Roman Reigns' Polarizing Appearance in WWE Royal Rumble Added Drama to Match

The 2017 Royal Rumble match on Sunday was a spectacular outing that didn't rely on novelty and past WWE Hall of Famers—rather, the company used its part-timers and rising stars. As expected, the stocks of Baron Corbin and Braun Strowman grew immensely. However, with a Royal Rumble match that included Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker and Goldberg, the most climactic moment came as entrant No. 30 hit the stage.

Roman Reigns. 

Fans came unglued as Nerd Rage III seemed inevitable. The fake ghosts of #CancelWWENetwork rained down as vulgar chants from loud, angry fans filled the Alamodome. Some fans chanted "This is bull---t!" before the match was even over. Reigns' eliminations of Chris Jericho and The Undertaker in the waning moments made it seem all but academic that he was going to win his second Royal Rumble match in three years. With a Rumble dynasty within reach, fans bit hard as they anticipated Reigns' win. 

But Randy Orton's last-minute RKO and elimination made for an exhilarating win, as The Viper came off as an even bigger star by thwarting what would have been a polarizing Reigns win. 

This was one of the more self-aware moments in modern WWE history. With bigger stars like Goldberg, Undertaker and Lesnar out of the mix and more popular athletes like Jericho gone, an Orton win could have easily been considered deflating. But by eliminating Reigns, Orton's win went from potentially deflating to scintillating. 

WWE knew that the loudest, most rabid contingent of its fans would freak out at the sight of Reigns anywhere near the Royal Rumble match. If there were live betting odds on the Royal Rumble throughout the match, it's likely that they changed drastically when Reigns entered at No. 30.

But in the most unpredictable Royal Rumble match in years, WWE fooled everyone, and it led to one of the match's greatest finishes ever. There wasn't a single person watching—both for and against Reigns—who didn't think he was going to win, and it made for a brilliant finish. Such is the upside of the polarizing nature of Reigns. Nobody in WWE outside of John Cena can elicit such a mixture of emotions like Reigns. That emotion elevated a Royal Rumble match that already seemed to have it all.

There's a chance that Reigns' elimination of The Undertaker—an unpopular move—could be the precursor to a heel turn. Michael Cole noted "something changed in Roman Reigns [during his match against Kevin Owens]." But with a feud against Braun Strowman in his future, WWE may leave him as is—a controversial lightning rod whose reaction is as legitimately impassioned as anything in professional wrestling. 

That's exactly how it should be. 

Alfred Konuwa is a Featured Columnist and on-air host for Bleacher Report and Forbes. Like him on Facebook.