WWE has a remarkable reach on social media, which means that its top star, Roman Reigns, receives a ton of attention online. Some of that engagement is of the positive variety, with fans clamoring to praise their Tribal Cheif for his exploits on Friday Night SmackDown or one of the significant premium live events. However, some of those interactions are of the more negative variety, with some in WWE’s audience taking a run at Reigns for any number of things.
Some might not like that the man who carries both of WWE’s major men’s titles is on a part-time schedule. Others might not appreciate what he does in the ring whenever he does work a match. Still more simply like to troll whoever the most popular superstar is now. In terms of Google search relevancy and engagement on sites like Twitter and YouTube, that’s Roman Reigns. He main events most of WWE’s biggest shows, with the likes of Clash At The Castle hosting more than 60,000 people in an arena. There are few, if any, men in the industry who can hold a candle to that. So much so that it’s literally his gimmick.
Still, Reigns used to see the online hate and want to respond, sticking up for himself and the hard work that he’s put in. That isn’t the case these days, based on what he recently said during an appearance on the IMPAULSIVE podcast. When talking about handling the online trolls, Roman had this to say: “Early on I had, I think I had like an elevated way of thinking about it, but as a human, you’re like I’m gonna clap back on this guy, and then you get a little pop from a few thousand people that are with you.” The recently crowned No. 1 wrestler on PWI’s yearly rankings continued. “You make someone famous for 15 minutes on the internet, and then it’s like, Well, I’m kind of a jerk for doing that. So now it’s just character stuff only. Yeah, I’m not responding to haters or trying to clap back. It’s funny for a second, but at the same time, it’s just a waste of breath.” (h/t and thanks to sescoops.com for transcription)
Roman Reigns Has Learned To Navigate Social Media
It’s easy to forget that professional wrestlers are still human beings, and clapping back at an online troll always feels good in the moment. But, to Reigns’ point, it’s rarely worth it. He also mentioned that nothing harmful has ever happened in person, implying that it’s faceless Twitter trolls who try to cause him issues.
As for in the squared circle, it’s not exactly clear what is next for Roman Reigns and his lengthy title run. There are a few logs in the fire regarding that. Kevin Owens is hanging around, Austin Theory still has the Money In The Bank briefcase, and Drew McIntyre and Karrion Kross are still on Friday Night SmackDown. WWE audiences will likely see who Reigns’ next big opponent will be in the coming weeks.
