rollins and eliminates him in wins.

I honestly don't think the backlash will be that bad, and I don't think it should. Just because Reigns is not an indy darling like Ambrose, Rollins, or Daniel Bryan doesn't mean he deserves heat from the crowd.

So I hope if he wins, that the crowd will cheer and embrace him.

 

[LBGetBack]

I actually like Reigns, and I don't think he deserves heat from the crowd.

But I really see it happening. It's hard not to. It was already starting before he got hurt. And yeah, I like your scenario as something that would give him a chance....at least for awhile.

But as someone else posted here, the new way is to let someone that's talented appear to be getting held down. CM Punk, Daniel Bryan......Dean Ambrose has to be next. He's barely won a match since going solo, despite being the most popular guy with the fans. Those seem to be the only guys who really get over.

They might as well embrace it......Reigns gets the superman push only for fans to hate it, and then he goes up against Ambrose who all the fans will be behind.

 

[Navi]

Oh I think it's already started. His pop last night was wasn't anything like the one Daniel Bryan got last week. Fans have moved on to Ambrose.

Let's face it once you get past his looks there isn't much substance there. And I'm a fan of his. Even women have begun to go off him. I've seen a lot of them comment that since he got married the bloom is off the rose. As if they ever had a chance in the first place. I guess it's nice to dream though.

 

[MartialHorror]

The problem with Reigns winning the rumble is that there's something obnoxious about a guy who has been gone almost half of the year, only to return and win one of the biggest events. There is always a chance he will get Bootista'd out of the building.

If that doesn't happen, I think fans will eventually start booing, but who knows how long it will last. It comes down to how much Reigns has improved, both in the right and out and whether his storylines will be any good.

 

[Navi]

The problem with Reigns winning the rumble is that there's something obnoxious about a guy who has been gone almost half of the year, only to return and win one of the biggest events. There is always a chance he will get Bootista'd out of the building.

If that doesn't happen, I think fans will eventually start booing, but who knows how long it will last. It comes down to how much Reigns has improved, both in the right and out and whether his storylines will be any good.

He hasn't been gone half the year. You must be thinking of Daniel Bryan. Reigns has only been out for a couple of months. Bad News Barrett has been gone longer, and no one is turning against him for it. Mysterio as well. So don't use that as an exucse.

 

[JoeyJoeJoe]

The pauses last night when Reigns gave his acceptance speech were just awkward. There's a point where you are soaking in the cheers of the crowd, letting them help make the moment, and then there's stalling for time, and last night was the latter. The thing is he needs more practice, and he needs to be drawn into longer promos, not hidden behind short two sentence quickies.

 

[rbv13]

Hopefully they will not force it and ruin it for Reigns. If they would just sit back and let the man’s natural presence take over he will eventually become that mega star they want him to be. He has a nice flashy power move set, he has the physical attributes and he is an intense personality. He will need to continue to grow his game but the guy has the raw material to be truly great.

If they want to be patient maybe a match with H is better suited for this year’s WM. If they want to push it a bit further a feud and victory over US Champion Resuv is a better rout. If they really want to go balls in and give him the strap at 31 then I see Cena as being the better opponent. Allow him come out and just Superman Punch the shit out of the face of the company. He doesn’t need to play a traditional heel. Just let him be his bad ass self and there will be an intense split between the crowd.

 

[Starkist]

I thought the hate for Roman came up about a week a go?

I'm not worried if a crowd turns on someone. I like who I like that's why I like them. The WWE universe just tries to be the catalyst to a product they're supposed to enjoy. Sure, they might be right with some wrestlers who should be over an pushed but that doesn't mean I myself may like that wrestler.

Reigns just needs to be everything Cena is not. Develop more moves in his arsenal, keep fresh, avoid being stale and not allow WWE to shove him down our throats to where it is almost rape then he'll be fine.

I like Roman Regins, myself so beeelevvee in dat!

 

[Prince Vee]

Yeah he isn't getting great crowd reaction as he would've expected but that's WWE creative shits fault..

you can't show a guy too often on Internet before he makes his return. It could be a huge pop when he returns surprisingly. just like how Cena did back when he entered the rumble at #30 which got more reactions than hunter who was advertised to make a return and came back in at #29

You just can't show anyone over the network as you want to push the network down the throat of people. Just like Rock got a little low reaction when he's on TV.

Just hear the reaction that Bad news Barrett at Survivor series. he didn't even get the reaction that he got against the faces Rey Mysterio or RVD before getting injured.

If you want to push a guy on his return just shut the hell up and keep him out of the WWE universe and make a surprise return

Jericho Invented that.... remember?

