What do we expect now, Reigns to be cheered or booed, excitement or apathy?

[AegonTargaryen]

I'd like to preface this thread with some thoughts on the Rumble match:-

Roman Reigns was almost unanimously booed, followed by resounding apathy.

There was nothing but indifference upon entrances of veterans or old performers who've been around for more than 5 years, including Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, The Big Show,Goldust and Kane. (Chris Jericho being the only exception, as a part-time veteran/legend).

The faces were all booed:- from Ryback to Titus O'Neil.

The Miz was a douchebag, dork, and a chump in 2007, and he still is now. Not that there's anything wrong with it!

Chris Jericho's gait up to the ring reflected much dignity and brought to mind how much of a seasoned "performer" he is. Dignity! Chris Jericho is still awesome and the resounding applause upon his entrance reflected that.

The audiences are sick of the same old same old, including veterans entering year after year(Big Show and Kane), and "strong, big men" like Titus O'Neil and Ryback. The recurring and emphatic "AJ Styles" chants proved that. Also, they cheered Sami Zayn, apparently.

Kevin Owens is awesome. The fans love him even though he's a heel, which is when a really brilliant heel like Jericho or Owens does exactly what should evoke a negative reaction..eliminate the "good guy" or "fan favourite". The AJ Styles mimicry Owens did after eliminating him was brilliant.

I don't know who was booked to look like a bigger chump, Bray Wyatt and company, or Brock Lesnar. Why the hell didn't Lesnar unleash a "tempest" on Bray Wyatt after being illegally eliminated by the Wyatts? He just retreated calmly? That's just incongruent with Brock's persona.

So HHH is the new WWE WHC. I for one am a bit happy because it's the one thing that felt right in a severely crappily booked Royal Rumble match. I had expected him to win unjustly or just quickly, but he gave a pretty solid performance. Also, his presence for over 10 minutes and interaction with new superstars like Ambrose and Wyatt, as well as Ziggler just showed how seasoned guys like HHH and Chris Jericho are. The Reigns elimination is something we've seen many times and yet it was brilliant.

But..where do they go now? It's clear after the Rumble that Reigns just doesn't get cheered and they've done just about everything they could do to make the audiences cheer for him, by way of putting him up against The Authority who are pretty much the most despicable thing on TV. Such booking only works when the audience/people love the said wrestler, like Daniel Bryan and CM Punk. Actual underdogs. It hasn't worked for Reigns.

Are we going to see HHH being cheered on the next many Raws leading in to Wrestlemania? I sure as hell don't see Reigns being cheered over him.. Also, even though I'm curious to see HHH as champion, I can't conceive how they're going to make the HHH-Reigns program interesting.

HHH is one of the best ever, on the mic and in the ring. He's got Vince and Steph, and the LON.

Roman Reigns has nothing but awkwardness and "I got screwed", and once again, no cheers to back it up. Daniel Bryan on the other hand, had entire arenas chanting...

So I ask you, what do we expect now, in the next many weeks leading to Wrestlemania 32?

 

[MTL722]

I expect Reigns to continue getting the "underdog" treatment. They'll feed him LON week after week leading up to Fastlane, and probably put him in a handicap match at Fastlane to "earn" a title shot.

The build of Reigns is a mixture of Lesnar and Cena, but they want the reaction of the crowd to be similar to that of Daniel Bryan. He's an unstoppable force, who never gives up, but the Authority is holding him back. It really is the most ass-backwards build of a star that I've ever seen

Wrestlemania 32 will be Romans show. Unless we get some sort of crazy audible, Roman will walk out of WM as champion, and finally get his moment to shine.At least, that's what we'll be told to believe. Had he won last year, he would have been boo'd, which makes the Rollins cash in the best audible in WWE history. This year, there's no doubt in my mind Roman get his "moment"

How do I feel about this? Completely uninterested. I love Triple H and think it's nice to have heel Trips back on top. But every ounce of me feels the same as Bray Wyatt. Anyone but Roman. From his facial expressions, to his bullshit walkout for half of the Rumble last night, to his monstrous 2 year push, I just can't stand the fact that he is the chosen one.

Roman is milk, and I am lactose intolerant. No doubt he has his qualities, but every time he's pushed down my throat, it leads to nothing but shit for me

 

[Good Golly It's Ollie]

Roman Reigns was almost unanimously booed, followed by resounding apathy.

