6. The Crowd Accepted Roman Reigns
The X-factor of Wrestlemania was whether or not Roman Reigns was up to the task of credibly going toe-to-toe with Brock Lesnar. In absorbing a hellacious beating and smiling through the pain, in some sort of Muhammad Ali "Rope a Dope"-meets-Mick Foley "Hell in a Cell" format, he did that, and more. Roman Reigns also took the surprise pinfall from Seth Rollins, so now he's a sympathetic figure, too. He'd given Brock multiple Superman punches and the spear, so he was making a Herculean comeback against mountainous odds. Was this the moment he needed to take his career to the next level? Maybe? Even if not, it's certainly a start.
Marcus K. Dowling
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Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
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