10 Most Heated WWE Crowd Reactions Ever
8. Monday Night RAW - April 3, 2017
The opening segment of the post-WrestleMania RAW did not begin in earnest for near enough a full five minutes.
Instead, the camera panned across the crowd, capturing the en masse appreciation for everything the now-retired Undertaker contributed to the industry. Chants of "Thank you, 'Taker" were booming - but as the minutes ticked by, the groundswell of resentment permeated the air. The crowd sensed that the prolonged wait could only have acted as a prologue for the appearance of Roman Reigns.
The crowd response was so vitriolic that it was impossible to believe he had a fan in the world. The post-'Mania audience of drunken, boisterous international fly-ins isn't a reliable indicator, but the events of the next episode more or less underscored WWE's folly. Reigns just isn't the guy, even if the merchandise numbers he pulls in tells a different story. Surely, there's somebody who can reconcile the split audience. Daniel Bryan managed it.
Reigns might not be the guy, but his work in that segment highlighted his sensational ability, regardless. He spent more or less the entire duration feigning to lift the microphone to his mouth, summoning jeers, before lowering it with a glib and detached expression, compounding their fury.
It was the stuff of a master, bettering even Batista's famed silent promo from 2010. He didn't get enough credit for his ability to manipulate - likely because he is now too synonymous with drawing that reaction more by accident than design - but this was all, expertly, controlled.