 

[capnwillie]

I don't hate the guy but he is so not ready for the top spot that WWE seems so intent on giving him. I can pretty much imagine that Vince's mindset is that Reigns has a good look and he's the Rock's cousin so he must be good. Problem is, he's not Dwayne. Doesn't have Dwayne's presence and isn't even in Dwayne's galaxy in terms of charisma. Watching Reigns cut a promo is almost painful because his delivery is so stiff and forced. Nothing flows the way it should. This is one case where at least it's a good thing it's scripted or we'd probably be hearing a lot of "Oh yeah John Cena, well you're a... uh... you're a... big... stupid... dummy, err, head?" and things of that nature. "Make it Reign" would have been a decent catch phrase 10 years ago when every rapper in the south was making songs about it and I want to facepalm right through my own face every time I hear him say "UP IN THIS BITCH!" Is some 7-year-plan business major frat boy writing his promos?

Again, I don't hate him. He's got a great look, his ring style fits his look and size, but to be The Guy in WWE he's gonna have to get better on the stick or be paired up with a manager who can handle the verbal heavy lifting.

 

[CyberPunk]

Reigns needs some time to develop. He is good. His ring repertoire might be limited but he works well with it. However, the thing with Reigns is he is not ready for a main event spot. His delivery on mic is scratchy at best. He needs to get in a feud first. He needs to be cheated out of wins and pushed down the card a little. I really think that a feud with someone like Cesaro might work for both of them. He can learn the in-ring nuances from Cesaro while working on his mic work at the same time.

He does have the looks. His superman shtick is cool. The crowd needs the time to connect to him.

 

[PeterSellersSTL]

I'm sick of the backlash already, I wanna see what this guy can do, I think he CAN be the face of the company.

 

[MartialHorror]

He hasn't been gone half the year. You must be thinking of Daniel Bryan. Reigns has only been out for a couple of months. Bad News Barrett has been gone longer, and no one is turning against him for it. Mysterio as well. So don't use that as an exucse.

Nah, but it was my mistake. For some reason I thought he left in July instead of September, so replace what I said with a third of a year. I'm not saying that crowds turn against wrestlers who are gone for long periods of time. But I think they will turn against them if they are forced to the top after being gone for awhile. Can I be wrong? Sure. Batista and (to a lesser extent) Sheamus had other things going against them.

Barrett was actually used well. They didn't automatically propel him to the title scene. When he returned, he was put firmly in the midcard. But a lot of attention was put into his comeback and he worked his way up until his unfortunate injury. I would rather something similar with Reigns.

The pauses last night when Reigns gave his acceptance speech were just awkward. There's a point where you are soaking in the cheers of the crowd, letting them help make the moment, and then there's stalling for time, and last night was the latter. The thing is he needs more practice, and he needs to be drawn into longer promos, not hidden behind short two sentence quickies.
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To be fair, Reigns still did better than Steamboat, whose delivery was so awkward that I even almost fast forwarded through it. Then again, most of the slammy speeches weren't particularly special. Seth looked uncomfortable and nervous. Booker T seemed to notice the silence and tried to rejuvenate it. Big Johnnie was booed even though I don't think that was the plan (he wasnt acting like a heel and he was cheered last time he was in the ring, even though he was playing the heel).

 

[WarroBODFan]

I'm fearful. I really am. I'm sensing a lot of backlash already. The reaction on social media for Reigns winning superstar of the year was pretty damn negative.

I'm a Reigns fan, which I've reiterated in many posts, but I'm at a point now where I think they need to cool it off with him. Sure, he's had a feud with Orton, and was beginning one with Rollins, though why on earth they had him beat Rollins clean on the RAW less than a week before they were supposed to face each other at Night of Champions is beyond me. But I'd like to see him in more feuds, and also show some vulnerability. People naturally gravitate to the underdog, or to the guy getting screwed over. I'm not saying Reigns hasn't taken any beatdowns, but I don't recall him getting pinned clean at any point so far in his singles career.

I feel bad for the guy, as he personally hasn't done anything wrong. He's shown improvement, he has done his best, and he got his hernia issue at a pretty awkward time during his push, when the reactions for him were still decent, at best. But fans are fickle. I'm not saying that they shouldn't be, but it's pretty obvious the guy with the company rocketship strapped to his back is going to get some resentment. You'd think Vince would've got this by now, but he's still in his "we know better than you" mode. Have we been given a reason to root for Reigns? If you like him, you like him, and that's great. But we were given a reason to cheer for Daniel Bryan. Intentional or not, we had reason to cheer for him. We have reason to cheer for Ambrose after putting him in an instant feud with super villain Seth Rollins, and then having him attacked by Bray Wyatt. These are REASONS to cheer and support Dean Ambrose, regardless of the fact that he's killing it in the ring and on the mic anyway.

