5 Times Roman Reigns was universally cheered by the fans
Disclaimer: This list will not include Roman Reigns' promos announcing the return of his leukaemia or his subsequent remission.
After an absence of over four months, Roman Reigns is back in WWE. He appeared at the end of SummerSlam, beating down both 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman at the end of their Universal Championship match. The Big Dog has adopted a new approach, "Wreck everyone and leave".
This is a popular move, one that might finally result in Reigns being cheered much more than he has been beforehand. WWE has tried for years to make him the top babyface in the company. However, their way of booking Reigns caused some resentment within the fans and the former Shield member got overwhelmingly jeered because of it.
WWE has had ample opportunities to turn the Big Dog heel, but it never happened. And there have been times when the company felt vindicated in standing their ground. Despite his consistently polarizing reactions, Roman Reigns has had the entire audience behind him quite a few times.
These moments have been quite few and far between, but the hearing his name echo around the arena, without any boos to accompany it, must feel great for the Big Dog. As mentioned above, this list will not include his promos about his leukaemia as those were not part of a storyline. Anything that The Shield did as a unit will also not be considered.
Here are five times Roman Reigns was universally cheered by the fans.
#5 Roman Reigns defeats The Miz to win the Intercontinental Championship (RAW 2017)
Yes, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose were eventually present as Roman Reigns won the Intercontinental Championship. However, they did not directly influence the outcome of the match. They simply evened the odds at ringside. Right in the middle of The Shield's 2017 reunion, Reigns challenged The Miz to an IC Title match.
This match was proof of how good the 'A-Lister' was around this time, being the perfect heel for Reigns to bounce off and get the desired reactions. After Rollins and Ambrose prevented Sheamus and Cesaro from interfering, The Big Dog speared Miz to win his first Intercontinental Title.
The fans in Houston were loud and passionate for Reigns, who celebrated with his Shield buddies. But it was all his doing. The rest of Roman Reigns' run as Intercontinental Champion remained popular, with solid victories over the likes of Elias and Samoa Joe on RAW.
The Shield reunion may have helped Reigns get a better reaction, but he was still universally cheered on his own against The Miz. It's almost as if less talking and more fighting is a formula that works.