Yes.
You can't expect the fans to believe in these "Top of the Card" performers
if they are being defeated in any way, shape or form.
As bad of an example as this is, I see what you're getting at, but I totally disagree. So many people being fed to the Reigns machine was the reason why we all got so down on him, WWE, and all the talent that were floating around doing nothing after a lackluster feud with him.
Johnny Gargano has made a career of dramatically losing big NXT matches.
Daniel Bryan became a megastar because fans were sick of him being screwed over by WWE.
Lots of NJPW diehards were FURIOUS after Okada retained against Tetsuya Naito last year, after rebounding from a garbage year, and rightfully so.
Hell, I'm calling for Omega to take a pin in the 6-man at Fyter Fest, then lose to Moxley at All Out and watch Kenny Freaking Omega be 0-3 on the "new sports-like AEW" on TNT, so we can watch him have to work his way up the ladder and they can really get that aspect of the show over.
Compare it to other sports even. Plenty of people I know turn NBA off, because warriorswinLOL. Everyone cheers against the Patriots.
Reigns is the Patriots. Reigns is the guy we never watched have a rise to the top, he was just (kayfabe) good out of the gate and never watched grow and mature from his defeats, never truly portray the underdog, and that just turns you into a monster heel. I'd love to have seen Reigns take a few L's coming back from leukemia, because even though he "has an out for losing", Drew beating him at WM would have done a lot for his floundering ass and Reigns going through actual adversity before he triumphs in the end couldn't be a bad thing. It would at least be better than this.
He can use meaningful losses... and this isn't one of them. This is just dumb. Not damaging, just a way to kill time because putting Reigns back in the main event would... well super-heat Kofi Kingston again and get Reigns back to being the toxic presence he was pre-leukemia. And since WWE has no other heels somehow Shane McMahon has become the ultimate filler feud for the guy while network execs beg for him to be on both shows because they don't watch and know Roman Reigns get a lot of eyeballs somehow magically in whatever alternate universe they live in.
Get Shane McMahon off of TV.
There was one hour and 20 seconds of wrestling between Raw and Smackdown.
I will bet money there was more time where Shane/Roman/Drew/whoever else was talking this week than that.
