Many a time when the discussion of Roman Reigns' popularity arises, the domain of discussion remains mostly limited to the traditional centres. The argument of Reigns' getting booed ( for whatever reasons) in the more hardcore crowds is put forth many times to push the point that he is " not over" and that his push is an unequivocal failure. But is that the case in reality though? Considering the larger global domain and various global parameters while judging the popularity of the performers throws up some results completely contrary to the said narrative.
Let me present some very significant cases which clear quite a few misconceptions as to why Reigns was pushed in the first place. It's not just "about the look" or "family heritage" or any other arbitrary reason mostly attributed to his push.
Let's consider the period from Nov. 12 - Nov 13 . The reason I choose this period is because it not only covers the first full year of the Shield's run but a period before Reigns' alleged push started at Survivor Series 2013 with his traditional elimination match performance.
Let's note that in this period, it was all about Ambrose who was definitely presented as the first among the equals in the Shield. Ambrose was the only guy of the three in the Shield who:
1) Held a singles title.
2) Wrestled the Undertaker himself.
3) Received regular singles PPV matches.
4) Most mic. time by far.
The other two were involved more as a tag team and were hardly booked as strong as Ambrose; hell they even lost the tag titles in a very convincing manner to a makeshift tag team. BUT, let's have a look at what the WORLDWIDE interest levels were of the Shield performers during that period:
The above figure shows that despite the unequivocal preferential treatment to Ambrose during the said period, Reigns pretty much matches him in popularity despite not getting any significant moments. Rollins understandably, lags behind. But now comes the interesting part, considering the period from Dec. 13- June 14 i.e until the Shield split throws up some very interesting figures. Consider the fact that Reigns even now wasn't being presented as some sort of an undisputed leader. Rollins was building up his "Architect" persona, Ambrose still held the US title, the reign ending at a mammoth 380 days while Reigns raked up his Royal Rumble record. Let's have a look at the corresponding figures:
There's absolutely no comparison at all. Neither of the other Shield members ever overtakes Reigns in popularity other than Rollins for a short time in his heel turn shortly after which Reigns again breezes past him.
Here are the figures from June 14- Jan 15; i.e until the Rumble where his push actually started in real tangible terms.
Another telling figure. Reigns commands superior popularity despite being directionless for months while Ambrose-Rollins engaged in the highly intense grudge feud. His popularity dips a bit during his injury but he again takes pole position once he returns. I added Bryan in the figure as well since he was being vociferously argued to be the more suited performer to win the Rumble rather than Reigns. But the figures clearly show that Reigns was more popular than Bryan worldwide at the time of the Rumble!. It solidifies the fact that the WWE went with the correct option on the basis of methodological worldwide figures.
Another interesting statistic is the comparison between Reigns and Rollins during the period of Rollins' entire reign:
Astonishingly, Reigns, despite being in mid card feuds with Big Show and the Wyatts for all of that period still out-draws Rollins in global interest!
It is undeniable at this point that Reigns is by far the most popular active wrestler in the world and significantly above his peers. His reactions among a few hostile crowds of pseudo smart-fans is hardly indicative of his global reach and marketability on the world wide scale. No wonder they have been pushing him despite all of the hostile reactions because he's drawing in viewers en masse. Some other relevant figures on various global parameters:
Facebook:
Highest by far amongst his contemporaries.
Youtube:
Most 10 Million+ values by far amongst all the contemporary performers.
Seeing these undeniable statistics, is it an unfair argument to an extent to state that Reigns "isn't over" when in fact he has by far been the most popular wrestler of the new generation on most of the global popularity parameters?
Let me present some very significant cases which clear quite a few misconceptions as to why Reigns was pushed in the first place. It's not just "about the look" or "family heritage" or any other arbitrary reason mostly attributed to his push.
Let's consider the period from Nov. 12 - Nov 13 . The reason I choose this period is because it not only covers the first full year of the Shield's run but a period before Reigns' alleged push started at Survivor Series 2013 with his traditional elimination match performance.
Let's note that in this period, it was all about Ambrose who was definitely presented as the first among the equals in the Shield. Ambrose was the only guy of the three in the Shield who:
1) Held a singles title.
2) Wrestled the Undertaker himself.
3) Received regular singles PPV matches.
4) Most mic. time by far.
The other two were involved more as a tag team and were hardly booked as strong as Ambrose; hell they even lost the tag titles in a very convincing manner to a makeshift tag team. BUT, let's have a look at what the WORLDWIDE interest levels were of the Shield performers during that period:
The above figure shows that despite the unequivocal preferential treatment to Ambrose during the said period, Reigns pretty much matches him in popularity despite not getting any significant moments. Rollins understandably, lags behind. But now comes the interesting part, considering the period from Dec. 13- June 14 i.e until the Shield split throws up some very interesting figures. Consider the fact that Reigns even now wasn't being presented as some sort of an undisputed leader. Rollins was building up his "Architect" persona, Ambrose still held the US title, the reign ending at a mammoth 380 days while Reigns raked up his Royal Rumble record. Let's have a look at the corresponding figures:
There's absolutely no comparison at all. Neither of the other Shield members ever overtakes Reigns in popularity other than Rollins for a short time in his heel turn shortly after which Reigns again breezes past him.
Here are the figures from June 14- Jan 15; i.e until the Rumble where his push actually started in real tangible terms.
Another telling figure. Reigns commands superior popularity despite being directionless for months while Ambrose-Rollins engaged in the highly intense grudge feud. His popularity dips a bit during his injury but he again takes pole position once he returns. I added Bryan in the figure as well since he was being vociferously argued to be the more suited performer to win the Rumble rather than Reigns. But the figures clearly show that Reigns was more popular than Bryan worldwide at the time of the Rumble!. It solidifies the fact that the WWE went with the correct option on the basis of methodological worldwide figures.
Another interesting statistic is the comparison between Reigns and Rollins during the period of Rollins' entire reign:
Astonishingly, Reigns, despite being in mid card feuds with Big Show and the Wyatts for all of that period still out-draws Rollins in global interest!
It is undeniable at this point that Reigns is by far the most popular active wrestler in the world and significantly above his peers. His reactions among a few hostile crowds of pseudo smart-fans is hardly indicative of his global reach and marketability on the world wide scale. No wonder they have been pushing him despite all of the hostile reactions because he's drawing in viewers en masse. Some other relevant figures on various global parameters:
Facebook:
Highest by far amongst his contemporaries.
Youtube:
Most 10 Million+ values by far amongst all the contemporary performers.
Seeing these undeniable statistics, is it an unfair argument to an extent to state that Reigns "isn't over" when in fact he has by far been the most popular wrestler of the new generation on most of the global popularity parameters?
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