Roman Reigns Has Immense Task of Winning Over WWE Fans on Road to WrestleMania

A resistant, critical fanbase is poised to be a tougher opponent for Roman Reigns than Triple H en route to WWE WrestleMania 32.

As expected, The Big Dog emerged from the chaos that was the Fastlane 2016 main event as the No. 1 contender to the world title. And as has become routine during Reigns' biggest moments, a portion of the audience shook its collective head and grumbled in unison.

In a repeat of last year, Reigns has to win over fans who have made it clear they want someone else in his spot. He's not the preferred choice of the Internet Wrestling Community. He's often seen as someone forced down the audience's throats.

Reigns is forced to continue to stay in prove-his-doubters-wrong mode. 

Nothing speaks to how much of an uphill climb he has in order to garner the crowd's full support than a moment that unfolded near the end of Fastlane. Brock Lesnar had Reigns' arm bent backward in a Kimura lock, but Reigns managed to deadlift his foe. Dean Ambrose soon charged in wielding a steel chair.

Credit: WWE.com

The Lunatic Fringe proceeded to blast Lesnar with the weapon. Then, with The Beast Incarnate hobbled momentarily, Ambrose turned his focus on his longtime friend. When Ambrose clocked Reigns with a series of chair shots, the crowd roared in appreciation.

This was a case of one of two babyfaces in the match, a man positioned as a hero in the tale, being battered to the delight of fans in attendance. That wouldn't have happened with Daniel Bryan. Steve Austin's suffering a beatdown wouldn't have led to that reaction, either.

Reigns, though, is more of a polarizing figure in the vein of John Cena.

We saw that when fans booed him ferociously at the end of the 2015 Royal Rumble. We saw that again as Fastlane closed when several fans marked Reigns' win by pointing two thumbs downward.

Benjamin Tucker of PWTorch and Brandon Howard of Voices of Wrestling were both in attendance for Sunday's pay-per-view. Both writers remarked on the negative reactions Reigns earned throughout the night:

Entering a battle with Triple H that is sure to be hampered by predictability won't help shift that kind of response moving forward.

The Game is a lame-duck champion. He hasn't defended the title since winning it at the Rumble. He is clearly intended to be a prop to elevate Reigns.

Reigns' toppling the head of The Authority is the story that's been building for months. 

But it's one that many are not exactly enthused about. Jason Powell of ProWrestling.net wrote, "The Hunter vs. Reigns match just doesn't feel main event worth[y]." GameSpot's Rob Crossley wrote, "Generally, I'm unmoved by the prospect of Reigns against Triple H to close WrestleMania."

This is a common refrain from fans, too.

Reigns' rise isn't the feel-good, underdog story that Bryan's was the heart of at WrestleMania XXX. He is not seen as a warrior of the people like Bryan. Reigns' critics see him as a product of the WWE machine, a symbol of the company refusing to think outside of the box and choose someone like Ambrose to be the new king of the mountain.

So The Big Dog won't have the benefit of an inherently powerful tale.

He'll have to hope WWE is creative in how it presents his clash with Triple H. He'll have to hope that the narrative can catch fire, that fans won't see the ending coming and lose interest.

It certainly won't help that Reigns' march to WrestleMania will force him to travel to a number of cities with a reputation for being anti-Cena and pro-indy. Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Brooklyn are all on the docket in the next few weeks. 

Battling to a soundtrack of jeers, hearing criticism echoing around him is nothing new for Reigns, though.

Heading into WrestleMania 31, fans threatened to cancel their WWE Network subscriptions. But Reigns pressed on, putting on a stellar performance at last year's Fastlane and looking every bit like he belonged on center stage at The Show of Shows.

Despite all the talk of folks not wanting to see the product if Reigns was going to take home WWE's ultimate prize, fans most certainly tuned in. As WWE announced, WrestleMania 31 was "the highest-grossing live event in WWE history, grossing $12.6 million," and was the "most-watched WrestleMania in history."

Reigns is heading for the marquee once more. And once again, rumblings of why he shouldn't be there are growing loud.

He has to somehow charge ahead and keep delivering when called upon. He must keep giving enthralling performances that soften his detractors' convictions. WWE Creative will need to help him along the way, crafting a story of antihero against authority that allows the audience to lose themselves and forget about which wrestlers they would prefer to see in the spotlight.

One Superman Punch at a time, he has to convince a testy crowd that he's worth supporting.