At WrestleMania 33 , Roman Reigns defeated The Undertaker in the main event of the show. The fans were extremely unhappy about his victory because the match was expected to serve as The Undertaker’s retirement match. Since the grandest stage of them all, the WWE Universe has been more cross with Reigns than ever before, but WWE officials have booked him in a very specific way to try to get the fans back on Roman’s side.
Roman Reigns hasn’t won a match on PPV since WrestleMania . On paper, it’s illogical for Reigns to lose as often as he has after ending The Undertaker’s career, but it’s being speculated that his booking is an effort to get the fans on his side because there have been a lot of complaints over the years about him winning too many matches. It seems that WWE officials are hopeful that some big losses will gain sympathy from fans.
A lot of people would argue that Roman Reigns losing big matches on a regular basis is exactly what WWE fans want, so booking him this way will only enforce his dynamic with the WWE Universe. John Cena has been brought back to Raw specifically to work with and put over Reigns. It’s unclear if the WWE Universe will favor Cena or Reigns in their rivalry, but the odds are likely they will stand behind Cena over Roman.
WWE officials are still determined to make Roman Reigns the top babyface in the company. On paper, that is his role, but the reaction he receives on WWE programming makes it hard for him to really embrace the role. Obviously, WWE officials booking him to lose more often is an attempt to make Roman an underdog against monsters like Braun Strowman or Brock Lesnar. However, many fans aren’t buying that anymore.
Roman Reigns is still headed for a massive match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34 next year in New Orleans. The WWE Universe knows that is the plan, but the powers that be are going to need to try another angle if they want to see Roman Reigns win the WWE Universal Championship to a positive reaction from the WWE Universe. WWE officials have shown they are willing to deal with the poor response, but booking Reigns to lose isn’t doing him any favors in the eyes of his critics. They’re more than happy to see him lose.
[Featured Image by WWE]