Hmm I wouldn't say it was unanimous. It was pretty negative but there were some cheers and people applauding Reigns, as well as some pro-Reigns signs. Look at his entrance again.

What did disappoint me was seeing an "If Reigns wins we riot" sign. That shit wasn't funny in 2008 and it isn't funny now.

The faces were all booed:- from Ryback to Titus O'Neil.

Dean Ambrose and Sami Zayn both laugh at your untrue statement.

Kevin Owens is awesome. The fans love him even though he's a heel, which is when a really brilliant heel like Jericho or Owens does exactly what should evoke a negative reaction..eliminate the "good guy" or "fan favourite". The AJ Styles mimicry Owens did after eliminating him was brilliant.

Seconded on Owens being awesome, but let's face it, he was also the only guy who could get away with eliminating Styles. I reckon even Ambrose or Jericho would've drawn heat for that.

Chris Jericho's gait up to the ring reflected much dignity and brought to mind how much of a seasoned "performer" he is. Dignity! Chris Jericho is still awesome and the resounding applause upon his entrance reflected that.

I guess I'm not as sold on modern Y2J as you. I personally thought Jericho looked somewhat out of place. It was nice to see him again but he's basically done and there was no one buying into the possibility of him winning.

I don't know who was booked to look like a bigger chump, Bray Wyatt and company, or Brock Lesnar. Why the hell didn't Lesnar unleash a "tempest" on Bray Wyatt after being illegally eliminated by the Wyatts? He just retreated calmly? That's just incongruent with Brock's persona.

Okay I understand this criticism but I want to play Devil's Advocate here, as well as the fact that I personally headcanon-ed it this way: Lesnar was realising there was no way he could overcome four men built like the Wyatts without some kind of game plan. There's almost this conclusive kind of resignation on his face as he leaves if you care to watch it again. Lesnar actually needing to plan a comeback carefully helps the Wyatts look strong in my book.

Are we going to see HHH being cheered on the next many Raws leading in to Wrestlemania? I sure as hell don't see Reigns being cheered over him

I think Triple H's cheers were a mixed bag of nostalgia pop seeing the Game with the Title and an "anyone but Reigns" type of reaction. It's also a fairly smark crowd down in NXT land which plays into reactions somewhat. Reigns will appear more over at Mania, I predict. The next Raws should give us some more perspective on this.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

Hmm I wouldn't say it was unanimous. It was pretty negative but there were some cheers and people applauding Reigns, as well as some pro-Reigns signs. Look at his entrance again.

I know there were a few pro-Roman signs and sure, a part of the audience must've applauded him, just that the boos were loud and cheers were muffled. I did say almost unanimous.

Dean Ambrose and Sami Zayn both laugh at your untrue statement.

Hah. I get it. Dean Ambrose is a face and he's ALWAYS cheered. Dean is also an exception, and I personally just "omit" him, as it's just predictable he's going to be cheered no matter what..until of course he turns heel.

I did include Sami Zayn and AJ Styles among new performers/underdogs who were cheered.

I guess I'm not as sold on modern Y2J as you. I personally thought Jericho looked somewhat out of place. It was nice to see him again but he's basically done and there was no one buying into the possibility of him winning.

True. He didn't really shine in this year's Rumble match, if he was ever supposed to. Nor did AJ Styles which is strange because he was the only wrestler whom the audiences consistently chanted for, as if they said, "show us your cool moves AJ, we're so sick of everybody else". I wonder if they, in their imagination, subconsciously, substituted him for Daniel Bryan, considering their similar sizes and stints as "workhorses" and technical wrestlers in their respective companies.

Okay I understand this criticism but I want to play Devil's Advocate here, as well as the fact that I personally headcanon-ed it this way: Lesnar was realising there was no way he could overcome four men built like the Wyatts without some kind of game plan. There's almost this conclusive kind of resignation on his face as he leaves if you care to watch it again. Lesnar actually needing to plan a comeback carefully helps the Wyatts look strong in my book.

I did see it, and it occurred to me that it must be the case..as you point out.

