7 Ups And 7 Downs From Last Night's WWE Raw Superstar Shakeup

2. Still The ‘Hero’

As we’ll detail later, Braun Strowman’s beatdown of Roman Reigns Monday night was nothing short of epic. It was an incredible moment that should be remembered for a long time, not only for its savageness, but also how over-the-top it was.

But one thought that kept going through this writer’s head: Vince McMahon probably sees this as a great vehicle for building true sympathy for Reigns. Vince probably felt that having Roman beaten to a pulp and abused while helplessly tied to a stretcher would make fans feel bad for him and they would finally rally to him en masse.

Sadly, the Long Island crowd could be heard during lulls chanting “Thank you Strowman,” “You deserve it” (for the stretcher job) and “Na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye” (as the ambulance finally sped off). Those aren’t the chants of a crowd accepting of Roman. If anything, if Vince was paying attention to them, then this should have represented the “death” of Reigns’ current character, as if he was being written off so he could retool and return later.

But again, knowing how desperate McMahon has been to make Roman a top babyface, you’ve got to believe that this is supposed to be the angle that makes him a hero to fans.