When was the last time....

[DB-Fan]

a guy has gotten the kind of push that Reigns has been given over the last few weeks? Seriously. I ask because I've watched wrestling for over 35 years and I honestly can't ever remember a wrestling company push one guy so hard, in so many different ways, like Reigns has been pushed since the Royal Rumble fiasco. It's absolutely incredible the lengths to which Vince has gone to make sure this guy is portrayed as a viable powerhouse capable of beating literally any one (or two, or three, etc).

So the question is an honest one: When was the last time any wrestler has gotten this much push so quickly? I honestly can't think of one example to compare to this current post RR push for Reigns. Everyone has sold for the guy in the most blatant of ways. Whether in the ring (like Rollins and 'security' tonight at the beginning and then in the back while talking to Orton) or via promo (Bryan and Heyman last week, everyone else this week).

 

[Sexcellence of Sexecution]

Ironically the last guy to get pushed this hard was probably Brock Lesnar. He came in, smashed everyone he faced, won King of the Ring, and beat The fucking Rock for the belt at SummerSlam. In 4 months he was the top guy. After that he was fed Undertaker, Big Show and Kurt Angle.

And guess what? It was awesome.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Brock Lesnar won the King of the Ring three months or so upon his debut. Two months later he takes the belt off of The Rock at Summerslam to be the youngest WWE Champion. Roman Reigns seems to be green on the surface, but compared to the man he faces at Wrestlemania, he has more experience on screen.

 

[DB-Fan]

I just don't remember Brock getting the constant, over the top, push that Reigns is getting right now by having literally everyone on the roster that interacted with him either selling how hurt they were or having a comparable Heyman type out there telling us how "all-world" Brock was. Not to this extreme, like we are seeing with Reigns.

 

[SoulTrain4]

Brock is the most overpushed guy in history. Won the fucking belt in 4 months. I don't want to hear about anyone being "shoved down" your throat if you cool with that mega-omnipush Brock got.

 

[jholcomb22]

This is being answered like Reigns has not been around for 3 years. The recent push is rare, but not that unlike the pushes that Alberto Del Rio got, or the one Sheamus got. Both had early pushes that many felt were undeserved and many thought they were being forced down our throat whether it be because they were friends with HHH or because WWE needed their next mexican hero. At the time, the fans were resistant, but WWE continued to try to invent new ways to make them look strong. All 3 of these men ultimately used a rumble style match to start their major push.

 

[Alex]

This is being answered like Reigns has not been around for 3 years.

I'd counter this point by saying I can't think of anyone who has had the same career trajectory a Roman Reigns. He was in a (great) stable for two years where he had one tag title run and feuds as a group. The group splits up and his Shield brethren get the better storylines and are able to work with what they're given well. He's given a meh storyline with Randy Orton resulting in an ok match. He then starts a feud with Seth Rollins where he looks like he'll pick up steam but he gets injured. He comes back and has a shit feud with Big Show before winning the Rumble. He then has a good feud with Daniel Bryan and we're supposed to buy him as someone to dethrone Lesnar?? If this was Survivor Series and a slow build yes it could work but Reigns as had two acceptable feuds and one of them before the biggest match of his life.

I would go with Brock Lesnar. People have mentioned Del Rio and Sheamus and while this is true they had strong pushes they were cooled and eventually went to the the upper midcard/occasional main event role with WWE falling back on John Cena. This doesn't look like they're going to/want to do this now.

The difference between Lesnar and Reigns is A. Lesnar is good in the ring. Matches he had with Kurt Angle prove that. I'm not saying Reigns can't improve but to compare where both men are/were when they began their initial push Lesnar is far superior. B. Lesnar had Paul Heyman. Heyman is a great talker and helped sell the presence of Lesnar. Something that wouldn't have worked nearly as well if he wasn't there.

 

[Mad Mike Adamle]

Brock is the most overpushed guy in history. Won the fucking belt in 4 months. I don't want to hear about anyone being "shoved down" your throat if you cool with that mega-omnipush Brock got.

He was pushed to the moon, yet at the time I don't remember it ever feeling forced.

 

[laodaron]

He was pushed to the moon, yet at the time I don't remember it ever feeling forced.

