10 Wrestlers Who Didn't Get The Reaction They Wanted

5. Philadelphia Fans Do Not Acknowledge Roman Reigns

Triple H
WWE.com

Vince McMahon explained to shareholders, in the aftermath of the 2015 Royal Rumble, that #CancelWWENetwork only trended because dumb fans - who are simply too blind to see the purpose of a story - overreacted and would remain "glued" to their TV sets.

McMahon said that fans often do this when the babyface doesn't win, which was mystifying, insofar as spin goes. The babyface did win. This was the precise cause of the discontent between management and public.

The titular match was laid out with a quite ludicrous transparency. It was more insulting than the result in some ways because they knew exactly what they were doing knowing when nobody wanted them to do it. The manner by which the stars who had formed a reaction with the crowd were tossed out was something beyond unceremonious. There was no struggle, for example, in Dolph Ziggler's elimination. You weren't to buy that he was close. Only Roman stood a chance against the mighty relics of Kane and the Big Show.

And when his arm was raised, by the Rock - who was parachuted in to safeguard against the reaction they knew was coming - the vuvuzela-like drone that met the match from the second Daniel Bryan exited it continued unabated.

Roman wasn't the guy. They knew that. They coronated him regardless.

Because f*ck you.

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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 current Undisputed WWE 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!