10 Reasons WWE Fans Will FINALLY Accept Roman Reigns
3. The Cynical Routes Have Been Taken Already
In order to get Roman Reigns over at the 2015 Royal Rumble, WWE dispatched The Rock to endorse him. The tactic did not work; the Philadelphia natives saw through the cynicism and saw to it to boo the Big Dog out of the building.
One year later, Triple H took it upon himself to get Reigns over - which wouldn't have worked, even if the Game hadn't decide to chop his crotch all over the place in the build up. Again, the fans sensed the cynicism and would have jeered Reigns, if it weren't for the muted mic shenanigans at the AT&T Stadium. One year after that, WWE booked Reigns to defeat the Undertaker on the Grandest Stage. Again, this felt less like an achievement and more like a further exercise in a foolhardy strategy. He defeated himself. There are few major scalps left at WWE's disposal, no stopgap plugs to stem the bleeding. What, feasibly, could WWE do at this point, once Reigns defeats the Beast at WrestleMania 34? Book Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin to feed him grapes? Script Stephanie McMahon to put him over without snarling?
Fans resent Roman because there is no arc to his character; it is a push refusing to masquerade as anything but itself. There are, however, no more shortcuts to zoom through.