Hatin' on Roman

When fans used to boo John Cena, I "got" it. I thought he was a bit much. Every promo was a 10 minute diatribe about America or Good versus Evil...and it always included his speaking really loudly.  It was as if the WWE had shoved Cena down our throats and fans had enough of it.

And if/when the fans help Cena was "holding someone down", they got even madder.

This is NOT to say that he isn't/wasn't talented. Actually, I think fans forget how freakishly strong Cena is. Or how agile he is (despite his girth!). Cena is a decent ring worker, but his presentation makes you want to root against him some days.

With Roman...I don't believe this is parallel. When Roman started getting pushed, fans saw another Cena coming and started booing. So they were booing ahead of the curve. And that's not cool.

And it didn't help any when a guy already out of favour with the fans beats the Undertaker.
It certainly isn't going to convert the haters.

But why the hate?
Roman is good looking, but the girls don't exactly swoon over him.
His move set is good.  He's not "bad" in the ring by any standard.
He's paid his dues.  It's not like he was pushed as a rookie because he was Samoan.

Why do fans hate on Roman?
Maybe because he isn't Daniel Bryan., or CM Punk, or whoever else the WWE Universe wants pushed at the moment?

Maybe it's because of his cool confidence and mediocre mic skills?  That maybe be for fringe haters, but not overall, right?  Confidence IS cool....and there are plenty of WWE Superstars who's mic work is only average.  (Admittedly far fewer these days than in years past)

I think we can agree that fans don't hate Roman per se.  They hate the push that the character gets.

It seems equally obvious to me that a heel turn would appease the WWE Universe. Is it what's "best for business"?   Maybe. Braun Stroman was brought in a sheer monster, but fans cheer him when he wrestles Roman. fans cheer him!  Are they cheering Braun because he's awesome, or sheering him because they hate Roman?

If we can't determine this...if we can't determine if Roman is better served working as a Heel...then every Heel we put against him gets cheered.  What good does that do for business?  If you don't have defined Heels and Faces, you don't have feuds. You don't have a story to tell.

Whether or not to turn Roman is a discussion entirely to itself, but the booing tells a story: Fans want to dictate who gets pushed. Not necessarily who they like or don't "like", but who they want to see near the top. It's a phenomenon WWE booking hasn't had to deal with very much in the past (other than the Cena Syndrome) and it remains to be seen how they react to the next "bad ass" the WWE wants to push.

 
Thoughts?
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