Roman Reigns has been fantastic over the past year, taking his game to a level not seen before. What’s been unfortunate about that is it came during a time when fans were forced to stay away from the arena. In that sense, how good has he actually been?
There are layers to that question in a business like pro wrestling, and we don’t need to get into the thick of it in this particular post. Instead, we’ll simply look at the first impression we got from real live fans getting their chance to react to him on a regular episode of Friday Night SmackDown from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, the first time in over a year the blue brand has held a show in front of fans.
Yes, he wrestled in front of fans at WrestleMania 37 in April but that show is different to normal television and not indicative of a typical audience.
To that end:
Acknowledge your @WWE Universal Champion, @WWERomanReigns w/ @HeymanHustle! #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/ECuMEej2as
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) July 17, 2021
Some cheers, absolutely, but they booed the hell out of that man. During the ensuing match, there were less cheers and far more boos, including a thunderous pop when Edge speared him on the outside of the ring. He also got “you suck” chants while attacking his chief rival after said match.
I think that means he’s doing a fine job, folks.
Damn it feels good to have WWE back like this.
Get complete SmackDown results and coverage of this week’s show right here.