Home

WWE

Roman Reigns’ Absence Is Starting to Reflect His Popularity Among Fans

Published October 27, 2023, 1:00 PM EDT

Follow Us

The last time we saw Roman Reigns wrestling in the squared circle was back at SummerSlam ’23. Since then, he has been absent from the promotion until recently when he returned on the SmackDown Premiere. Although fans seemed to love his grand entry, it’s clear that the lack of regular appearances is distracting the fans from being loyal to The Tribal Chief.

New stats from WWE suggest that the fans have kind of stopped favoring the Undisputed Universal Champion. Since a wrestler’s place on an event’s card is also dependent on their popularity among fans, could this be an indication of Reigns’ title loss?

Are fans done with Roman Reigns?

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

As The Tribal Chief, the Samoan wrestler has ruled the promotion for more than 1100 significant days. Despite being the ‘face’ of the promotion, Reigns’ time as the top star of the current roster may be over. The sales at the ‘WWE Shop’ are reflective of this. According to stats, Reigns might not be the ‘hot thing’ in the Stamford-based company anymore, as much as he used to be.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest WWE stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

The merch on the WWE Shop is almost always available for fans to purchase. The sale of these merch items shows us indirectly which fans favor the most.

‘Main Event’ Jey Uso is number fourth on the ‘Top 4′ list for the best-selling wrestlers’ merch in the WWE Shop. Steve Austin still surpasses him after all these years by sitting at number three. Then comes the GOAT John Cena. At last, LA Knight tops the sales chart currently as fans are buying his merch the most in the past few weeks.

On the other hand, the leader of The Bloodline is nowhere to be found among the top four. Despite being the Undisputed Champion, fans are not associating with his stardom. So, even before their Crown Jewel ’23 match, the 38-year-old has lost a significant battle.

This achievement of LA Knight is so simply effective that it might also be one of his many achievements. This has resulted in WWE giving him monumental pushes in the promotion befitting a megastar. But is it just because of his significant record in merch sales?

Why is Reigns’ rival being pushed by WWE?

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Wherever the leading wrestling company sees an opportunity, they make sure to capitalize on it before it’s too late. The potential they saw in LA Knight led them to make him a well-decorated talent on SmackDown. However, when the promotion saw the fan response to the push, they were seemingly thrilled. As a result, WWE has been pushing him sufficiently, particularly because of the noticeable achievements he has had.

WATCH: Rare Video of LA Knight Engaging in an Act Miles Away From His Pro Wrestling Profession

He has had a number of achievements in WWE since his return in 2021. Ever since July 2nd, 2023, Knight hasn’t been pinned ‘cleanly’. Moreover, he also set up a record of 18-1 in singles matches since July 28th, 2023. Apart from the merchandise achievement, his theme song is also among the most listened-to WWE themes across all platforms.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

WATCH THIS STORY:- Dwayne Johnson Reminisces About His Debut Days After Incredible Rare Photo Resurfaces Online

Do you think WWE could be planning to take away the Undisputed Universal Championship from Roman Reigns and give it to LA Knight instead? What do you make of Reigns’ waning popularity? Comment your thoughts below.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Kaif Ali

1,400Articles

One take at a time

Kaif Ali is a WWE writer at EssentiallySports. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in the English language from a top university. He has been an avid fan of stars such as Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns and is also interested in what some of the big names in pro wrestling are up to beyond the ring.
Show More>

Edited by:

Amal Joyce