5 ways WWE tried to get Roman Reigns over and failed
Roman Reigns has been positioned as WWE's top guy ever since the split of The Shield back in 2014. Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins went onto feud with one another in one of the best feuds of the year and Roman Reigns began his immediate ascent to the main event as a single's Superstar.
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Four years since their initial break-up, all three members of The Shield have become Grand Slam Champions. Rollins and Ambrose have had fun runs as a face and a heel. Meanwhile, Roman Reigns has been subjected to vitriol from the WWE Universe as he has gone onto main-event four consecutive WrestleManias and has been positioned as the Top Guy in WWE.
The WWE Universe hasn't embraced Reigns the way the WWE has hoped. As Reigns is on the cusp of facing off against Jinder Mahal at Money in the Bank, let's take a look at the 5 ways the WWE has tried to get Roman Reigns over but failed.
#5 Daniel Bryan shaking Reigns' hand at WWE Fastlane 2015
Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble in 2015 in Philadelphia and booked himself a ticket to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31. That match should arguably have been Reigns' coronation as WWE's top star and his journey to beat The Beast should have properly kicked off at the Royal Rumble.
However, this was not meant to be. The audience in attendance wanted Daniel Bryan to win the Royal Rumble and as soon as he was eliminated by Wyatt, they began showering the stadium in a chorus of boos that only intensified once it became obvious that Reigns was going to win.
The WWE began damage control almost immediately by positioning Bryan as an obstacle to Reigns' Road to WrestleMania. The two faced off at Fastlane in a match that had been Reigns' best effort in a single's match up until that point.
The entire point of the match was to get Reigns over and make him appear as someone deserving of the main event spot at WrestleMania. Choosing Bryan to be the one to stand in his way was a stroke of genius, as it gave the WWE Universe a sliver of hope but the outcome was never truly in doubt and Bryan was good enough to make Reigns look like a Superstar.
But did this match really get Reigns over? I think we all know the answer to that question.