Hardcore Fans, Seth Rollins, NXT TakeOver and More from the St. Protest Mailbag

Happy St. Patrick's Day! With WrestleMania tickets selling at a record pace, WWE doesn't need March 17 to see green. Despite what some fans are complaining about, every single one of them will be in attendance—or more than 80,000, to be exact. So with Roman Reigns set to main event the landmark card, is Reigns' outrage a real thing or a petty gripe?

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@ThisIsNasty have "hardcore" fans negatively impacted the WWE over the past few years? With hijacking shows, shouting and booing?

— Kareem Mathias (@KareemMathias1) March 17, 2016"

Absolutely. It's one thing to show displeasure with a wallet by staying home for WrestleMania. But according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestling Inc), WrestleMania 32 has already sold a record 84,000 tickets.

That means many of the fans who complain about Reigns are paying customers. They'll finance an entire trip to Texas and buy WWE merchandise only to whine about WWE's booking once they have already parted ways with their money.

I never understood the concept of paid protest, but to me, that just sounds spoiled.

I don't care what hardcore fans think about Reigns in the main event, and neither should WWE, because those butts will be in seats regardless. Reigns was in the main event of last year's WrestleMania, and that didn't stop the event from being the highest-grossing live event in history. This year, the polarizing babyface takes on Triple H in the top match, and tickets are selling faster than Booty-O's cereal.

If there's a contingent that thinks WWE "doesn't listen to fans," it's because some fans are just begging to be ignored. What message is this vocal minority sending by lining WWE's pockets with cash only to disrupt an otherwise entertaining live event?

See you at WrestleMania.

Seth Rollins will be just fine upon his return. With Neville becoming the latest prominent independent wrestler to suffer an injury, as reported by WWE.com, Rollins' return can't come soon enough. WWE's is starved of babyfaces, and given Rollins' good wrestling run as a heel, fans will be very open to cheering The Architect.

In terms of a future feud, Rollins can be paired with anybody from The Wyatt Family, The League of Nations or a heel Roman Reigns. 

Given the fact that Rollins never lost the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, he has a case to go after the world title immediately. If WrestleMania features a double turn, where Shane McMahon helps Reigns defeat Triple H, Rollins' return as the conquering hero would be even more welcome.

Despite record-low ratings as a world champion, according to ShowBuzz Daily (h/t Wrestling Inc), Rollins did more than enough to solidify himself as a perennial main eventer. With WWE's roster getting thinner by the minute, his return should be one of the big events of this summer.

I like the spirit of this question, but a far-too-common cliche in wrestling hipster circles is when people say, "NXT Takeover was way better than [insert WWE pay-per-view]." It's always a silly, unfair yet amusing comment.

NXT is a completely different product than WWE. NXT is underexposed and wrestling-heavy. WWE is ubiquitous, overwritten and storyline-driven.

I fully expect NXT TakeOver: Dallas to be a strong wrestling show. There's even a good chance it outshines WrestleMania, but only because expectations for WrestleMania will be much higher.

Forget about comparing the two brands; just judge each on its own merits. Both NXT and WrestleMania each have specific sets of questions to be considered in order to be successful. Will Shinsuke Nakamura have a show-stopping debut, or will he go the way of other struggling international stars like Sin Cara and Hideo Itami?

Will Sami Zayn have an appropriate NXT sendoff on the level of a Sasha Banks? The Revival has solid matches, but will the duo finally wrestle a match so excellent that people care enough to tell the two apart?

As for WrestleMania, will Roman Reigns over-deliver in a yet another big-match situation? Will Shane McMahon and The Undertaker have enough smoke and mirrors to steal the show? Will Chris Jericho and AJ Styles rewrite wrestling?

Only time will tell.

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report. Like him on Facebook and listen to him on WrestleZone Daily.