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Unpopular Roman Reigns Triumph At Royal Rumble Overshadows Classic Title Match

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By @sdmeyers1

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For better or worse, the outcome of the WWE Royal Rumble match every year ultimately determines if the event itself is a success or a failure. The 2015 Royal Rumble will forever be remembered for Roman Reigns prevailing in the 30-man battle royal, to the dismay of the WWE Universe.

In many ways, this was the expected outcome, as the company has steadily pushed Reigns for more than a year. One year ago, Reigns set an all-time record for eliminations at the Royal Rumble, and was the last man eliminated, ironically by Batista, who became an unpopular victor. Over the last 12 months, Reigns has broken free from The Shield and has been groomed to one day become the top fan favorite in the company.

The problem with this plan, though, is that the fans have recently voiced their disapproval. It’s not that Reigns doesn’t have the talent and attributes to eventually become the face of the company, but rather, that the creative team is forcing his ascension to the top, whether the WWE Universe supports him or not.

Aside from some struggles on the microphone, Reigns has done nothing wrong over the past year to turn the fans against him. The chorus of boos that greeted him were more so an indictment against the decision makers for the WWE.

Perhaps in an attempt to make Reigns more popular at the Royal Rumble, many of the other fan favorites were eliminated much earlier and less dramatically than expected. Daniel Bryan shockingly didn’t make it much past the halfway point of the match, while Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose and even Bray Wyatt were anticlimactically dumped over the ropes by the duo of Kane and the Big Show. By that point, the outcome was inevitable, and made for a predictable finish that excited nearly nobody.

Unfortunately, Reigns’ victory overshadowed the match that preceded it, a stellar triple threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Brock Lesnar successful retained his title, fending off the challenges of John Cena and Seth Rollins. The contest was not only one of the best matches in recent memory, but perhaps the best triple threat match in WWE history.

The trio pulled out all the stops, particularly Rollins, who made a death-defying leap off the top rope onto Lesnar through the ringside announcer table. The action was nonstop from start to finish, and it had the fans on their feet cheering and chanting.

By the end of the show, the WWE rather blatantly set the stage for Reigns to challenge Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania 31. The Rumble was critical to building a successful WrestleMania, and if the early response is any indication, the WWE failed.

While the company may have a bigger plan in mind over the next few months, the Royal Rumble could potentially be remembered as the starting point of one of the most unpopular main events in WrestleMania history.

Sean Meyers is a professional wrestling writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter and “Like” him on Facebook.

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