But honestly, what is the actual rush? Reigns is only 29, he can and will improve in time, and fans will take to him more if the WWE went for a rotation of top guys instead of pushing one guy to the moon and having everyone else fall in around him. This has always been my issue with the company obsession of just having one top guy, when the talent base is there to have a rotation. Would his push be easier if talents like Ambrose and Rollins didn't exist? Possibly. I just think WWE are making another misjudgment with going with the wrong guy at the wrong time, and I REALLY, really want Reigns to succeed. Which is why I think this super push is going to harm him big-time.

 

[snazzy]

Nah, but it was my mistake. For some reason I thought he left in July instead of September, so replace what I said with a third of a year.

No... try again. 2/12 = 1/6. He's been gone for a sixth of the year. People just overestimating because they want an excuse to dislike him. He is being over analysed and criticised like no one else on the roster. Someone here even complained about the time he took between sentences. It's ridiculous to be honest.

I have complete faith he will do fine even if he thrust against Lesnar.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

Yeah he isn't getting great crowd reaction as he would've expected but that's WWE creative shits fault..

you can't show a guy too often on Internet before he makes his return. It could be a huge pop when he returns surprisingly. just like how Cena did back when he entered the rumble at #30 which got more reactions than hunter who was advertised to make a return and came back in at #29

You just can't show anyone over the network as you want to push the network down the throat of people. Just like Rock got a little low reaction when he's on TV.

Just hear the reaction that Bad news Barrett at Survivor series. he didn't even get the reaction that he got against the faces Rey Mysterio or RVD before getting injured.

If you want to push a guy on his return just shut the hell up and keep him out of the WWE universe and make a surprise return

Jericho Invented that.... remember?

I don't think it has much of anything to do with creative. I think the problem lies mostly with Reigns himself as he's just not really been able to forge a major connection with fans. One of the chief reasons why Roman Reigns is over is because of his time as part of The Shield; it was a great group who had some of the most consistently strong booking of anyone in WWE in years and Reigns was just fine in his role as the heavy hitter of the group.

However, now that The Shield is broken up and all of them are on their own, something many have suspected has become all too apparent: Roman Reigns is easily the overall weakest member of the group. When it comes to inside the ring, his presence as a character and working the mic, he's just not on the same level as Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins.

All things considered, Reigns has done okay since he's been on his own. However, he's nowhere near as over as someone that's alleged to be in line for a super push to WrestleMania XXXI should be. He either hasn't progressed to that level yet, by which he may need more time, or he just doesn't have that special it factor. Either way, I don't think a mega push into a spot he might not be ready or even suited for is gonna be the best thing for him. From a physical standpoint, Reigns bears a close familial resemblance to The Rock, he has a great look, but fans don't just respond to guys who's chief asset is a good look. However, to be fair, maybe it's something that he's worked on since he's been off; we won't really know for sure until he gets back in the swing of things.

If Reigns hasn't progressed and gotten more comfortable in his own skin and on the mic, we're not gonna see fans rallying around him the way we saw with Daniel Bryan. If the responses Bryan has gotten is any indication, he's still the most universally over babyface on the roster with pops well above those of Roman Reigns. If Reigns gets a big push and it becomes obvious that he's just not ready for but Vince keeps it going anyway for a while because he likes what he sees, that's when a backlash will really kick into high gear.

 

[MR K]

I think, based on how loud the response was for Daniel Bryan, that if Reigns is pushed over Bryan then the fans will turn on him. Bryan is the most over babyface and the fans want to see him do well on his return. If Reigns takes his spot the fans will turn, like they did with Batista.

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

This is going to be Batista/Daniel Bryan all over again. Bryan was over... and there was no question about it... but Vince and the WWE were hell-bent on putting Batista in the main event Wrestlemania because that's just the way they wanted it.

This year, the roles of Batista and Bryan will be played by Reigns and Ambrose. Ambrose should be near the top of the card and be champion before too long, while Reigns will probably get there before Ambrose despite what the fans want and will end up drawing heat because of it.

Reigns isn't as good as many want to believe. He has a great look, poor mic skills, and doesn't seem very organic in the ring. He also has NO connection with the audience at all. The Rock managed to involve the fans as much as he could in his promos and that's what earned him 'The People's Champion' moniker.

Reigns doesn't have that kind of personality.

But that won't stop the WWE from shoving Reigns down our throats...and the backlash from that will be felt as soon as he wins the Royal Rumble.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

The guy's done NOTHING as a solo performer. He was on his own for three months, and got one world title shot in a four-man match at a B event. I can't accept the guy as a world champion and WrestleMania headliner, especially after doing sweet FA from September to December. On top of that, there's a certain confidence missing, particularly on the mic. Reigns could go on to be a great performer, but he needs another year or two of mid card seasoning.

