5 Times WWE Tried To Pass The Torch To Roman Reigns
1. The Undertaker At WrestleMania 33
Despite all these attempts to have gigantic stars put Roman
Reigns over, things still clearly weren’t clicking, but that didn’t deter the
WWE brass. They still had one more trump card to play. One can only imagine the
pitch in a meeting:
“So Roman isn’t getting cheered a lot and we need to make him into a big, popular star. So let’s have him beat the Undertaker at WrestleMania! And since the Streak is gone, we’ll instead have Taker retire in the ring at the end of the show, and then Roman can brag about ending Taker’s career and how the ring is now ‘his yard.’ Fans will love it!”
Hopefully that writer failed a drug test and was immediately suspended.
That’s exactly what happened, as the Deadman lost a subpar match that was savaged by fans at the show and then left his gear in the ring. Roman has spent the last five months bragging about this accomplishment (to jeers every time, despite him ostensibly being a hero) and telling everyone that the ring is “my yard,” which is such a forced line that fans audibly groan every time.
But yay, WWE sacrificed Taker’s career on top of Triple H, Vince McMahon, (almost) Brock Lesnar, and The Rock (albeit in a non-wrestling role), all to put Roman Reigns over. It’s true, that’s what you do in wrestling – put a guy over other stars to make a new star – but there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight, with John Cena apparently next on the list.
Maybe this time, it’ll work and fans will accept Reigns as the top guy in the company.