I still feel however, it was completely devoid of intensity. Do you remember how Kurt Angle got mad because Shawn Michaels had eliminated him and what followed? And Angle wasn't even illegally eliminated. Nevertheless. Also, Brock didn't need to go after all 4, as only Bray was in the ring at that point and he could've easily taken a steel chair or something, eliminated or injured him...he should have done SOMETHING intense and vicious before retreating, at least.

I think Triple H's cheers were a mixed bag of nostalgia pop seeing the Game with the Title and an "anyone but Reigns" type of reaction. It's also a fairly smark crowd down in NXT land which plays into reactions somewhat. Reigns will appear more over at Mania, I predict. The next Raws should give us some more perspective on this.

I agree the "anyone but Reigns" was a factor. I just don't know how Reigns is going to be "more over" by Wrestlemania or at Wrestlemania. If the WWE Universe ever bought Reigns in the underdog role in the first place, wouldn't they have wanted him to win or at least "survive"? It was glaringly clear however, that they wanted him to lose. May be it's time the WWE just admitted the fact that Reigns will never work as this underdog, because he isn't CM Punk and he isn't Daniel Bryan, and he sure as hell isn't that talented, and consistently forcing him in that role will sicken everybody, especially a few of us here on Wrestlezone.

 

[Stone Cold Tea]

I take issue with you saying it was a poorly booked Rumble.

Considering the stars available to them last night if feel overall it was booked well. Consider the fact that this match was for the title, and not too many main eventers available, they did well to not having any ridiculous entrants. Granted there's always going to be fodder, but well all knew that HHH was going to win anyway so I aren't upset about that.

I thought the way they started with Reigns eliminating Rusev with ease meant we were going to 4 or 5 easy eliminations for him and then AJ comes out. That was fucking crazy. Now this did put some heat on Roman, but I think all Rumble crowds are going to be smarky for a long time. Having Kevin Owens be the one to eliminate AJ was a masterstroke. Owens is in the position of been a heel who the fans like. I was feeling sorry for whoever had to eliminate AJ for the heat. When Owens was the guy to do it it made me pissed off at Owens and I love the guy.

I was surprised that all 4 of the Wyatts weren't in the Rumble at the same time but overall if they're going to go with Lesnar Wyatt at 'Mania that's a good way to start it. Like the OP I was wondering why Lesnar didn't go back in and destroy them but as Ollie pointed out above he did succumb to the numbers game and needs to be smarter.

Now for anyone who was annoyed Roman got taken away and then made a miraculous come back at the end, did you really expect him not to be in the last 3 or 4? Now ask yourself if you would have been happy seeing Roman throughout the whole match? The only way to get him to that point was to have him taken out early on. They did it with Austin in 99.

I was surprised Ambrose was the last guy in there with HHH and for a second they really did make me believe he was going to win it. I love how HHH stuck it to RR with the Suck-Its when he eliminated him. Anybody who has watched wrestling for a long time must know must formulas they follow by now so I prefer to enjoy the story the take us on rather than worry to much about the end game.

On a side note: As I mentioned above it seems all Rumble Crowds think its cool to go against the grain now. Roman will get cheered again over the coming months but it genuinely wouldn't surprise me if he gets booed at every single Rumble he appears at now.

 

[AegonTargaryen]

I take issue with you saying it was a poorly booked Rumble.

I understand that they had little to work with, and there weren't that many "maineventers" in the match considering the injuries.

But I'm resolute in my belief and claim that it was a pretty lacklustre Rumble match, and more importantly, they didn't do anything to make it better, basically by booking it poorly. Here's why:-

They bring in AJ Styles and he did LITTLE in the match. It was like he's Rey Mysterio trying to survive the rumble match. He didn't shine. But of course I loved the fact that we got to see AJ styles in the first place.

Chris Jericho didn't shine.

Rumble was used for just 2 reasons:-

1)Initiate the Wyatt-Lesnar feud. Even the way this was done lacked any real substantial spark. I must seem like someone who is just complaining, but even you agree when I say that Brock should've shown some intensity and done something after he was eliminated. The whole "Brock was being smart and strategic" BS is illogical because Brock Lesnar post-UFC doesn't do that. That's what The Miz, Edge, and Seth Rollins do. The whole thing was FAIL, IMO.

2)HHH returning and winning. I am happy with the last 12-15 minutes of the Rumble, especially HHH's interactions with Bray, Ziggler, Ambrose, and the way he eliminated Reigns. No complaints here.

