Why The WWE Universe Hates Roman Reigns

Despite all signs pointing to him becoming a huge star, Reigns began to struggle as a singles competitor. While Ambrose and Rollins were flourishing in their new roles, Reigns was having stagnant matches, cutting uninspiring promos, and was losing fan support. It was starting to become apparent that his Shield mates were more ready for prime time than Reigns was. That’s where all the problems started. It’s normal for new singles stars to have trouble adjusting, it takes time to establish a character and earn the respect of fans. WWE made the crucial mistake of trying to rush the process with Reigns. There was no time taken to let his character grow, fans didn’t get to see him lose enough to be able to build sympathy for him, and there was no run with a second tier tile to help establish him as a champion fans wanted to get behind. WWE’s Intercontinental Championship has always been seen as a stepping stone to the WWE Championship. Randy “Macho Man“ Savage, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and many other Hall of Famers had iconic runs with the belt and it helped fans get used to the idea of them as a top champion, Reigns never got such a run. Reigns didn’t even get a full year as a singles act under his belt before he was booked to win the 2015 Royal Rumble. When news of Reigns’ planned win leaked there was massive backlash from fans. They were already struggling to accept Reigns as a top babyface, now WWE wanted to book him to close WrestleMania against Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. Fans saw Reigns as undeserving, and already had their hearts set on Daniel Bryan being the one chosen for that spot. Bryan was the most popular performer in WWE at the time, and fans began to view Reigns as an obstacle standing in the way of Bryan and the WrestleMania main event. WWE made matters worse when they booked a match between the two at Fastlane 2015, with the winner advancing to the main event of WrestleMania. Bryan wrestled his usual fast paced crowd popping style and really carried Reigns through the match, only for Reigns to be booked to win clean. It was an odd decision for WWE to troll their fans like that. If they already had their minds made up that Reigns would face Lesnar, then why even tease them with the possibility of Bryan? It was questionable booking on the part of WWE, and unfortunately that would become a pattern.