6 Ups And 8 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw (March 14th)

2. Mania Main Event In Trouble

Let€™s state this up front: The scripting and execution of the beating Roman Reigns gave Triple H was perfect. Reigns went on a rampage, destroying the world champion and bloodying him up. Roman threw a trashcan at him and broke a television over his back. It was a hellacious beating that made perfect sense given the injuries he sustained.

And a sizable portion of the crowd booed. Loudly.

This was Reigns returning to action after three weeks on the shelf with surgery for a (storyline) fractured nose and banged-up face. He€™s the supposed Alpha Male in WWE right now, the guy who€™s trying to take down the Authority and end their reign of terror. But yet, the fans won€™t outright cheer him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8aKKEjIO2g

And before Roman€™s defenders talk about how he gets a positive reaction from a sizable portion of the crowd or compares him to John Cena, let€™s drop the pretenses. Cena gets a huge reaction from both ends of the spectrum. Reigns gets booed pretty decently and cheered mildly. He sells nowhere near as much merchandise as Cena, so his popularity isn€™t there yet.

And if you€™re looking for a universally loved hero who stood up to the Authority, see Daniel Bryan. Reigns is a talented guy, but it€™s clear that he€™s not the guy WWE wants him to be right now.