3 instances when WWE used Roman Reigns' heat properly

Roman Reigns is one of the most disliked WWE wrestlers despite booked as a face. He is booed almost everytime he appears on the television.

Whether it be cutting promos or delivering Superman punches, the fans always detest him. WWE knows this, but still pushes him as the next top babyface of the company.

WWE receives a major criticism every time for this decision. In February 2017, Dave Meltzer wrote that WWE's push of Reigns "will never end. Isn't that obvious by now".

'The Big Dog' was even named as 2016's "Most Hated Wrestler of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, becoming the first babyface to be acknowledged so.

However, there have been times when WWE swam with the tide. They understood the situation and used his heat in pushing other babyfaces. Don't believe me?

Here, we present you three times WWE used Roman Reigns' heat properly.

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#3 Battleground 2016 - Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

This celebration made more sense when Dean pinned Roman

Dean Ambrose was set to defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns at Battleground.

Now, WWE had announced a brand split and Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns were drafted to Raw. 'The Lunatic Fringe' Dean Ambrose, was the only SmackDown competitor. Moreover, if he lost, SmackDown wouldn't have had a World Champion.

Roman Reigns made his entrance to a booing reception. The one for whom the crowd rooted that night was Dean Ambrose. They had a stellar match and put on numerous multi-man spots.

In the end, Dean Ambrose hit Dirty Deeds on Roman Reigns to pick up the win and, the entire SmackDown roster came to celebrate.

Now, this wouldn't knock much sense if Ambrose pinned Rollins. 'The Kingslayer' was a heel at that moment, but the fans didn't hate him so much as he had defeated Roman Reigns cleanly at 'Money in the Bank.'

Meanwhile, 'The Big Dog' was coming out from a suspension for the violation of WWE Wellness Policy. They didn't like the idea that he was immediately pushed into a Title match.

WWE played into it, and the heat was used in making Dean Ambrose a more captivating Champion.

#2 Clean loss to Finn Balor at Raw

Finn Balor is one of the very few to defeat Roman Reigns clean

Stephanie McMahon wasn't happy with Raw not having a World Championship and blamed Roman Reigns for it.

As a result, she and Mick Foley declared that a tournament was going to be held. The winner of the tournament would face Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship at SummerSlam.

Finn Balor and Roman Reigns won their respective Fatal-4-Way match, and square-off against each other later that night. At the main event, Balor hit the Coup de Grace and picked up the win over Roman in a clean fashion.

He eventually defeated Seth Rollins at SummerSlam to become the first ever Universal Champion.

The fans despised Roman Reigns for being in the Championship scenario for such a long time. They believed that he should step back, and let others have the opportunity. The hatred had been so intense that anyone would be cheered who defeated Roman Reigns clean.

WWE utilized this opportunity in giving the 'Demon King' an enormous push. Even if you look now, his victory against Roman Reigns stands as the biggest victory of his main roster career.

#1 Ambulance Match aftermath against Braun Strowman

A broken ambulance with Braun Strowman inside it

Roman Reigns defeated the Undertaker at WrestleMania 33. By doing so, he had reached his pinnacle and amassed a massive number of haters.

It hadn't cooled down and Braun Strowman challenged him to an Ambulance match at 'Great Balls of Fire.'

Strowman "ducked" the spear and closed the gates, thereby winning the match. But, things didn't settle down there. The 'Big Dog' became infuriated at his loss and, drove the ambulance through a production truck with Strowman locked inside.

The fans were confused whether they had seen a double turn. Had Roman Reigns finally turned heel?

While that didn't happen, Braun benefitted from it immensely. He was able to walk away from the crash and, despite being dazed refused help from the medical staff.

He returned to Raw a few weeks later to cost Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe their number one contender match. As a result, Kurt Angle announced a Fatal-4-Way match for the Universal Title at SummerSlam.

Despite Brock Lesnar winning the match, Braun Strowman was again the most to benefit from it. It also led to Strowman receiving a one-on-one match with Brock Lesnar for the title at No Mercy.

While he lost again there, he was seen as the most legitimate threat to capturing the title.

Now, if you look back to it, the ambulance match aftermath played a massive role. If that hadn't happened, Braun Strowman wouldn't have been the 'Monster Among Men' he is today.

Moreover, the fact that it had been Roman Reigns who locked him in the back of an ambulance allowed him to gain more sympathy. By doing so, Roman gathered more haters, and Braun was the final winner!