That's because you were a WWE fan that was 13 years younger than you are now. THAT is the difference, nothing else.

 

[AustinHartLesnarHBKTaz80]

I dont care what anyone says, but in 2002, Brock deserved that "omni mega push" to the top of the WWE.

He was/is a once in a lifetime athlete, he had the credibility to back it up, he had the look, the "it" factor, and he could wrestle his ass off.

He was given the ball, and he hit it outta the park, every single time.

He was/is THE f'n man.

Reigns' push so far ain't nowhere near as astronomical as Brock's was.

 

[BASSER911414]

That's because you were a WWE fan that was 13 years younger than you are now. THAT is the difference, nothing else.

Absolutely true. Even right now the ones booing reigns are adult males not the kids or preteen which is what i was when brock rolled in. Reigns is getting more than a decent pop from the crowd right now and that one group of internet forum addicts boo him.

Its funny, after those last few spots i didnt hear a single boo for reigns.
But to answer the question, brock definitely but brock had 2 advantages that roman doesnt. 1) He was a monster heel when he won the title so he didnt need the pop from the crowd. 2) He had heyman as a mouthpiece who was already an established heel in the company.

 

[Wrestlingaholic]

The other thing the Brock had, of course, was a super cool and unique finishing move that genuinely looked like it would hurt. I certainly can't recall seeing an F5 before Brock came along. Whereas Reigns' finisher is the...spear. Oh.

And I get it, and at least it makes sense, as, like Goldberg, Reigns had a football career (I believe he was a renowned college player), but it's not like the announcers focus on that. The spear is probably the most overused move in wrestling HISTORY, Reigns needs a new finisher.

 

[Prince Vee]

Brock Lesnar won the King of the Ring three months or so upon his debut. Two months later he takes the belt off of The Rock at Summerslam to be the youngest WWE Champion. Roman Reigns seems to be green on the surface, but compared to the man he faces at Wrestlemania, he has more experience on screen.

Yeah I gotta corroborate with you. But the era was different and the fans were different and to be honest Brock Lesnar had the looks and skills and charisma to get accepted. And moreover he had Paul Heyman. That's a great asset!!

But still I had accepted the push of Brock Lesnar!

Cheers!!

 

[Mustang Sally]

I dont care what anyone says, but in 2002, Brock deserved that "omni mega push" to the top of the WWE.

Yes, it's the push in '02 that really applies to the question being asked in this post. I'm not sure a rookie "deserved" the mega-push, but he sure got it. As I remember, he barely had to sell for anyone else, which was probably a good thing, because while he was great at offense, he hadn't yet learned to take punishment from the other guy and make it look real. But, athlete that he is, he learned, especially when he started facing some of the main event performers.

But I agree with previous posters in this topic; Brock Lesnar's initial push equaled or exceeded that of Roman Reigns. Roman gets to take a lot of punishment and I feel he's sold well for his opponents; that stunned, vacant look in his eyes after he's been pounded is pretty effective....and he certainly uses it a lot more than Brock did when he was in the same, rising position back when.

 

[rbv13]

How about when Vincent K. McMahon had his eye on national expansion and was able to lock down Hogan. He (re debuts) in December, is solidified as a face simply b/c Backland says so and wins the title at MSG all by the end of January. Dude becomes the face of the company in a month and runs with it for the better part of a decade.

 

[DB-Fan]

I probably should have clarified a bit more in my initial post. I realize that at different times wrestlers, even rookie wrestlers, have been given huge pushes. I was asking specifically about H-O-W Reigns has been pushed this time. Let me list a few examples to explain what I mean:

1) Reigns, the night after RR when even the Rock couldn't stop the boos, gets a sit down (due to a snow storm which was a lucky break for him, imho) where perhaps the best promo guy in WWE, Paul Heyman, talks up Roman to no end and unlike anyone has been talked up in a long, long, long time.

2) Reigns then goes over Bryan, clearly the more popular and, by any objective standard, better wrestler at Fast Lane. He gets the privilege of kicking out of Bryan's big finisher (not sure that had been done before, if so it was ultra-rare).

3) The next night on Raw is where things get really interesting. Not only does the top babyface come out and tells Reigns he was "better than him." Not only that, he calls the guy "Sir." And then says he'd love to tag with him later in the night. So Bryan puts the guy over in about as big and blatant a way as I've ever seen via a promo.