The biggest factor contributing to my opinion that it was "poorly booked" is Reigns. Why bring him in as number 1, only to take him out of the match? He should've entered after no 20, may be even at number 29, eliminated 4-5 guys, and THEN be shocked at HHH's entrance and be eliminated. It'd have at least given him a reason to say "I got screwed". But anyway. The whole Reigns booking was a blunder.

 

[J.J.]

I thought it was a good Royal Rumble because it opened the door for storylines. Zayn/Owens or Owens/Styles, Wyatt/Lesnar a continuation of Reigns/Triple H. The timing of Styles being eliminated gave fans who are not too familar with Styles a real chance to see him and Owens eliminating him was the perfect person to do it because he won't suffer from fan backlash.

AJ looked good in his debut by lasting nearly 30 minutes in the rumble. He looked good and I think he's a perfect fit for the roster because there are many opportunities for him.

R-Truth had a very hilarious moment in the draft with pulling that ladder into the ring while everyone stood around looking at him in a "wtf" moment.

I'm actually glad to see the vets get out there in the ring, regardless if they're unlikely to win it looks cool to see them pose some form of challenge. We all know Chris Jericho, Kane, Mark Henry, Goldust and R Truth have seen the better days of their in-ring careers so I just embrace their presence for their longevity and dedication to the business.

Only complaint I had is Reigns spent 35 minutes out of the match, but apart from that it was a very good show.

 

[BillAlfonsos_Whistle]

The Reigns experiment is absolutely finished.
They have two options. Turn him heel or drop him to mid card.
If they continue shoving him down peoples throats as a face they will continue to get embarrassing results like having the "face of the company" heartily booed out of the rumble.

I truly believe last night had alternate endings depending on crowd reaction. I know that's a pretty ridiculous claim but look what happened...they let him get absolutely screwed by LON and Authority. To the point where any viable face would get a MASSIVE pop when he returned to attack Sheamus and re-enter the match. What did they get?

APATHY. No one even fucking cared and that's not even the worst...everyone on earth rolled their eyes and KNEW he was gonna win. If the Orlando crowd would have melted down upon his return with thunderous cheers he would have went over and eliminated the entire LON and then HHH. Too bad no one wants to see that piece of shit be a headliner. Period.

 

[ISkye]

Roman is basically the only person on the roster I don't like. Even in The Shield I wasn't a big fan. I've tried to like him, but it is never going to work...My mom is a teacher and when the kids came into class last year all the way up until now talking about Monday Night Raw they actually didn't like him. Adults don't like him. The only part of the Rumble I totally despised was when he came back. That part in which he was heavily boo'd.

I don't see how people think he is over to be totally honest. I remember my Mom coming home laughing about how she said something about pretending to be Roman Reigns, and the little kid in the class said " Screw Roman Reigns. I'm Dean Ambrose ". These may be young kids, but the thing is they really don't like him. Most of them are so young they don't even know what is going on. The ones who are old enough don't really gravitate towards Roman lol.

I honestly haven't met a die hard Roman Reigns fan in my entire life. Maybe the Shield? Not Roman though.

It's pretty bad when Damien Sandow and others get more cheers than your champion to be honest.

 

[Stone Cold Tea]

I understand that they had little to work with, and there weren't that many "maineventers" in the match considering the injuries.

But I'm resolute in my belief and claim that it was a pretty lacklustre Rumble match, and more importantly, they didn't do anything to make it better, basically by booking it poorly. Here's why:-

They bring in AJ Styles and he did LITTLE in the match. It was like he's Rey Mysterio trying to survive the rumble match. He didn't shine. But of course I loved the fact that we got to see AJ styles in the first place.

Chris Jericho didn't shine.

Rumble was used for just 2 reasons:-

1)Initiate the Wyatt-Lesnar feud. Even the way this was done lacked any real substantial spark. I must seem like someone who is just complaining, but even you agree when I say that Brock should've shown some intensity and done something after he was eliminated. The whole "Brock was being smart and strategic" BS is illogical because Brock Lesnar post-UFC doesn't do that. That's what The Miz, Edge, and Seth Rollins do. The whole thing was FAIL, IMO.

