The Royal Rumble is historically one of the most anticipated PPVs of the entire year. It ignites the Road to WrestleMania and sets the standard for what’s to come in the approaching months as well as how WrestleMania itself will be. However, this year the PPV was greeted with different emotions. For one thing, the triple threat match between Brock Lesnar, John Cena, and Seth Rollins for the WWE Championship easily stole the night and is very well in the running to be match of the year. From high spots to extreme displays of athletic abilities, it kept fans on the edge of the seat, and from the sound of the “THIS IS AWESOME” chants of the Philadelphia crowd, it’s not far off to say that it’s easily in the running for match of the year.
However, that all changed by the end of the night. The Royal Rumble match itself ended the PPV, and some may argue that the triple threat match should have been the closer, leaving fans with excitement in their minds as opposed to fans potentially being upset with only a mere 1 in 30 chance of their favorite winning. Realistically, names like Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, and Daniel Bryan were more believed to be the winner, but there was always the thought of Roman Reigns. After all, he threw out wrestler after wrestler last year so was easily in the running to be a favorite.
While the Royal Rumble match is always filled with surprise entrants (Diamond Dallas Page, the Boogeyman, and the biggest surprise of the night, the WWE return of Bubba Ray Dudley, who received one of the biggest pops of the night), it’s a showcase of talent to win and headline WrestleMania. It’s one of the most significant honors one can have in their career. The common battle cry of the fans is to have a new, young, fresh face for the WWE. #PushTheYoungTalent. However, when Roman Reigns was crowned the winner of the 2015 Royal Rumble, the sound of boos in the arena was deafening. People were not impressed.
While there is no denying that Roman is talented, there are numerous reasons why the fans were not happy with the outcome. For one thing, it may not have necessarily been Roman’s victory that pushed fans to such extreme dissatisfaction that #CancelWWENetwork trended on Twitter all night. Daniel Bryan was eliminated early. The two of the last three remaining men were Kane and Big Show, two wrestlers that the audience knows will not win because it’d be too obvious with their massive size. Bubba Ray Dudley, the fans not knowing at the time whether his comeback was a one-time deal or the re-start of his time with the WWE, did not stay in the ring that long at all. The thought that Rusev may win by surprise after never officially being eliminated earlier in the night when he returned to the ring and attacked Reigns lasted for only less than a minute.
Add these factors to an audience that did not welcome Reigns with a warm reception when his music hit and he walked down the steps to the ring in the first place all contributed to such negative backlash.
Let’s take a look at Reigns, himself. If the fans were booing even before he entered the ring, there’s a resentment towards him early. What happened to fans wanting the WWE to push young, new and exciting talent? It’s a scenario of “be careful what you wish for”.
Reigns has the size, the presence, and the looks to be the future poster boy of the company. One can see him in mainstream media more likely than someone like, say, a Daniel Bryan based on size and appearance alone. And that’s also the thing. There is criticism that it feels as if the WWE is trying to “make” fans accept and love Reigns. While he’s a likable character, he is still very “green.” In other words, there is a long way to go with him. He needs more work in the ring and more work on the mic. From Shield alum alone, looking at the likes in-ring wise of Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins compared to Reigns is like night and day. While Ambrose and Rollins cut their teeth in the indies over the years, Reigns is much newer to the world of professional wrestling, and it shows. While the fans want the pushing of new talent, the fine print should have mentioned a specific person. Many believe Reigns is not there yet. It’d be better to love and accept him more organically as opposed to because “we have to.” Reasons like that may be why the fans were so upset. When even the massively loved Rock couldn’t help Roman from the boos, it was obvious there was a problem.
In a professional manner, the next night on RAW, the WWE acknowledged the hate towards Roman, who explained how the fans aren’t the ones going in the ring actually fighting these matches. “If” the company is pushing him, he’s taking advantage of the opportunity. He went on to say how life’s not fair and the audience received an air that Roman will give it his all at WrestleMania in the title match against Brock Lesnar. Whether people like him or not, he’s doing his job and what he’s told, and you can’t fault Reigns himself for that.
While I’m personally a fan of Reigns, I still would prefer he had more time to develop more. Maybe WrestleMania will be an excellent opportunity to solidify his status as a top-tier superstar on such a grand scale, granted he remains in the match. Whether you were thrilled or disgusted with the way the Royal Rumble ended, it will be interesting to see how the story line will progress, how Reigns in particular will improve, and how his road to WrestleMania will look now, especially amidst the vocal reaction of the WWE Universe.
-Celine
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