The Big Dog has a new bite
WWE fans have spent years trying to be Roman Reigns a bad boy. It seems that they finally got their wish.
Reigns is easily the most divisive wrestler in the business, as evidenced by the existence of a 5,400-word Wikipedia article entitled “Persona and Reception of Roman Reigns.” Reigns debuted in WWE as a member of the dreaded faction The Shield with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, but since the group’s breakup has been positioned as a hero. A portrait of a wrestler is usually a reflection of how they are received by fans, but not in the case of Reigns.
Until fairly recently (more on that later), fans were never really given a good reason why they wanted for Reigns. He was not very compelling on the microphone. His matches were built around two moves – the spear and the Superman punch – that are boring and uncreative. And yet WWE pushed him to the top of the map.
For years, WWE fans made their contempt for Reigns known by jokingly captivating him, and so they thought it only made sense for WWE to believe in it and present Reigns as a villain on screen. He was already despised by large segments of the club. Why not make this reaction even stronger by giving people a legitimate reason to hate him?
When Vince McMahon and the rest of the WWE power structure Reigns continued to force what fans did not want him to do, they responded by greeting Reigns with heartfelt anger – or worse, sometimes just complete indifference. When Reigns and Samoa Joe closed Back exit in 2018 with a dud of a match fans started running out into the arena in the middle of it. However, WWE’s move to Reigns never slowed down. Three months later, Reigns won the Brock Lesnar universal championship.
Two months later, however, fans finally had a reason to root for Reigns when he announced he had been diagnosed with leukemia as a younger man and now the cancer was back. Reigns stepped out of character, lined up the audience as Joe Anoa’i and relinquished the title.
When he returned in February 2019, Reigns was finally a legitimate baby face. And then the pandemic hit. Reigns, hesitant to endanger his health and the health of his and his wife’s newborn twins, withdrew from his planned universal championship match against Goldberg WrestleMania 36 in April.
Reigns was five months off TV until Sunday night. To exclude SummerSlam, Reigns made a surprising return to the conclusion of the Braun Strowman – Bray Wyatt contest. Even more surprisingly, he did it as a villain.
While it’s impossible to know how Reigns will present his character next year, those unprovoked chair photos are 100% wholesome. However, if WWE continues to package Reigns as a real villain, it could throw new life into what has been a stagnant television product. There was already a built-in storyline surrounding the pursuit of Reigns to win the universal title (he would have won the match against Goldberg perfectly at WrestleMania, who was instead won by his replacement, Strowman). Pursuing that pursuit as a man driven by revenge is a much more interesting story.
TV ratings for WWE’s two flagship shows (Rau en SmackDown) have been in the tank since production was forced to move to an empty location. An early May episode of Rau, the last for the Money in the bank pay-per-view, drew just 1,686 million viewers, the worst of any episode in the show’s 27-year-old, 1,400-episode run.
But there is hope for WWE to bring back some of the eyeballs it lost in the stupid period of fan-less shows. The new TV set “ThunderDome” in Orwayo’s Amway Center is a legitimate amazing viewing experience and, most importantly, fans can hear their voices again at shows. When Roman Reigns comes out this Friday SmackDown, expect the evil to be as worthy as ever. Just this time, the fans will be happy to be captivated.
The best of SI
The Sixers were embarrassed in their sweep at the hands of the Celtics, but their problems run deeper than just coach Brett Brown. … Burning NBA draft questions after the lottery. … The Rockies could take advantage of an early season to make a postseason run.
Around the sports world
A Mike Trout rookie card set a new record for the highest priced trading card ever. … The Nationals fired an employee at their Dominican academy for throwing coffee at a woman in a convenience store. … If you think fans will follow this fall to mask requirements at football games this fall, look at how many people took off when the Chiefs opened their practice for fans. … A new MMA event called Fight Circus made its debut over the weekend and featured such bizarre bouts as a 2-on-1 match.
Luka’s game winner was a DAGGER
All-out effort
Like a ton of bricks
Pat McAfee wrestled his first WWE game and looked like a natural
The Padres hit FIVE grand slams in six games
Brotherly love
There is nothing that Greinke loves more than this
What a laser
I shot 43 on nine holes on Saturday morning and did not agree
Juuuuust an end in the middle
Kayaking in an incredibly narrow river
Do not play sports
A cliff collapsed into the Grand Canyon, revealing a set of footprints 313 million years old. … University College London researchers have set a new record for the fastest internet speeds. … Singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle has died at the age of 38.
Look first at the Robert Pattinson Batman
What your mask looks like under a microscope
A good song
Email [email protected] with all feedback or follow me on Twitter for about half a decent baseball joke a week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and to find the latest edition every day. By popular request I made a Spotify playlist of the music shown here. Visit us Extra Mustard page all day long for more offbeat sports stories.
.
