WWE Reportedly Expects Fans to Once Again Boo Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns' somber exit and triumphant return have his popularity at an all-time high. But WWE [...]

By Jeremy Snodgrass

Roman Reigns' somber exit and triumphant return have his popularity at an all-time high. But WWE is already bracing themselves for fans to fall out of love with The Big Dog.

Reigns returned to Raw this Monday after leaving WWE for five months to fight a leukemia diagnosis. Not only did Reigns announce he's in remission but thrilled the Atlanta crowd by actually delivering a few Superman Punches and a very cathartic spear to Drew McIntyre.

However, According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE believes that Reigns' popularity will recede and things will return to him being rejected as the company's top babyface.

They probably aren't wrong either. The irony is that even with him beating cancer, some wrestling fans will be fickle enough to whine about Reigns like it was 2016. However, it will be interesting to watch WWE maneuver in this new landscape where Reigns—even if temporarily—is the unconditional king of the jungle. All signs point to him and Seth Rollins teaming up at Fastlane, but after that, WWE will have about four weeks to find a place for him at WrestleMania 35. Given he's only been out of the company for five months, Reigns doesn't exactly need to be built up — we all know he's WWE's top Superstar. So if Reigns has a major role is WrestleMania 35, it'd be hard to make the argument he's undeserving.

In fact, if WWE wanted to ride this feel-good wave into the Universal Championship match, they could probably do it. However, such an impulsive move would threaten to steal some of Seth Rollins hard-fought thunder.

As of this moment, there has been little word on if Reigns has any limitations. Does he need to monitor his activity? How long does it take to actually get back into in-ring shape? We'll guess he'll be eased back into things, but have a hard time imagining him not having a juicy role at 'Mania.

But the question is., where does he fit?

Just last August Reign finally became Universal champion, a moment WWE had been crafting for years. It looked like he'd carry the to WrestleMania, if not 2020. So when he relinquished the title and took an indefinite leave from the company, WWE had to toss out their playbook and write a brand new one. This started by re-electing Brock Lesnar as champion.

With Lesnar back on the throne, WWE needed to find their next hero. Considering Lesnar just held a lengthy and unpopular run with the big red belt, him as champion once again had many fans groaning. But when Seth Rollins won the Royal Rumble, then picked Lesnar as his Wrestlemania date, all seemed to be right in the WWE Universe.

But with Reigns back, Vince McMahon may have the itch to put him back on top. In doing so, he risks ruining Reigns' unprecedented momentum by being too eager to capitalize on fans' goodwill. Which means this road to WrestleMania just got very interesting.

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