I was at a Utah Jazz game last night when I saw the news - WWE's Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, was relinquishing the title due to a resurgent case of leukemia.
That's pretty devastating news for the company and, more than anything, for the man, himself. For the better part of six years, Roman Reigns and his dominant faction, The Shield, have been at the top of the pro wrestling world, with Reigns, in particular, receiving a heavy push from the creative team. For the most part, this didn't sit well with the so-called "WWE Universe," as fans would have preferred other stars (like Daniel Bryan and, more recently, Braun Strowman) to be the company's top guy. The result of WWE's insistence in making Reigns the perennial Main-Eventer resulted in a chorus of boos accompanying him whenever he showed his face, including one notable promo after Reigns beat the Undertaker at Wrestlemania, where Reigns was booed harshly for nearly 10 minutes (language warning for that hyperlink).
Things were different last night. Fans booed as Reigns came to the ring, as usual, but Roman seemed different this time. He looked humbled. Sad. He proceeded to cut an earnest promo, explaining that he has been battling leukemia for the past 11 years. The boos subsided. Reigns said that, because of the returning illness, he will have to leave the company to get things in order and spend time with his family. He laid the championship belt down in the middle of the ring as fans chanted, "Thank you, Roman!" Reigns walked up the ramp to the stage, where he was joined by fellow Shield members Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, both of whom were visibly shaken and were wiping tears from their faces. The three embraced and engaged in their trademark fist bump. The audience applauded, knowing that, despite Reigns' promise to return stronger than ever, this could very well be the end of an era.
Needless to say, it was a somber way to kick off WWE's three hours of programming. Throughout the night, the announce team of Michael Cole, Corey Graves and Renee Young recapped the unfortunate predicament, outlining how upcoming Pay-Per-View events would be impacted by Reigns' sudden departure. Several on-air segments were dedicated to the outpouring of support coming in on social media from other WWE superstars and fans. Even the braggadocios loudmouth Paul Heyman was noticeably affected by the night's events, as he gave an impressive promo that not only honored Reigns' hard work but eventually transitioned into hype for his client Brock Lesnar's upcoming match, which was directly altered by the vacated championship. Braun Strowman, who will square up with Lesnar in that title bout also mentioned Reigns' illness when coming out to confront Heyman.
The main event for the evening featured Rollins (the current Intercontinental Champion) and Ambrose facing the Raw Tag Team Champions, Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre. It would be fitting, I thought, if they were to allow the titles to change hands on this night, as as show of respect for Reigns, although it would be a little odd for Rollins to then become a dual champion. Nevertheless, after a distraction by Strowman drew McIntyre away from the ring, Rollins rolled up Ziggler for the ol' 1-2-3. The Shield had become the new tag team champs on an emotional night for everyone involved. Ambrose and Rollins (whose relationship had been on rocky ground for the past few weeks) embraced in the middle of the ring, clutching their newly won title belts.
And then this happened:
— WWE (@WWE) October 23, 2018
It came out of nowhere. I found myself audibly, involuntarily laughing out of the surprise of it all. I did not see that ending coming. It was all orchestrated so well. From finally getting everyone to cheer for Roman to his tag partners winning the championships at the end, it had been a nice There-Are-Things-Bigger-Than-Wrestling type of episode. Something for people to feel good about. Then, it all came to a crashing halt with one of the most brutal beat-downs in recent memory. "Raw" has been a bit stale lately. It's three hours long, week in and week out, and it often lacks any major twists or veering character paths. This swerve by Ambrose got the WWE Universe with the double sucker punch - once because fans generally love The Shield and again because it happened on the night when Reigns broke "kayfabe" by discussing a very personal matter.
I'd argue that this is the biggest, most monstrous, dramatic heel turn of the modern era. I can't, off the top of my head, think of a story arc that was this impactful or well executed since The Shield broke up the first time, back in 2014. As a podcast I listened to, ironically enough, yesterday morning pointed out, fans probably would have loved it if Dean had turned heel by attacking Roman, so having Dean attack Seth LAST NIGHT, just moments after winning that match, was a stroke of genius. There is nothing Dean could have conceivably done to get the crowd against him. In one five-minute segment of a show, he became, quite possibly, the biggest heel the company has seen in a long, long time.
The audience's reaction was incredible, too. The last time I saw anything get a reaction like that was back when Undertaker's Wrestlemania streak was broken. It was absolutely glorious.
Re: Dean Ambrose heel turn - This is a candidate on the Mount Rushmore of #WWE fan reaction shots. Priceless. #RAW pic.twitter.com/Zxnqt77LjO— Joe Montana’s Right Arm (@JoeMsrightarm) October 23, 2018
I get why some people thought it was bad timing or in poor taste to pull a move like that on the same night that Reigns relinquished his title due to a terrible real-life struggle, but man. I thought this was storytelling at its finest. Bravo, WWE. Nice work.
Oh, and by the way, we also got an Elias face turn! Yes! The classic guitar smash! All in all, it was a great night for sports entertainment, if you ask me.
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