4) Heyman comes out and also does a promo where once more he puts Reigns over in a way that is almost beyond belief. Says he's better than great past wrestlers X, Y & Z. It was just insane. And remember, we are talking about using one of the greatest promo guys of all time to do this. Daniel Bryan got nothing like this the previous year. Only Cena put him over, and it certainly wasn't anywhere close to what Reigns has gotten.

5) Last night Reigns clears the ring at the beginning of Raw and then again at the end. And his punches and spear are sold up the gazoo by Rollins and "security" all the way to the back in a segment with Orton.

6) Heyman once more sells Reigns heavily in a promo. The commentators take every chance all night long to push him to the moon. Every adjective imaginable is used.

And on and on it goes. I'm simply asking when was the last time a guy not only got a mega-push, but got it in the same manner as Reigns has in the last few weeks. Not just an in-ring push where other Superstars sell in matches or confrontations, but where huge babyface Superstars and the best talkers in the business go over the top with praise in a promo. I've never seen it and don't remember it being this blatant even with Brock.

 

[laodaron]

Daniel Bryan got this hard of a push last year, maybe harder, because it's FAR more unlikely that in real life, Daniel Bryan could win a fight.

He got to go over Cena, Orton, HHH, Batista, Orton, and more CLEAN. His running knee was sold as harder to kick out of than ANY other finisher. He was given TWO FUCKING MATCHES at Wrestlemania 30.

Reigns is being booked as big and tough. Daniel Bryan was sold as unstoppably superhuman AND an underdog. He was opening, closing, and middle segmenting Raws, main eventing every show.

 

[DB-Fan]

Daniel Bryan got this hard of a push last year, maybe harder, because it's FAR more unlikely that in real life, Daniel Bryan could win a fight.

He got to go over Cena, Orton, HHH, Batista, Orton, and more CLEAN. His running knee was sold as harder to kick out of than ANY other finisher. He was given TWO FUCKING MATCHES at Wrestlemania 30.

Reigns is being booked as big and tough. Daniel Bryan was sold as unstoppably superhuman AND an underdog. He was opening, closing, and middle segmenting Raws, main eventing every show.

What?!!!

Bryan got what he got because the fans basically forced the company's hand. So his "push" had nothing to do with Vince & Co wanting to get him over. That's why he never had a Paul Heyman come out and shoot him to the moon like Reigns has gotten. I never once remember a guy, 5 minutes after a match with Bryan and now in the back, still smarting from his running knee and saying things like, "Wow, I forgot how hard Daniel hits." Much less 3 guys doing that 5 minutes later in the back. No, what we got was HHH and Steph constantly telling us Bryan was a "good little hand" and a "B+ player."

Sorry, there's no comparison at all between the fan generated, CM Punk leaving, reluctant push Bryan got and the Vince manufactured one Reigns is getting. You're comparing apples and oranges in terms of how the two were pushed. Reigns has, by far, been pushed to be "Superman" unlike anyone in many years.

 

[laodaron]

You are out of your goddamn mark mind if you think the Daniel Bryan push wasn't a work.
I can't imagine that so many suckers still exist. The Daniel Bryan push wasn't "fan generated." It was "creative generated." Which is why Cena "picked him out" for Summerslam 2013.

Daniel Bryan got every single huge superstar to lay down on the mat for him, which is great, because it turned into a really fun Wrestlemania story. I loved watching Daniel Bryan holding the belts at the end of Wrestlemania 30. But the WWE always knew he was going to main event Wrestlemania, unless you believe disgruntled discredited Punk.

I can't think of a time where a small dude with barely above average in ring skills was pushed as hard as Daniel Bryan. Really, there hasn't been. He was made to look like a comic book superhero, with super strength, super powers, and he literally won two matches at a Wrestlemania. Tell me how many times someone has won TWO MATCHES clean at a Wrestlemania, to include tha main event? So, saying Reigns is getting something special when it literally happened last year is silly and dishonest.

If you can't tell, the WWE fans don't dictate shit. The WWE does what they want to do, and sometimes the fans love it and sometimes the fans hate it.

