WWE SmackDown Smacks and Downs: Bray Wyatt fiends with no crowd

(Huge) Down: the promo of Roman Reigns

The promo delivered by Reigns last night was made even worse with the lack of a crowd reaction. It’s like he and WWE forgot the promos that made him fans (at least) tolerate him after his return from a second battle with leukemia.

There were just so many things about this promo that have me feeling like Reigns might be booed out of the building at WrestleMania…if there are any fans allowed.

Let’s start with him giving his justifications for being handed a title shot for simply walking out and telling Goldberg “I’m next.” As an aside, I still think he should have said “You’re next” to imply that he is going to be victorious against Goldberg.

Reigns, in response to Michael Cole asking about critics about Reigns putting himself in the main event, said:

"“Let me counter with a question. If I can main event Youngstown, Ohio, you know what I mean, in a small town in front of five thousand people, if I can do that every single night of the full year, why shouldn’t I main event the biggest show? Why shouldn’t I be able to capitalize on all that hard work I put in?…There’s nobody here that has the level of commitment that I have"

Cool. Where in there does he discuss his victories over the recent months to stake his claim? It’s cool that he can main event in Youngstown, OH, but what good is main eventing if you aren’t winning?

This isn’t to say Reigns is losing. He (finally) won his feud with King Corbin and probably is the best person to face Goldberg not named Daniel Bryan. All he had to do was say he’s had an amazing record the past few months (while showing some of those highlights) and boom, everything’s fine.

Then again, is Corbin enough on the “strength of schedule” to boast about?

It’s made more egregious by the fact that the biggest reason for rejecting Reigns as the fans have the last five years has been the sense that he has been gifted all the main events and championship matches that he has had without necessarily “earning” them in a pro wrestling context.

Being the handpicked “chosen one” doesn’t always work out as it’s intended (look at Drew McIntyre’s first run).

All he did was remind fans that, oh yeah, this is precisely the type of promo he would give where he justified his spot by touting his main events; it’s circular logic at best.

Another reason why it was so bad has to do with this last bit:

This is a man who very publicly admitted he only turned to wrestling after failing to make it as a pro football player and feeling unfulfilled working at a furniture store. Is this fact disqualifying? Of course not.

It is here though, precisely because Reigns told Cole, “I have dedicated my life to this craft, every single day, 24/7, 365, this is all I think of. I was bred for this, born from this…I’ve been groomed since I was a little boy.”

He may have dedicated his life to this, but not until his true passion fizzled. Again, that’s fine, but not when you’re trying to frame it like you’re a writer for the Ruthless Aggression documentary changing facts to make WWE (and Vince McMahon in particular) look good.

This is precisely the promo where a crowd reaction is needed to indicate whether or not this is the path that should be taken. I assume the reaction would be negative. He delivered the promo with enough conviction that viewers at home might have been swayed, but they may have been just as swayed with either a supportive or hostile crowd.

WWE and Reigns should also remember that people have longer memories than they care to admit. The story of Reigns going through the motions at the furniture store has almost become apocryphal at this point, but most fans (I think) remember pro wrestling was not “the boyhood dream” come true for Reigns.

I’m even less excited for his match with Goldberg than I was before tonight. I hope this isn’t the case come WrestleMania, whether it’s in a few weeks or over the summer…or later.