Roman Reigns Takes A Huge Step Back

At TLC a few months ago, Roman Reigns was screwed out of regaining the WWE Championship. But what happened after seemed to matter more for his success. He went on a rampage. One of the guys he attacked, and destroyed, was Triple H. And that got a great reaction from the fans. These weren't fans that were already cheering Roman Reigns. These were fans that were negative towards him. Roman Reigns seemed to win over his haters. The WWE wasted no time in getting the title back on Reigns. It seemed like things might start working out the way the WWE wanted.

Not so fast. Triple H, the very man Roman Reigns attacked and got cheered for attacking, returned to win the WWE Championship. And he got cheered for it. You cannot consider that a one-night fluke. On Raw this week, Triple H was the one that destroyed Roman Reigns. Once again, he got cheered for it. The heel is getting cheered over the face. The man being used to put over the centerpiece is getting cheered over the centerpiece.

This is an example of why you cannot jump to the conclusion that someone has A+ overness just because of the reaction he got one night. Roman Reigns is being pushed to be an A+ player and seemed to get a great reaction for a while, but that was not enough. He did not really solidify his connection with the fans.

Part of the blame has to go to the WWE. They knew what got Roman Reigns cheered. It was being aggressive and attacking a heel authority figure. Even though some fans are cheering Triple H now, he still gets booed now and then for being a part of The Authority. Even after TLC, they kept that aggression going for a while, but it obviously would not last forever. Roman Reigns was going to get booed at the Royal Rumble anyway, but how they handled him there was not smart. I felt that they would have him be absent from the match for a while. They did. I felt they should come up with some reason that makes him look aggressive. They didn't. They ran an injury angle. And he ran back out later in the match. There are a lot of wrestlers that can do this kind of thing and get cheered for it, like Dean Ambrose. Roman Reigns isn't Dean Ambrose.

The WWE obviously has a story to develop. They cannot have Roman Reigns just destroy Triple H and every obstacle The Authority puts in front of him every week. It is not even surprising that the WWE would have Triple H destroy Roman Reigns like he did, payback from TLC. That kind of thing happens a lot. But it would seem the WWE needs to protect Roman Reigns more than they are. Once he truly solidifies A+ overness, if he ever does, then he can be pushed like he is now.