2)HHH returning and winning. I am happy with the last 12-15 minutes of the Rumble, especially HHH's interactions with Bray, Ziggler, Ambrose, and the way he eliminated Reigns. No complaints here.

The biggest factor contributing to my opinion that it was "poorly booked" is Reigns. Why bring him in as number 1, only to take him out of the match? He should've entered after no 20, may be even at number 29, eliminated 4-5 guys, and THEN be shocked at HHH's entrance and be eliminated. It'd have at least given him a reason to say "I got screwed". But anyway. The whole Reigns booking was a blunder.

AJ debuting was a cool moment within itself without him needing a ''Chance to shine''. Jericho last near on 50 minutes which is pretty impressive.

With the Lesnar thing I can see both sides of the argument. If its true he isn't backstage tonight then maybe they could've had The Wyatts take him out, but then again maybe Heyman told him to wait. Maybe Lesnar himself realised he would get his ass kicked. We don't want them to blow there load too early with this feud considering it's 2 months till 'Mania. There's plenty of time for confrontation.

Why on earth would they allow RR to enter that late on? Roman gets number 1 and HHH gets number 30 was classic heel strategy. As I mentioned above taking him out was a good idea because Roman was getting booed last night. Nobody wanted to see him dominate all the way through. I feel they took us on a good ride.

 

[MTL722]

Now for anyone who was annoyed Roman got taken away and then made a miraculous come back at the end, did you really expect him not to be in the last 3 or 4? Now ask yourself if you would have been happy seeing Roman throughout the whole match? The only way to get him to that point was to have him taken out early on. They did it with Austin in 99.

2 things. The Austin situation was completely different. He and Vince left almost immediately and brawled around the arena. Thats not what happened with Roman. Which brings me to my next point

I am one of those fans that was "annoyed" Roman left the match. Notice that I said "left" the match. This is what pissed people off. Roman was not carted off. In hindsight, it probably wouldnt have mattered reaction wise, but when you are supposed to be this mega-face, 1 vs All, tough guy, how on gods green earth are you going to walk out on a match where YOUR championship is on the line? Thats a heel tactic if I ever saw one

Nobody thought for a single second that he wasnt going to come back. But he was gone for, what? A half hour. It was infuriating. I get that he got his ass kicked. But it was ridiculous that LON didnt throw him back in the ring. Have him fight back and keep getting nearly eliminated, only to finally get disposed by Triple H. Romans comeback was not the problem. It was the fact that he WALKED out

Also, I disagree with whoever said the match was booked poorly. Roman was booked poorly. The rest of the match was solid

 

[YatesA]

Issue with Reigns is, he looks the part and is imposing in the ring, looks legit but as soon as he comes on the mic, game over, just isn't interesting. Exactly why Brock Lesnar had Heyman. If Reigns was electrifying in the ring and gave a wow factor then it may be different but he's a powerhouse but there's better powerhouses than him, namely Lesnar.

 

[Azane]

I like how they tried to mute the audience during Reign's entrance, but it came through the ground camera's and announcer Mics as loud as normal Boos.

Watch a live vid, it was ridiculously Nuclear how bad he got boo'd (We're talking Mr. McMahon screwing Austin Booed).

Roman needs to condition to work a full match if they want him to be a legitimate competitor, dude laying around for 45 minutes of the Rumble and coming back to do his finish... This isn't kindergarten Roman, next time don't accept the World Title push if you can't even work the match fully.

Michael Cole, SHUT UP, You said roman Reigns 106 times between The time he was pulled from under the ring, to when he showed back up to the match, It's RIDICULOUS how there's 15 people wrestling in the ring, and Michael Cole is so against calling the action that he just says Roman Reigns (he said it 3 times in a row for no reason at one point when he wasn't even in the match)

WWE needs to just Turn Reign's Heel and then they can pretend the Boos are because he's a good heel. as a far, it's ridiculous, they've spent over a year pushing him, and he's not even getting Cena half boo/cheers, he's getting more Boos than Kevin Owens or Sheamus. (SHEAMUS!!!!!)

