One Moment WWE Wants You To Forget From Every Year (1985 to 2026)
12. 2015 - It's The Second Biggest Show Of The Year, Pretend You Didn't See It
"Don't sell it".
The number one rule in the era of ribbing and hazing, and the most-broken one by wrestling companies when creative hits the wall and fans start having fun at a promotion's expense. WWE were holding firm on Roman Reigns and his "mixed" reactions at the start of 2015, and may well have known just how unpopular his Royal Rumble victory was going to be. But they weren't going to sell it. They had the goal to push him, and believed the WrestleMania main event was the next logical step. Fans online disagree? Don't sell it. Daniel Bryan still The Guy? Don't sell it. Audience in attendance booing him out of the building? Don't sell it.
Nobody told The Rock.
Virtually nothing about that year's battle royal was booked to satiate the toxic mix of apathy and rage that flooded Philadelphia that night, but Dwayne Johnson was very visibly none the wiser until he hit the ring. 'The Most Electrifying Man In Sports Entertainment' hasn't, as of writing, managed to transfer his powers to Oscar levels in Hollywood, but he might have stood more of a chance had he proven his worth brave-facing the onslaught of abuse thrown at his cousin.
Instead, his face told the story, and an endorsement clip WWE would have presumably used over and over again was the latest 'Big Dog' clip to suffer the consequences of an aggressive edit.