10 Reasons WWE Fans Will FINALLY Accept Roman Reigns

9. Smoke And Mirrors

Roman Reigns Old School Title
WWE.com

The Shield reunion of late 2017, despite its evident curse, proved one thing: the fans will respond positively to Roman Reigns, provided Roman Reigns is presented in a more palatable context.

Evidence is scant, but on the handful of occasions the Shield fought in unison, the reactions to Roman were universally positive. There was no YAY/BOO demarkation between the build orchestrated by Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose and the release provided by Roman Reigns; swept up by the unit's wall-to-wall brilliance, the fandom relinquished their preconceptions of Roman and simply enjoyed watching him perform. This indicated that his detractors, even if subconsciously, reject Reigns because he is a symbol of oppression as opposed to a poor performer elevated to a position beyond his capabilities.

The Shield reunion was just one tactic available to WWE. There are others. Somewhere within Reigns there is an electric performer the fans cannot help but gravitate towards, albeit involuntarily. He generates noise. He commands an atmosphere of which only the true stars are capable.

That is because he is a star.

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Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!