In a match that revolved around The Shield, and perhaps the most significant WWE Championship match of the New Era, the majority of crowd reactions were directed at the returning, embattled top star.
It will be interesting to see how ratings hold up between Raw and SmackDown, especially with Reigns back in the picture. SmackDown certainly has the momentum with the WWE Championship, and a live season premiere that drew an additional one million viewers. With two evenly matched rosters, it will all come down to intriguing characters, and none seem to command more attention than Reigns.
Still, WWE continued an under-the-radar trend of having WWE Superstars lose in their first night back from a long layoff. This time, Reigns took the deciding pinfall. And after making his wellness violation public leading up to his loss, this could be the beginning of a lengthy punishment before Reigns is reinstated as “The Guy.”
Chants of “Roman sucks,” which were acknowledged by WWE announcers, filled the Verizon Center before the match even began. Cole described Reigns receiving “the ire” of the WWE Universe as the former three-time WWE champion returned to action.
If Reigns continues his losing ways—his next high-profile loss could come in a potential Raw world championship match—he’ll have an even greater uphill battle to climb as he looks to win over both rabid fans and the front office. It takes a combination of temperament and talent to survive WWE punishments.
Roman Reigns has lost clean to both of his ex-Shield stablemates in his last two televised matches. Tough time to be The Guy…
Perhaps nobody exemplified this better than Triple H, who was notoriously punished (NSFW language) for the infamous Curtain Call incident.
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