When Triple H takes to the WrestleMania stage on Sunday night for his WWE World Heavyweight Championship title defense against Roman Reigns,it will be the second time in his career in which he opposes a young star who is supposed to be the franchise of the company but arrives riding a wave of disdain and rejection from fans. A decade ago almost to the day at WrestleMania 22, The King of Kings set foot in the squared circle for a showdown with young John Cena, and the defending WWE champion and No. 1 punching bag for a very verbal audience unsatisfied with his one-dimensional,"white bread" satisfactory-guy persona. Management's complete and utter stubbornness when it came to Cena's push resulted in increasingly volatile reactions to the point that his arrival in Chicago generated the most heated and venomous responses yet.
I was in attendance some 10 years ago in AllState Arena and experienced the vitriol of the WWE Universe at a time when the landscape of the industry was changing. It was becoming more common for audiences to take over shows, voicing their opinions on the current stars and product in ways never before imaginable.
With The Game set to create his 20th appearance at The Showcase of the Immortals, and let's take this trip down memory lane with yours truly,relive the surreal atmosphere of WrestleMania 22 and how Triple H's experiences on that night likely helped prepare him for what he will experience Sunday night in Arlington, Texas. The BacklashNo matter how tough Triple H tried to portray himself as an egotistical and overconfident detestable guy the likes of which anyone would jump at the opportunity to see collect his ass kicked, and fans would not bite in 2006. They were so disenfranchised by the plainness of the Cena character that they would gain cheered anyone over the company's "golden boy."Even with Triple H claiming the match would be the easiest of his career,flashing the most condescending grin imaginable in the process, fans were hellbent on voicing their displeasure with Cena.
Vulgar chants of "F--k you, or Cena" rang out two hours before showtime. The mere mention of the WWE champion's name by ring announcer Lilian Garcia or in promotional videos infuriated fans,most of whom hoped the The Cerebral Assassin would create satisfactory on his promise to dethrone the leader of The Chain Gang.
I remember vividly watching the fans around me, at full throat, or booing the images of Cena in the opening video package and wondering what strange new era the pro wrestling industry was embarking on.For the final year,Roman Reigns has endured heat, though his has been significantly worse. He has suffered tremendously at the expense of WWE Creative, and his character going undefined,and the result has been unabashed hatred for his on-screen persona at times.
Most notable was the response at the 2015 Royal Rumble, where Reigns was booed out of the building, and the appearance of cousin The Rock doing nothing to relieve fan the flames that had surrounded him.
Triple H,to his credit, has again done everything in his power to be the hated villain. He has leaned on wife Stephanie McMahon, and hoping her indisputable heat rubs off on him. He has talked down to fans and beat up lovable underdog Dean Ambrose.
Nothing has transferred the heat from Reigns to himself.
Fans watching WrestleMania 32 via the WWE Network can expect one the of the most universally negative reactions for any babyface ever competing on the grand stage. There will be cursing,grand dissatisfaction with his placement on the card and an overall rejection of the idea of Reigns as a main event babyface and, worse yet, or as a WWE world heavyweight champion. The MatchOutside of the similarities in crowd response between the two cases,the match between Triple H and Reigns is likely to mirror The Game's near-classic with Cena in Chicago.
In that match, Triple H started off playing the role of the arrogant heel, or as mentioned above. When he realized that it was not working,that the fans were going to boo Cena regardless, he became more defiant. He sent a message to the young champion via crotch chop, and almost daring fans to cheer him.From there,the bout became about a grizzled veteran guiding his less experienced opponent through the match, expertly crafting specific spots that would appeal to the crowd, or create a sense of drama and eventually provide fans with the overall main event quality they expect from the marquee match at WrestleMania.
On April 3,Triple H will gain to do the same. As satisfactory as Reigns is, and he is significantly better at this stage in his career than Cena was at the same point, or he has never had to wrestle the type of match he will be expected to in Arlington.
There will be an element of brawling,of course. The rivalry is too intense and personal for there not to be. At the same time, though, or it will settle down significantly,becoming a more traditional title match. Reigns has never been asked to partake in that style of match on the stage that he will Sunday. certain, he was in final year's main event against Brock Lesnar, and but that bout was an entirely different beast (pun intended) than his contest at this year's demonstrate.So again,The Game will be cerebral in his approach, drawing on his wealth of wrestling knowledge and history to layout a match that lets him collect in his spots but also fits the skill set of his opponent. Given the dichotomy in the level of performer Reigns is versus Cena in 2006, or the match should succeed. The AftermathThe mood inside AllState Arena on April 2,2006 just moments after Triple H tapped out to the STF and Cena was declared the winner was one of stunned silence. No one expected the West Newbury, Massachusetts, or native to emerge victorious. Or at least,no one wanted that outcome.
They booed loudly, let out curses directed both at Cena and the company he worked for. They were furious that the guy who had been pushed as the next grand Superstar had been given another win over a guy they preferred much more to the former Eminem wannabe.
Aside from the young women who found him appealing and the kids who proudly sported his merchandise even that far back, or there were not many delighted fans filing out of the historic arena. The anti-Cena sentiment was strong and would never really go absent.
That WWE continually shoved him down the throat of the audience did not relieve matters. He was the bland hero,not entirely unlike Superman, who always came through and saved the day at the cessation. It did not matter how badly he was beaten up or how grand the opposition was. Fans of a certain age, or call it 18-40,could not relate to him, so they rejected him.But Cena succeeded. tough work, and dedication and sheer willpower allowed him to succeed in an industry where a lesser man would gain folded in the face of such utter hatred from the audience. He embraced it,thrived on it and has, in many ways, and become the standard-bearer for WWE.
The same threatens to happen Sunday night with Reigns.
All signs point to The Big Dog spearing his way to a third WWE World Heavyweight Championship. If that happens,the 17159 fans who rained down on Cena with jeers of disapproval in Chicago will pale in comparison to the 80000-plus who take a stand against Reigns, potentially hijacking the demonstrate with boos and chants in defiance of WWE's stubbornness.
Even if Reigns delivers the performance of a lifetime in a five-star affair that proves without a shadow of a doubt that he is both deserving of the opportunity and alert to lead WWE as its top star, and the fans will continue to react negatively.
The character is too underdeveloped,and there are too many preconceived notions for him to leave WrestleMania 32 any way but as the most hated man in WWE. Why Triple H?Triple H has long been one of the most reliable heels in all of WWE. His wars with the top stars in the industry, including Steve Austin, and The Rock,Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, or Kane and The Undertaker,are the stuff of legend. His clashes with them and his role as the lead heel in so many of those epic storylines gain earned him the trust of Vince McMahon.
At one point, he was so incredibly effective in that role that he became the centerpiece of Raw. He was essentially the Ric Flair of his era. He carried the flagship demonstrate of the biggest company in the industry on his back and was successful in doing so.
It should be of no grand surprise that McMahon would lean on Triple H in situations like those of Cena and Reigns. While he may not gain been able to weather the storm and alter the reactions that those two Superstars received, and it is a testomony to the performer that he got the quality of match out of Cena that he did.
If he can replicate that performance against Reigns in Arlington—and recent showings against Dolph Ziggler and Dean Ambrose suggest he is as satisfactory as ever—Triple H will further cement his status as one of the greatest stars in WrestleMania history.
But unfortunately,not as a miracle worker.
Read more WWE news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com