10 Wrestlers The Fans Turned On

As part of the Shield, Roman Reigns had the perfect opportunity to develop. Still relatively green in the ring, teaming with established indie veterans like Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose they could hide his flaws and exaggerate his positives in tag team matches.

You know, good booking?

But when the Shield became a main event concern, Vince McMahon knew he had three main eventers-in-waiting but it seemed like there was just one he wanted to get his hands on. As ‘The Big Dog’, Reigns was roundly rejected by the fans because he wasn’t their chosen champion.

Daniel Bryan had been clearly shunted out of the way to make-do for Vince’s new project and the fans responded with an avalanche of support that meant, when Bryan was eliminated from the 2015 Royal Rumble, the rest of that match played out to boos.

Reigns was loathed from that moment on, despite his clear vast improvement. Every crowd had turned on him, and WWE’s refusal to veer from their projected path meant the nowadays ‘Tribal Chief’ was welcomed with a barrage of abuse.

The fans warmed to Roman after his diagnosis and subsequent beating of Leukaemia, but it wasn’t until his 2020 SummerSlam return and brilliant heel turn that the fans truly acknowledged him as a main event player.