Why you should chill with booing Roman Reigns

Written by: Michael Hauff (@GiancarloH57)

Roman Reigns made his debut with the Shield at the 2012 Survivor Series. From that night until June 2nd of 2014, when Seth Rollins would turn heel, the Shield was and would go down as one of the most dominant factions in professional wrestling history. Despite taking on a heel persona the fans grew to love each individual from the faction. The foregone conclusion during that run was that after an eventual split, each member of the Shield would go on to do big things. When those big things began to happen for Reigns, the fans turned on him about as viciously as Rollins did back in June of 2014. 

The jump off to the full fledged hatred really took off when Reigns won the 2015 Royal Rumble. Daniel Bryan was the one the fans wanted. When they didn't get they wanted they threw a tantrum and Reigns paid the price. There never has been and probably never will be a Royal Rumble winner booed as badly as he was that night in Philadelphia. The fans have an us (the universe) against them (the WWE higher-ups) sort of mentality since that time. They boo when his music hits and cheer at his misfortunes. This writer’s personal opinion is that the act of hating on Roman Reigns is getting a bit old and here are my thoughts on why you may want to simmer down a bit. 

My personal belief is that booing Roman Reigns has just become the trendy thing to do. It is almost like when Stone Cold Steve Austin started his ‘What’ chant. It became cool to do it and like sheep folks still do it to this very day. It then becomes a question of are you booing because you don't like him as a wrestler or is just because everybody’s doing it. It is about as redundant as the wave. 

Let’s just suppose it is because you don't want him to be the main guy on the roster. Is it because you really don't think he is a talented athlete or is it just because Vince McMahon is trying to tell you who to cheer for. Vince has been doing that since some of you were either in grade school or in diapers. Did you ever hear that phrase “If they're talking shit about you, you must be doing something right.”. You showering him with endless boo’s is still giving Reigns attention. They want a reaction from you and quite honestly as long as the powers that be hear a reaction of any kind they'll proceed as they choose to. So despite all the boo birds, all the chants, even a wellness policy suspension, Roman has managed to stay relevant. 

Then there was the chants that he can’t wrestle which probably makes those in the know smirk. AJ Styles himself once said on a podcast interview with Sam Roberts “Holy cow, he’s a lot better than anybody ever thinks he is. Roman Reigns is great!”. That doesn't exactly sound like a guy who is incapable of executing a headlock. Roman Reigns has been able to adapt to wrestling styles from AJ Styles to Rusev or Brock Lesnar. He is more versatile than he is given credit for amongst the WWE universe. 

People would relate him to Cena as to why they don't like him. They'll say he is the new golden boy. The character in which Roman Reigns plays is not a carbon copy of Cena by any stretch. Sure by definition they are both ‘faces’ but Reigns doesn't exactly play well with others. No matter who he is in the ring with, it’s his yard and he will have words with anyone that says otherwise. Reigns is a character that can push that envelope between good and evil. He isn't exactly the eat your vitamins and say your prayers type of face. That sort of pushing the envelope for a face would earn cheers from the fan base rather than thunderous boos. 

The inevitability of Reigns being the guy is all the more apparent with this years WrestleMania matchup. The WWE universe used to wonder, who would knock off the Undertaker. The hope from this writer was that whomever did knock off the Undertaker that it would be someone young enough that could use knocking off the dead man as a badge of honor. History has shown that it was Brock Lesnar that handed Taker his first loss but the dead man kept coming back for more. The Undertaker has just turned 52 and all reports suggest that his health is pulling him towards retirement. Vince McMahon is going to use WrestleMania 33 as a platform to pass the proverbial torch from one generation to another. My prediction is that torch will be passed on April 2nd and Roman Reigns will become the guy. 

In conclusion, you're really accomplishing nothing in booing him. Your booing will not bury him down the card. He is currently 31 and isn't going anywhere. You would be better suited to sit back and try to remember why you loved him with the Shield because in actuality besides public perception, nothing about Roman Reigns has changed.