The Rumble itself was very well done, we have AJ making his debut and looking great, we have Kevin Owens getting nuclear heat on mocking And throwing AJ out with the "WELCOME TO WWE", We have Sami Zayn tossed out by KO and ready to reignite, we had Ambrose looking really strong after fighting in the LMS match 2 hours prior, Triple H is not Roman Reigns, so he's fine to win (I had 29 picks for who I'd like to win it, I would prefer Curtis Axel over RR). The only people I really think were booked poorly were Jack Swagger and Mark Henry, they wrestled in that pre-show 4 way tag match, and both were tossed out in literally seconds, I would prefer that Mark Henry at least gets a couple low key eliminations, especially if this is his last Rumble. But their booking isnt important to the overall match. Lesnar and Wyatt setup got the job done, we know they'll be feuding now, and have something to fight over.

End of the show, I feel I got my money's worth, I want to watch RAW tonight, and I'm excited as the WrestleMania card fleshes out, All of these are criteria for what I call a good show.

 

[Dave]

If you think that last night actually changed anything with relation to Roman Reigns, then you would be dead wrong in that assertion. Well, unless the assertion is that he is no longer the WWE Heavyweight Champion.

Roman Reigns is always going to be the guy that the fans don't want and will continue to get the same apathetic and, often times, negative reaction, that he has been receiving for the better part of a year now. The fans who pay to see the shows want to see their favourites rise to the top and Roman Reigns no longer ticks all of the boxes. Let's face it, the WWE missed their organic opportunity with Reigns 2 years ago when they put Batista over him in the Rumble. They tried to rectify their mistake the following year and no one gave a shit anymore. By said time, Reigns was now being groomed as the People's Champion.

The trouble with that is that the fans had moved onto to other people and were not interested in seeing Reigns being touted as the new Super Cena. After a decade of watching Cena been used as a puppet for the “new WWE”, the fans didn't want to see it again. And they still don't! Let's face it, some of the guys who came to the WWE after Reigns are much better wrestlers and most of them get a much better reaction from the fans. I am no looking at people like Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and now AJ Styles. As of right now, the only person who wants to see Roman Reigns in the main event of the WWE for a decade is Vince McMahon. The unfortunate thing for the casual WWE fan, is that Vince McMahon is the man who makes the decisions.

My point is that the WWE really missed the boat with Reigns. The WWE fans want someone to cheer for so badly but the WWE keep missing out on the timing. The only person they nailed it with was Daniel Bryan in recent memory and they keep trying to emulate it. Roman's recent success was not natural, nor was it organic. The WWE fans know when you are trying to force feed them something and they back away from it quick. Getting back to the issue, the WWE fans are over Reigns already. They want their own hero and that means Reigns will have to live with an apathetic and negative response from the fans for the foreseeable future. Let's just hope that the WWE don't repeat their mistakes with Balor, Styles and Owens.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

The Rumble match was great for me. I had very little to whine about. The only things that bothered me were Reigns' 30 minute nap and Brock not going berserk. But overall it was a great show.

You blame Regins' being booed on the WWE. Why? They haven't done anything wrong regarding him in the last few months. Hell, he barely wins. He has come a long way since last year, yet the smarks in Orlando booed him, even when he gets cheered in every other city.

I understand why they booed him last year. But last night? He did not deserve that.

 

[Azane]

The Rumble match was great for me. I had very little to whine about. The only things that bothered me were Reigns' 30 minute nap and Brock not going berserk. But overall it was a great show.

You blame Regins' being booed on the WWE. Why? They haven't done anything wrong regarding him in the last few months. Hell, he barely wins. He has come a long way since last year, yet the smarks in Orlando booed him, even when he gets cheered in every other city.

I understand why they booed him last year. But last night? He did not deserve that.

He barely wins,

Except he's going to be a 3 time world champion in a couple months, You know, barely.

 

[Deoxyribonucleic A.C.I.D.]

He barely wins,

Except he's going to be a 3 time world champion in a couple months, You know, barely.

So what? It's not like number of reigns means anything. Doesn't combined days count more?

Yes, I kinda hate the fact that HHH became champion only to put Roman over, but it was the best scenario under the current circumstances. In a perfect world Triple H would have won the belt at Survivor Series and he would have lost it against Roman at Wrestlemania. But they screwed that up with Sheamus' MITB briefcase.

