Should Roman Reigns lose at Wrestlemania 35?: The two sides
Roman Reigns, a name that has polarised the wrestling fraternity for many years now, is going through a new phase of his career. After defeating his toughest opponent yet, Leukaemia, with all the support behind him, Wrestlemania 35 poses to be a stepping stone in a new direction.
Drew McIntyre, the Scottish psychopath had declared that it is 'His yard now' challenging the big dog in the process. Reigns vs McIntyre is one of the better built storylines that will culminate at the grandest stage of them all, incorporating the shield, the fortunate and resilient overcoming from the disease in the story.
Now the question remains, should the Big dog lose in his big return match?
Victory as the first step towards old heights
Roman went from being named 'The most improved wrestler' to the 'Most Overrated' and 'Most hated' by major wrestling journalists in a span of a few years.
All of his major victories received intense backlash from the crowd, including the infamous Royal Rumble victory and all his title accomplishments. Reigns received great praise as the powerhouse of the Shield, being well-liked backstage and accepted as a locker room leader, despite this, bad booking and an abrupt push led to him becoming one of the most hated wrestlers on the planet.
A victory at Mania would insert him into that direction again, possibly against his Shield brethren Seth Rollins. Putting him against well-liked superstars (AJ Styles, Daniel Bryan etc.) and established legends(The Undertaker etc) was one of the major reasons for the backlash, doing so again would put him back in the same mold he left behind.
A loss as a push towards a new Roman Reigns
Wrestlers seldom get second chances to right their character, Roman Reigns has one.
With the crowd favouring the recently returned Reigns, his match with Drew at Mania will be closely watched. McIntyre has been mentioning that Roman is not his old self, the affliction has taken something away from him, a victorious Reigns would overcome those claims but only temporarily.
A loss, however, may have long term implications. The story could be built around Reigns reclaiming his lost glory. The crowd will be behind the valiant babyface who fights with all his heart rather than a newcomer who gets a monster push.
We have seen many instances in the wrestling world, of a hated wrestler becoming a fan favourite, case in point- Tetsuya Naito in New Japan.
Hated unanimously due to a Roman-like push, Naito went to Mexico and reinvented his character and when he returned, with proper booking and good matches, he has become one of the pillars of NJPW.
Reigns is at a similar crossroads, valiant is he who recovers from failures to achieve success, and a loss at Mania may be the first step to creating a Roman Reigns that WWE wished for from the very beginning.
What do you think, should Reigns win at Wrestlemania 35 or lose?
Do let us know in the comments below.