It was the night after WrestleMania 33, where Roman Reigns had just defeated — and maybe retired — Undertaker in the main event. The environment was hostile, the crowd chanting that he sucks and should go away. He was tasked with opening Monday Night Raw, alone in the ring with only a microphone and an entire building full of fans who paid good money to travel from all around the world to express their dislike for him.
They did so by booing just as loud as their lungs would allow every time he moved the microphone anywhere close to his lips. That crowd did not want to let this man speak, but the reality was he didn’t have all that much to say anyway.
In fact, he had just five words, and they were all he needed:
“This is my yard now.”
Considering the circumstances, the environment, his command of the crowd, the emotion he elicited, the content of the message, and its delivery, this was literally perfect. This couldn’t have been any better than it was, and that’s why Roman Reigns gets my vote for “Promo of the Year” in 2017.