If you have watched any episode of Raw or any WWE pay-per-view at any point in the past two years, you know that fans boo Roman Reigns. It’s a legitimate thing. They boo him, and WWE has at various points tried to find ways around people booing him, or people being happy when something bad happens to him.
WWE really wants to be the face of the company, and he’s already on his way to making their dream come true. Much like the bulk of the decade when John Cena was (and is) the face of the company, huge swaths of fans hated his guts. The hatred Reigns receives from fans is actually something that peers like Kevin Owens aspire to.
But according to Reigns himself, fans he’s met in person have never had a single bad thing to say about him. He explained during an interview with CBS Sports. (Transcript via Wrestling Inc.)
“Sometimes [I get booed], yeah. I think any fan would agree that it’s about what they want. For me it’s about them showing up and doing what they want and having fun, and if that entails booing me, then please. Pile in baby, I’m a grown man, I got kids, I can handle it.
“[In person], it’s all love. I’ve never met a hater in real life. Everybody is nothing but kind. They want to take pictures, they want an autograph, everyone is great in real life. It’s just whatever it may be, if they love to hate me, if it’s the cool thing, but the cool thing about us is we’re a family show at it gives us a wide range of different people. We have grown men, we have young men, we have grown women, we have young women, we have kids.”
As always, this is typical of the disconnect between playing a role as a fan, and being an actual fan. Or if you prefer, it’s an example of people being willing to sh*t-talk someone from an arena seat or on the internet, but when you’re staring into that gorgeous face surrounded by that luxuriant mane of hair, you can’t help but be excited that you’re talking to Roman Reigns himself.
After all, as he’s said before: he is The Guy.
