12 Ups And 15 Downs For WWE In 2017 (2nd Opinion)

2. Roman’s 1,000th Coronation Attempt

For the past three years, WrestleMania has closed with Roman Reigns in the ring, fighting one of the top part-time superstars in WWE: Brock Lesnar, Triple H and the Undertaker. Reigns has won the last two main events, and there’s speculation that he’s in line for a fourth Mania main event in 2018.

And that’s what makes this year’s WrestleMania and 2017 in general so infuriating. Just to be clear: Reigns is a pretty damn good performer, and fans would probably buy him as a top level guy without much cajoling.

However, fans aren’t stupid. They saw Roman eliminate Undertaker from the Royal Rumble, then defeated him at Mania, possibly ending his storied career. He landed two Universal Championship title shots, defeated John Cena in a respect feud, reunites with the Shield (the last time he was universally cheered) and won the Intercontinental Championship.

On its own, that would be a really good 2017, but that follows many previous attempts to make Reigns “the guy.” (And Roman calling himself that doesn’t exactly win over cynical fans.) They know he’s got the goods in the ring. But the constant force-feeding of Reigns without actually pulling the trigger for good is ridiculous. It’s the constant three-year effort to create a perfect moment where Roman is crowned lord of WWE that irritates fans. Re-watch the Reigns/Taker match at Mania and listen to the deafening silence and thunderous boos.

And 2018 could be more of the same, with a potential Reigns/Lesnar Mania rematch as the next chapter.