 

[MartialHorror]

I don't really know if I like Triple H winning the Rumble, but I hated how Roman was used throughout a lot of this. I was fine at first, but I didn't like how the League attacked, left him OUTSIDE OF THE RING and he was lead away. It's predictable, but it kept Roman safe from more intense competition: Big Show, Kane, Wyatts, Lesnar. If he had won, I'd be pissed because it wouldn't feel very earned.

I'm not sure if him losing helped matters, but at least it was surprising...especially as he wasn't even the final competitor. I dont know how fans will react though, as the crowd was trolling him and the other babyfaces. Hopefully other crowds wont follow suit in order to seem cool and edgy.

 

[Navi]

If you think that last night actually changed anything with relation to Roman Reigns, then you would be dead wrong in that assertion. Well, unless the assertion is that he is no longer the WWE Heavyweight Champion.

Roman Reigns is always going to be the guy that the fans don't want and will continue to get the same apathetic and, often times, negative reaction, that he has been receiving for the better part of a year now. The fans who pay to see the shows want to see their favourites rise to the top and Roman Reigns no longer ticks all of the boxes. Let's face it, the WWE missed their organic opportunity with Reigns 2 years ago when they put Batista over him in the Rumble. They tried to rectify their mistake the following year and no one gave a shit anymore. By said time, Reigns was now being groomed as the People's Champion.

The trouble with that is that the fans had moved onto to other people and were not interested in seeing Reigns being touted as the new Super Cena. After a decade of watching Cena been used as a puppet for the “new WWE”, the fans didn't want to see it again. And they still don't! Let's face it, some of the guys who came to the WWE after Reigns are much better wrestlers and most of them get a much better reaction from the fans. I am no looking at people like Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and now AJ Styles. As of right now, the only person who wants to see Roman Reigns in the main event of the WWE for a decade is Vince McMahon. The unfortunate thing for the casual WWE fan, is that Vince McMahon is the man who makes the decisions.

My point is that the WWE really missed the boat with Reigns. The WWE fans want someone to cheer for so badly but the WWE keep missing out on the timing. The only person they nailed it with was Daniel Bryan in recent memory and they keep trying to emulate it. Roman's recent success was not natural, nor was it organic. The WWE fans know when you are trying to force feed them something and they back away from it quick. Getting back to the issue, the WWE fans are over Reigns already. They want their own hero and that means Reigns will have to live with an apathetic and negative response from the fans for the foreseeable future. Let's just hope that the WWE don't repeat their mistakes with Balor, Styles and Owens.

Yea Dave has pretty much nailed it with this response. I've been barging on like a broken record about it and he said it better than I ever could.

When Daniel Bryan went out with an injury the WWE was probably hoping his fanbase would switch over to Reigns, that didn't happen. They went with Ambrose, Owens, Ziggler and Cesaro instead. It must have just infuriated Vince and Co. that their guy was getting that kind of treatment, but it didn't stop them. Reigns was cheered at the Rumble 2 years ago because no one wanted to see Batista win, just like they don't want to see Reigns win anymore.

They should have had Reigns in the title match at Mania in New Orleans, let Bryan go over him, and then start his push when Bryan went down. At least the fans might have had more sympathy towards him and come to his side. As Dave says, they missed the boat, and even though it looks like Reigns got over by taking on the Authority, finally, it's come a little too late for most people. And I think it's too late to turn him heel, fans will also see that as a last ditch effort. He's not a heel.

I still like the guy and will still watch him, but I'm afraid that the powers that be have damaged him to the point that he is not going to become what they want him to be. It's a shame because he could have been really special and had a great run, but it is what it is and now they and we have to live with it.

 

[kadroan]

I'd like to preface this thread with some thoughts on the Rumble match:-

Roman Reigns was almost unanimously booed, followed by resounding apathy.

There was nothing but indifference upon entrances of veterans or old performers who've been around for more than 5 years, including Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, The Big Show,Goldust and Kane. (Chris Jericho being the only exception, as a part-time veteran/legend).

The faces were all booed:- from Ryback to Titus O'Neil.

The Miz was a douchebag, dork, and a chump in 2007, and he still is now. Not that there's anything wrong with it!

Chris Jericho's gait up to the ring reflected much dignity and brought to mind how much of a seasoned "performer" he is. Dignity! Chris Jericho is still awesome and the resounding applause upon his entrance reflected that.

