Roman Reigns’ story of persistence and unending drive will once again be told on 3 April when he steps into the ring against Triple H. The WWE World Heavyweight Championship will be on the line, and many fans expect the Big Dog to walk away with the belt on that night.
But just as many fans could care less. Not only is this match receiving an underwhelming response from the WWE faithful, it could quite possibly be the most unpopular main event in WrestleMania history.
How did it get to this point? How did the industry’s most prestigious championship fall to the level of desperation that it appears to be at right now? WWE as a company seemed to be so concerned with consistently portraying Roman as the underdog, that the belt was merely used as a means to an end.
Forcing Reigns into the Daniel Bryan spot became an all-encompassing task, a method that was used week in and week out despite poor fan response. WWE was obviously hoping it would work; there’s just no other way to explain it.
Vince McMahon is notoriously stubborn, and that means he usually gets his way no matter what the cost. While it’s understandable, especially considering he is the boss, all of this has happened at the expense of common sense and logic.
Roman is not Daniel Bryan and he never has been. One Superstar just cannot compare to the other, but WWE wanted to repeat the rise and success of WrestleMania 30’s main event so badly that this fact was ignored from day one.
If Roman could be positioned as the sympathetic figure, then he could get over. This was likely the driving force behind his elevation in the company over the past year.
But it’s not working, and WrestleMania is not going to change it. Fans don’t see an underdog when they look at Roman; they see the next top guy that they don’t want. They see a guy that’s been given every opportunity to get over, yet he can’t seem to do it.
They also see a man that has worked hard for it, and who truly wants it. They know it’s not an easy road to travel, that it takes a special breed of talent to withstand the pressure and stress that only the top tier faces. They can see he’s who WWE wants. But they don’t care, and that’s not changing anytime soon.
Daniel Bryan’s rise was very organic, and his growth was a natural process. He came in with no expectations, with no one truly believing he would ever get over, and he was an outsider from the very beginning.
He did not fit the mold of what WWE typically looks for in its top stars, and he was not believed to do anything more than just live at the mid-card level.
But Daniel made it. He took a small following and expanded it to enormous proportions. He made fans that probably didn’t care about him, believe in him so much that they hijacked one WWE program after another. “ Yes“ chants filled arenas all over the world, and even at other public sporting events. Fans could not get enough of that, or of Daniel Bryan himself. He was the ultimate feel-good success story.
Not one word of those two paragraphs describes Roman Reigns. He is not the guy that came in with nothing, only to realise his dreams even though the company didn’t want him. Roman is the chosen one, the man that is to inherit the top guy mantle from John Cena. He is what the WWE wants. However, it’s not working.
How bad is it? Even Triple H himself can’t get Roman over. Instead of heeling out to insanely evil levels, Hunter has instead received cheers whenever he’s attacked Reigns. Think about that. The top heel in the WWE, the man that so many criticise for breaking kayfabe each and every time he’s on Twitter, is babying out.
A tough position for Triple H
Hunter exists in an extremely odd space; he’s the neutral corporate mastermind behind NXT, he’s the goodhearted executive that does great charity work, but he’s also the primary villain on TV. He thumbs his nose at fans that want a better product, mocking them with one promo after another. He is part of the problem and many fans are fed up with it.
But it’s not enough to cause fans to change their minds about Roman. Reigns has the power to stop The Game dead in his tracks, but the hate for him is so strong that fans would rather see Triple H win.
None of this should be happening; Triple H should be giving Roman the rub in order to get him over. WWE undoubtedly believes that’s exactly what’s happening, yet long time viewers can see it’s not true.
The championship match should be the most important one at WrestleMania. The richest prize in pro wrestling should be the highlight of the night, even with all of the other major moments occurring around it. It should close out every Mania, and leave fans on their feet when the night ends. It should be the primary reason why the night happened in the first place.
But barring some unforeseen plot twist or shocking ending, this will not be the case on 3 April. No one cares about Roman Reigns versus Triple H right now, and the match itself just feels like a necessary evil of the event. This is not the response the WWE wants, and it’s definitely not the success story that WrestleMania 30 was. So much for the underdog.
Tom Clark can regularly be found on Sportskeeda. His podcast, Tom Clark’s Main Event, is available on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Android, Windows Phone and online here
