8 Times WWE Tried (And Failed) To Make The Roman Reigns Experiment Work

8. A Royally Obvious Rumble Winner

Roman Reigns' turbulent journey to becoming WWE's top babyface began all the way back at the 2015 Royal Rumble. The Big Dog entered the Rumble match and, it didn't take long for us to figure out that he was destined to win. Much like the previous year's match, the WWE Universe wanted Daniel Bryan, and when the Yes Man was eliminated, they took their frustrations out on the superstar that was clearly handpicked to be the next big thing.

From Reigns' continued dominance to the eventual assist from The Rock, we could all see WWE's work at hand as they tried to turn Roman into the underdog hero of the evening before he inevitably overcame the odds and won. It was predictable and unwanted which ultimately turned Reigns into the divisive force that he is today.

The most interesting thing about all of this was that it was eerily reminiscent of the previous year's Royal Rumble, except Reigns had swapped roles. While fans backed him in 2014 and booed the victorious Batista, Reigns would then draw the exact same type of ire from the WWE Universe the following year. Could things have turned out differently for him if he had won the Rumble a year earlier?