The audiences are sick of the same old same old, including veterans entering year after year(Big Show and Kane), and "strong, big men" like Titus O'Neil and Ryback. The recurring and emphatic "AJ Styles" chants proved that. Also, they cheered Sami Zayn, apparently.

Kevin Owens is awesome. The fans love him even though he's a heel, which is when a really brilliant heel like Jericho or Owens does exactly what should evoke a negative reaction..eliminate the "good guy" or "fan favourite". The AJ Styles mimicry Owens did after eliminating him was brilliant.

I don't know who was booked to look like a bigger chump, Bray Wyatt and company, or Brock Lesnar. Why the hell didn't Lesnar unleash a "tempest" on Bray Wyatt after being illegally eliminated by the Wyatts? He just retreated calmly? That's just incongruent with Brock's persona.

So HHH is the new WWE WHC. I for one am a bit happy because it's the one thing that felt right in a severely crappily booked Royal Rumble match. I had expected him to win unjustly or just quickly, but he gave a pretty solid performance. Also, his presence for over 10 minutes and interaction with new superstars like Ambrose and Wyatt, as well as Ziggler just showed how seasoned guys like HHH and Chris Jericho are. The Reigns elimination is something we've seen many times and yet it was brilliant.

But..where do they go now? It's clear after the Rumble that Reigns just doesn't get cheered and they've done just about everything they could do to make the audiences cheer for him, by way of putting him up against The Authority who are pretty much the most despicable thing on TV. Such booking only works when the audience/people love the said wrestler, like Daniel Bryan and CM Punk. Actual underdogs. It hasn't worked for Reigns.

Are we going to see HHH being cheered on the next many Raws leading in to Wrestlemania? I sure as hell don't see Reigns being cheered over him.. Also, even though I'm curious to see HHH as champion, I can't conceive how they're going to make the HHH-Reigns program interesting.

HHH is one of the best ever, on the mic and in the ring. He's got Vince and Steph, and the LON.

Roman Reigns has nothing but awkwardness and "I got screwed", and once again, no cheers to back it up. Daniel Bryan on the other hand, had entire arenas chanting...

So I ask you, what do we expect now, in the next many weeks leading to Wrestlemania 32?

I think he'll be cheered. The way they booking him kind of reminds me of Stone Cold now more than Bryan. I'm glad they stopped trying to have him sound like The Rock on the mic. It was so cringe worthy seeing him saying stuff you'd hear on Looney Tunes.

 

[BestSportsEntertainer]

Roman Reigns will be cheered by casuals and booed by most smarks.

He has improved in the ring, but his mic skills are awful. His booking (with the exception of TLC and the Raw after) has been atrocious.

However, Triple H will not be cheered over him. WWE's strategy has been clever, having Reigns feud with wrestlers the audience hates even more (HHH, Sheamus)

I don't see anything changing unless Reigns turns heel.

 

[Piss Bucket]

The "fans" only boo Reigns because he won last year's Royal Rumble at the expense of the IWC's Boyfriend Daniel Bryan, if Bryan wasn't injured, he'd probably be doing what Reigns is doing right now, ie feuding with Vince McMahon/HHH and the Authority.

But I do think Reigns suffers from the exact same problem as the likes of The Rock, Randy Orton, Bray Wyatt, Bo Dallas, and to a large extent, Charlotte, if he didn't have famous relatives, in his case being related to half the population of Samoa through the Wild Samoans, his Dad and Uncle, he would probably be mid card at best by now.

 

[Rocky84]

I really don't get the reason why they switch off and on so often with the booing and cheering for Roman. It's nothing like with Cena...it doesn't hurt him. It's known he's got 100% of the kid fanbase...that's all that matters. Plus he's established and a vet. On the other hand, Reigns is trying to become establish and be the man...this is crushing him bigtime. They seriously need to do some damage control and pull the plug on this already. Turn him heel ala The Rock with the Nation...he will gain so many more fans with the chains taken off and the free will to go nuts. Fans love heels. Look at Rollins. Every time he talks smack about the fans they love him even more. Then, through this he can become a face again later on. But this crap sucks... HHH vs Reigns...the fans hijack the damn storyline by booing the hell out of him. I really don't want Mania to end with him holding the title getting booed by 100,000 people while he tries his hardest to ignore them.