WWE Doesn’t (And Shouldn’t) Care About Your Opinion

Roman Reigns is a main event superstar. You’re welcome to hate this, but it doesn’t dismiss it as fact. So, why is Roman a main eventer if you boo so loudly? Why is he “The Big Dog” when:

“Roman’s promos aren’t that great.”

“Roman can’t wrestle.”

“Roman is the worst member of The Shield.”

It’s really quite an easy thing to answer. Roman is “the man” because Vince McMahon says so, and history has shown that most of you who complain each week will return the following week to complain some more. Hell, you’ve been booing John Cena for over a decade, and there he remains, the biggest name in the industry.

Opinions are like…

Regarding the three previously posted negative statements made about Roman, they are widely held #WrestlingTwitter opinions. Opinions are neither right nor wrong, because they’re just opinions. My opinion on something might be completely different from yours, but it doesn’t automatically dismiss either of them simply because they don’t align. Why? Because our opinions as wrestling fans don’t really matter all that much. We’re certainly welcome to have them, but don’t think just because you’re convinced of something it automatically makes it gospel.

Five star matches barely matter

I saw several people on Twitter  this week complaining about Lana’s first win.

“She’s not talented!”

“Other women are better wrestlers.”

“She doesn’t deserve to be in the Money In The Bank match.”

Again, opinions…

The facts are, Lana has consistently gotten a huge crowd reaction, regardless of what WWE has tried to do with her. Accent? Huge crowd pop. No accent? Huge pop. Accent again? Still popping the crowd. Heel? Babyface? Managing? Wrestling? Pop, pop, pop, pop, good people of the Internets.

Bring in the clowns

It seems far too many fans don’t actually understand what they’re watching. Try and think of a WWE show like a three-ring circus. At a circus, you might get some clowns, a high wire act, a strongman, and if you’re lucky, someone might even stick their head in a lion’s mouth. The circus offers a variety of things, efforting to cast a net wide enough to grab the attention of as many people as possible. WWE is no different. Not every segment of a WWE show is tailored specifically to you. It is a billion dollar company for a reason, and it’s not because it markets the brand exclusively to 32 year old dudes with itchy tweeting fingers.

Same Vince, different fan

There isn’t a doubt in my mind that Vince McMahon loves professional wrestling. I’ll bet if you sat down with him over a few drinks, he could go on and on about different wrestling matches that have resonated with him over the years. As a teen, Vince was a massive Dr. Jerry Graham fan. In a Playboy interview back on 2001, Vince waxed poetically about Dr. Jerry’s larger-than-life personality, talking about him “lighting cigars with $100 bills” and how Graham “wore red shoes and rode around Washington in a blood-red 1959 Cadillac.” Nowhere in those quotes will you see anything about “in-ring ability” or “workrate”, because in WWE, actual wrestling ability is the least important thing you need to become a superstar. What is important, however, is the ability to connect, not only with fans, but with Vince. Right or wrong, that’s how it’s always been.

Vince hasn’t changed; your need to bitch and complain has.