Of course, there is a lot more to the story than that. Daniel Bryan was eliminated early in the Royal Rumble. Fans did not like that. Roman Reigns was treated like a bad guy. The Rock made a special appearance to help Roman Reigns and give him a little rub. Even that could not appease the fans.
To start with, the WWE made a terrible mistake by eliminating Daniel Bryan as early as they did. That just soured the fans for the rest of the match. If you are not going to have Daniel Bryan win for whatever reason, that's one thing. To eliminate him so early and not even let him be part of the final four is something else.
Roman Reigns, a man that supposedly had more fan support just one month ago than Daniel Bryan to win the "Superstar of the Year" Slammy, did not get a very good reaction last night. He is looking like the new Batista. Time will tell whether or not they turn him heel. The crowd was obviously killer last night and smark-minded. Other crowds are less likely to be like that, but things are still not looking good for Roman Reigns.
The Rock returned to help Roman Reigns. The Rock! And he still got booed. That goes back to what I was talking about with rubs. When certain wrestlers get over, some fans like to look back and see who gave them a rub. It doesn't always work like that. Some wrestlers get over because they simply went out there and did a great enough job being something the fans enjoyed seeing. There are few wrestlers alive more over than The Rock. And even he could not save Roman Reigns last night. That moment, that rub, could have helped Roman Reigns to elevate a bit to The Rock's level or at least nullify some of that negative reaction. In theory, that is how it is supposed to work. In reality, good luck with that.
As it stands, it is Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar. Lesnar will likely hold the title into Wrestlemania. Will Reigns hold onto his title shot? Will Daniel Bryan be added, again? I do not think the WWE can do the same thing they did last year. And Roman Reigns really is not deserving of this big push. Maybe next year, but not now. The WWE has really worked themselves into a hole. Luckily, they can just lean on other matches on the card. Triple H vs. Sting should be a good feud. Cena will likely be left out of the title scene. Tossing him into Reigns vs. Lesnar will not make fans happy.
Let me go back a decade. Remember this gem?
Talk about forcing something? That was back when they were starting to really push Batista hard. They were turning him face, in addition to building up his credibility. He would win the Royal Rumble, win the title, and mow over Triple H a few times. He did get over. He does have the credibility. Back then, many fans would say this Batista push was a success. Go back to last year. What went wrong? Batista was a product of the WWE. He did not have a natural connection with the fans when he was first being pushed hard a decade ago. When he returned last year, there was another guy on the roster that was a lot hotter than him and had a natural connection with the fans. That would be Daniel Bryan. And he is still hot.
Roman Reigns is following in the path of Batista. They are forcing him. And he might not even get that period of success connecting with the fans during this big push that Batista got back then. I have seen some fans point out that Roman Reigns actually got a good reaction at the Royal Rumble last year. Yeah, it was either him or Batista. But as the WWE has continued to force him, while mistreating certain others, his connection with the fans will be hurt. Just like the WWE ultimately deserves blame for the issues with John Cena, I blame them for the 2015 Royal Rumble fiasco, not Roman Reigns.
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