Roman Reigns Will Be Accepted in WrestleMania 31 Main Event After Fastlane Win

Faced with the same outrage that soured Batista's ill-fated WWE return last year, Roman Reigns speared the Yes Movement on Sunday at Fastlane.

The match wasn't perfect—split fan support and a messy transition into an armbar brought it down a notch—but it achieved many critical goals.

Reigns beat Daniel Bryan one-on-one. In defeating Bryan, Reigns sealed his spot in the WrestleMania 31 main event for a second time. This makes him a legitimate contender in the eyes of the all-important casual fans.

WWE told a better story of Reigns overcoming hernia surgery than it did throughout his halfhearted comeback late last year. Reigns overcame a nasty onslaught of liver kicks, playing the underdog in a straight-up wrestling match and winning.

In beating Bryan, Reigns diffused any chance of the Yes Movement—which became more pesky than revolutionary one year later—hijacking WrestleMania.

Last year, WWE refused to acknowledge Bryan as a main eventer both on and off screen. This only fueled an uprising that eventually could not be contained.

The Fastlane main event appeased those who felt Bryan deserved to main event WrestleMania for the second time in a row. At the same time, it silenced them.

Keeping Bryan around in the buildup to WrestleMania 31 kept hardcore fans at bay. Bryan received a generous opportunity to regain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. All the while, Reigns became a sympathetic figure.

Many rallied behind him. They cheered him. Loudly, per James Caldwell of Pro Wrestling Torch. They countered chants of "You can't wrestle" with "Yes, he can!"

Reigns' detractors were relegated to the same boat as the "[John] Cena sucks" crowd. The mixed reaction is par for the course for a top star these days and doesn't warrant a WrestleMania course correction.

WWE did not change its mind, as was reported by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestling Inc). Reigns wrestled a main event match at WWE Fastlane and won cleanly.

Yes, he did.

The match itself was a microcosm of Reigns' imperfect journey to WrestleMania. Awkward for a brief moment, but Reigns fought an uphill battle, survived and advanced.

Such hostility so early in his career will build character for the upstart challenger. Bryan was used not to supplant Reigns, but to cement him.

Brock Lesnar's unprecedented momentum makes the WrestleMania main event a blockbuster no matter who challenges him.

Reigns maintains a vocal base of supporters who are ready to join WWE as it moves on to a new era. Like Reigns—and Bryan, for that matter—WrestleMania 31 is going to be alright.

Listen for more on the WWE Fastlane pay-per-view in the latest episode of PodNasty!

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