 

[rbv13]

@laodaron, Daniel Bryan could not win in a real fight? Putting a side my dislike like for the guy and looking at his background the guy is very capable of carrying himself. I'd go as far to say he kicks the crap out two of the three of his opponents from WMXXX. I'm not sure he is able to handle Batista.

 

[laodaron]

@laodaron, Daniel Bryan could not win in a real fight? Putting a side my dislike like for the guy and looking at his background the guy is very capable of carrying himself. I'd go as far to say he kicks the crap out two of the three of his opponents from WMXXX. I'm not sure he is able to handle Batista.

No, despite what the MMA crowd has tried to convince average joes, pound for pound while being equally skilled matters. That's why Brock can't fight in a featherweight division. It is what it is, despite the idiomatic nonsense that it's the small guys you have to watch out for.

I really like DBs work ethic, I like his attitude, and I like his gimmick. I even like him, as far as any fan really knows who he really is. But he's just not a tough guy that's going to ACTUALLY beat up a bigger stronger guy.

Either way, that wasn't the point of what I was saying. The point I was making was that he was made to look superhuman last year, and it's someone else's turn this year.

 

[DB-Fan]

You are out of your goddamn mark mind if you think the Daniel Bryan push wasn't a work.

Wow, I didn't think there were any people left that actually believe the fantasy that WWE created the entire "Yes Movement" and fan interaction. Believing that is like still believing the Earth is flat.

M-O-S-T of the time Vince & Co do what they want. Most of the time. But this was such a huge, fan-generated situation with Bryan (combined with CM Punk leaving unexpectedly), that they really had no other way to go. Batista/Orton was gonna get booed off the planet if they didn't change it up. That wasn't the WWE's original plan. Come on, everyone knows that. They had to change things up very reluctantly.

This issue of Bryan getting the title/spot light last year being a creative mastermind is way past over. It wasn't their original plan at all. It's beyond obvious if one takes off their "I hate Daniel Bryan" glasses.

 

[laodaron]

Wow, I didn't think there were any people left that actually believe the fantasy that WWE created the entire "Yes Movement" and fan interaction. Believing that is like still believing the Earth is flat.

M-O-S-T of the time Vince & Co do what they want. Most of the time. But this was such a huge, fan-generated situation with Bryan (combined with CM Punk leaving unexpectedly), that they really had no other way to go. Batista/Orton was gonna get booed off the planet if they didn't change it up. That wasn't the WWE's original plan. Come on, everyone knows that. They had to change things up very reluctantly.

This issue of Bryan getting the title/spot light last year being a creative mastermind is way past over. It wasn't their original plan at all. It's beyond obvious if one takes off their "I hate Daniel Bryan" glasses.

You're kidding right? The fantasy is that a handful of marks inspired a movement in the WWE. The WWE worked the living shit out of the DB marks, perfectly, actually. He certainly earned it, as I said, with his work ethic and likeability, but don't delude yourself. You and your kind aren't important. The WWE rolled right along with or without your appreciation.

Daniel Bryan's push was harder than Roman Reigns push, which is the answer to the OP.

 

[CyberPunk]

I think the question is wrong. I think that in the past WWE hasn't pushed a new guy as FACE as fast as they've pushed Reigns. They've gone above and beyond to make Roman look like a legit threat without really having any real accomplishment, kayfabe or otherwise.

Brock was sure pushed harder, but as monster heel. A lot of monster heels have been tried that way but only Brock sustained that push. On the other hand, Reigns push is unique. He's pushed as a monster face which is way more difficult compared to a heel push to the top. I don't remember any face pushed as hard as Reigns has been since rumble. Whether it's working or not is anybody's guess.

@laodaron I think you're missing the point of OP. While Bryan got a super push, at least on screen he was not regarded as such. Plus Bryan was already super over before his push. On the other hand, Reigns has had endorsements from all sides for him. No face has ever been put in such situation within the first year of their singles career.

 

[laodaron]

Sure are a lot of qualifiers in this attempt to disparage Roman.

Biggest push, inside of a first year of Singles (although, the Shield debuted in 2012), for a face, that wasn't already over, etc.

Point is, every time, especially leading up to WM, they super push a face going into the main event. Every year.