What if Matt Riddle was to challenge Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 35?

#1 A telling fan response

The way fans responded to Riddle--and how WWE reacted to that--would be very telling.

There have been times in WWE history when the top names were pretty organically linked to fan response. It’s a check and egg proposition whether fans loved top stars because they were pushed on top and whether they were pushed based on crowd reactions. Regardless, all-time greats like Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, and Steve Austin were undeniably each the face of the company in their time and the guy most fans readily wanted in that role.

Things have changed. John Cena and Roman Reigns, in particular, faced severe backlash for the perception that they were pushed not because of, but in spite of at least the hardcore fans’ reactions to them.

If Matt Riddle got a rocket strapped to him and went straight from NXT to the top of the main roster, it would be telling if fans got behind him or completely rejected him in that role. Perhaps all the more so, it would be interesting to see how WWE reacted.