It's going to sit very awkwardly if this guy just reappears, wins the Rumble then gets smashed into the top spot at WrestleMania. A backlash is inevitable and will begin as soon as it becomes clear that this is WWE's plan, a la Batista. I've finally bought into Ziggler of late, and feel that he's a much more logical candidate for the rub.

Oh, and by the way, Lesnar vs. Reigns will be HORRIFIC.

 

[OYDK]

Meh, I think people on this site will be surprised at the reaction Roman Reigns will get when (if) he wins the Royal Rumble.

Some people seem to think that Batista was as over as Roman Reigns is now when he came back, which is flat out not true. Batista was cheered when he first came back no doubt, but his presence wore off rather quickly and now that he's gone nobody seems to really care. Roman Reigns, to the casual fans, is the next "guy" and his pop on Monday Night shows that the majority of people are still firmly behind him. As for Ambrose, a lot of people are relating him to Daniel Bryan, but I think people forget how HOT DB actually was in the lead up to Mania. Not to say that Ambrose is not hot right now, but Bryan's momentum was on a whole other level imo.

These might not be popular opinions but they should be well known by now... The only people who would disagree with this would be the Ambrose marks or the Reigns detractors (of which there are many I'm sure). I think the IWC is over reacting by assuming that basically every year now, the fans will shit on whoever wins the Rumble if it isn't their favorite. It happened one time in an environment that hasn't been seen in a LONG time. I highly doubt the fans will turn on Reigns just because he didn't come out of the indies.

All in all, I think a few people on here have a misguided opinion on how over Roman and Ambrose truly are. Than again, I could easily be the misguided one here... I guess we'll find out at the Rumble.

 

[sMark]

Here is what i see WWE will do with Reigns:
1) they know they need a new top guy ASAP and they know the only way to make him work is to give him a big title win at Mania.
2) they know Reigns isn't exactly ready, but since it's either WM31 or full year later, they'll go ahead and full cash in on Reigns in hope that Reigns will evolve fast and well.
3) they know Brock Lesnar is a wild card, not only because of his contract status, but also random fans reaction on him - he was cheered alot, when he was supposed to be a bad guy, so you can't really predict how fans will react in Brock/Reigns match, and WWE need to be sure Reigns is cheered to the roof, so they'll make Cena/Reigns match at Mania, showing Cena down our throats on every RAW as much as possible, so the fans will ultimately turn on Cena and commentators can play on it at Mania.

 

[MartialHorror]

No... try again. 2/12 = 1/6. He's been gone for a sixth of the year. People just overestimating because they want an excuse to dislike him. He is being over analysed and criticised like no one else on the roster. Someone here even complained about the time he took between sentences. It's ridiculous to be honest.

I have complete faith he will do fine even if he thrust against Lesnar.

Huh? Didn't he leave in September? He isn't scheduled to wrestle until late December, I thought. The only reason he's being over analyzed and criticized is that he's not ready for the main event, although to be fair, I don't think Rollins and Ambrose are quite there yet either. Reigns needs to establish himself as a solo act. His best work has been with Randy Orton and even that wasn't especially phenomenal.

I have, however, heard that he does know more wrestling moves than he lets on. Why the WWE isn't letting him show more diversity, I don't know. Maybe it's because they think a wrestler who actually...wrestles...will not get over as much.

 

[Mustang Sally]

....they know Reigns isn't exactly ready, but since it's either WM31 or full year later, they'll go ahead and full cash in on Reigns in hope that Reigns will evolve fast and well.

Yes, I can see it going that way. The company needs guys at the very top of the roster.... and crowds today are harder to win over than in the past. The stuff they "hate" John Cena for today ("He's Superman!" "He never puts anyone over!" "He can't wrestle!") are the exact things people adored about Hulk Hogan back in the day wrestling fans were easier to please.

But in recent months, two guys who were taking the reins (no pun intended) have been sidelined: Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns. I still maintain Daniel's popularity stems as much from that damn chant ("Yes!") as what he's doing in the ring, but Roman Reigns needs to be in action to gain the position the company wants for him.

Sure, there will be some people booing him; that's the nature of the beast today. If someone is doing something new and exciting, there are fans who consider it fashionable to dislike them......an effect John Cena understands well.

Still, the tendency for the company to "catch Reigns up" quickly has got to be strong. WM31 is coming, the company apparently needs to get the title belt from Brock Lesnar's waist......and the original plan was to have Reigns ready by then, imo.

That may still be the plan; it's a question of how effectively they can do it after the long absence stalled his momentum. A lot depends on how quickly Roman can get back in action.

 

[Charismatic Enigma]

If they want the crowd to want him, they need to make his opponent hated. So here's what you do…have Lesnar show up on Raw monday, say that it bores him, and then don't show up again until WM. People will be so annoyed with Lesnar's absentee title reign, they'll be happy to see anyone beat him. I'm only half joking.