RAW Deal: Roman Reigns is the anointed one, but fans aren’t biting

PITTSBURGH, PA—By now it should be pretty clear what the WWE is trying to do with Roman Reigns. 

They want to anoint him its next face of the company, but they’ve learned their lesson from John Cena—they also want to find a way to do that with the least amount of boos possible. If you haven’t already noticed the parallelisms that began at the end of Survivor Series two weeks ago, it should be clearer by the end of this week’s episode of RAW: Roman Reigns is being reworked into an underdog, much like his more popular peer, Daniel Bryan. Because what better way to work him into the hearts of the fans than to give him a more dramatic story? 

The only problem is it’s not quite working as it should be. For those who take the WWE’s stories as they are, it’s proceeding as planned. You give a guy a challenge that looks insurmountable, he’ll look all the better when he clears it. But there are those who can see right through everything—because the Internet allows them to see right through everything—knowing that at the end of the day, everything is a ruse, everything is manufactured, and it’s just another way to get Reigns over because he is the anointed one. He is the marked future. 

By implication, part of the reason why Bryan got over the way he did was that other than being far more naturally talented than the machine product that is Reigns, there was never a clear path to the top charted for him. Bryan never fit into the traditional mold of a WWE champion, and the way he got there last year was a show of pure defiance. That contributed to his overall legend. 

Perhaps, the reasoning goes, if Reigns had a more organic career trajectory, if he wasn’t cherry-picked because of certain values he had (that more hardcore fans didn’t value as much) he wouldn’t be as tainted with the fans as he is now.

Maybe that justification held water a year ago, when it was still clearer that he was undeserving, but what about now? Is the rejection still fair to him now, when he has noticeably improved as a wrestler? When he’s a lot more exciting than John Cena was in the beginning of his huge push? Granted, he still has a long way to go in the talking department, but why can’t I help feeling like a lot of this is still because Reigns was hand-picked? 

Everyone is free to like who they like, but that doesn’t insulate them from having their choices criticized. Hating on someone because he is the next Golden Boy doesn’t sound like a good reason, especially when the guy has stepped up big time in order to earn the trust he’s been given. 

The only difference between the reaction to his scenario and Daniel Bryan’s is, really, the fact that the Internet Wrestling Community is stubborn and have made up their minds because wrestling news sites online have leaked WWE’s plans. Had this been 10, 20 years ago, the same storyline method would have worked so long as the wrestler earned it in the ring. Since Reigns is just as electric in the ring as Bryan—and that’s sincerely something I would not have said about him a year ago—I don’t see how he hasn’t earned it.

The Internet hasn’t ruined professional wrestling, but it sure has twisted it so much. Sometimes it’s a good thing, but sometimes it’s definitely a bad thing that needs to be called out. Reigns is trying his best to hold his end up of the bargain. I’m not forcing anyone to believe that, but the truth is all he needs from you now is a chance. – Rappler.com 

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