Roman Reigns vs. Triple H Feud Will Be Dependent on Continued Brutality

The path to Roman Reigns vs. Triple H at WWE WrestleMania 32 must be lined with savagery.

With so much of the fanbase resistant to Reigns' rise, it's going to take bruises, lacerations and uncomfortable violence to generate sympathy for the babyface in this narrative. WWE is clearly aware of that. On the first night after it became official that The Big Dog would challenge Triple H for the world title, Raw ended with blood blanketing Reigns' face.

Reigns doesn't have the real-life underdog appeal that Daniel Bryan did. He doesn't possess the electric presence that catapulted The Rock and Steve Austin to the top.

Instead, Reigns is very much the second coming of John Cena—a wrestler diehard fans hate for sport, a polarizing figure, a man with the backing of the WWE machine.

For him to win over his detractors en route to WrestleMania, he will have to be part of the kind of enthralling, nothing-held-back brawl that capped off Monday's Raw. The League of Nations had left Reigns beaten and vulnerable in the ring. In came Triple H, looking to sink his claws into Reigns.

The Game battered Reigns. He bashed his head against the announce desk. He peppered him with right hands, splattering blood with every blow.

WWE decided to circumvent its standard no-blood policy to present a throwback visual of violence. 

The result was an intense, memorable moment. It made it easy to anticipate Reigns' eventual response. It made it easy to feel for Reigns, both as a wrestler and a character.

Reigns is clearly willing to go through hell to tell this story. And he may need to. 

As Kevin Berge of Questionable Critics tweeted, this is just how WWE should continue presenting the rivalry:

But even as haunting as it was to see Triple H bloody the tape on his hands, to see Reigns look helpless, a vocal part of the crowd chose to get behind the heel. 

The Detroit crowd roared for The Game. It urged him to hammer Reigns harder. As Cageside Seats pointed out, the fans were clearly having fun watching The Big Dog suffer:

History shows, though, that Reigns has hit his highest moments and had the crowd rooting the hardest when the action turned extreme, whether he was dishing out brutality or suffering it.

The biggest reaction he has received thus far came when he throttled Triple H at the end of the TLC pay-per-view.

Reigns exploded in frustration after getting cheated out of the WWE title once again. First, it was The League of Nations who took fists to the chin, then Triple H found himself in the midst of a violent storm.

The hero left the villain in need of a stretcher, and the fans couldn't have been happier.

Credit: WWE.com

Before that, Reigns and Sheamus managed to sway an unyielding crowd during their TLC match that night. As Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net wrote, "Sheamus and Reigns got the live crowd into their match by the midway point. This is the type of match where Sheamus and Reigns shine. I'm not talking about the hardcore style, but rather the good, physical fighting style."

When Reigns battled Big Show at last year's Extreme Rules, the match seemed dead in the water given how many fans were apathetic toward the giant and unmoved by Reigns. The two grapplers, though, put their bodies on the line until they won the crowd over.

Chair shots, broken tables and a smashmouth style captivated fans far more than anyone would have expected.

A brawl between Bray Wyatt and Reigns leading up to their Hell in a Cell clash last year revved up the audience, too. A thunderous reaction provided the soundtrack as the two enemies laid each other out.

There was no second-guessing the booking here. There was no rejecting of WWE's chosen heir to the throne. Instead, fans soaked up the action.

That will be the key moving forward with Triple H and Reigns' war. 

WWE gets in trouble when it tries to have Reigns engage in long speeches or make corny jokes. The company stifles him with scripted promos, by trying to make him the Samoan version of Cena. That's asking Reigns to fail.

He is at his best when his fists fly and flesh smashes against flesh. The more WWE presents him as a hard-nosed gladiator comfortable in the heat of chaotic battle, the better.

And by including the level of violence we saw on Monday's Raw or at TLC's close, WWE will be giving fans ample reason to let down their guard, stop griping about Reigns' position and simply watch the onslaughts unfold.