Roman Reigns Will Benefit from Loss at WWE WrestleMania 31

When Roman Reigns took the loss in the main event of WrestleMania 31, many members of the WWE Universe thought it would be a devastating blow to his character, but the 29-year-old Superstar will actually benefit from losing.

After winning the 2015 Royal Rumble, the fans began to turn on Reigns as the perceived hand-chosen future of the company.

Wrestling fans don’t want to be told what to like, and having a star with limited in-ring and mic talent pushed down their throats was not a good idea.

As much as the members of the WWE Universe hated Reigns at WrestleMania and Raw the following night, the vast majority of fans have to feel sympathy for him now.

After winning the Royal Rumble and beating Daniel Bryan at WWE Fastlane, the fact that he went on to main-event the company’s biggest pay-per-view and lose should have many of his biggest skeptics showing him compassion for taking the loss.

I was one of the biggest skeptics of Reigns and his ability in the ring, but he even surprised me at WrestleMania. He stood toe-to-toe with Lesnar and was destroyed for it.

Instead of giving up, though, Reigns took the beating with a smile on his face and looked like he belonged on the same stage as a talent like Lesnar.

In a way, Reigns' destruction at the hands of Lesnar reminded me of Tommy Dreamer earning his stripes in ECW. Just as the pretty-boy Dreamer was not instantly loved by the crowd, but instead earned their respect by getting hit with a Singapore cane over and over again by Sandman, Reigns earned the same respect from many fans in the WWE Universe.

Now that Reigns has been removed from the main event scene temporarily, he can take the time to properly develop in the ring and on the mic and continue evolving into an elite star who can get the crowd support naturally.

Another year spent learning the craft will make him even better when Vince McMahon and company come calling for another possible shot at WrestleMania glory next year.

There is no doubt that Reigns has improved over the last several months, but he needs to step up even more. While he hasn’t gotten away from the Mickey Mouse promos that made fans dislike him in the first place, he needs to continue expanding his move set and redefining his character.

In the short term, the loss takes him down a peg, but that’s what many fans wanted.

Now he can build himself back up to the main event by earning it. His work ethic and willingness to do the dirty work should have skeptics reconsidering their stance on Reigns.

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