Roman Reigns gets his flowers on WWE Raw as he starts work on a comeback

Cody Rhodes, the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, kicked off Raw and WWE’s new era this past Monday with an inaugural address that came complete with a formal introduction from the company’s Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque. As Rhodes celebrated with the fans, The American Nightmare took a moment to pay respect to the man he dethroned to become WWE’s new kingpin, Roman Reigns.

“We don’t have to like him, but I certainly acknowledge what he’s done. Perhaps he’s the most important superstar of our generation,” said Rhodes.

Before the champ could finish his sentence, the crowd gathered inside the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA, broke out in a loud and possibly long overdue “Thank you, Roman” chant.

The overwhelming respect shown by fans at the post-WrestleMania edition of Raw in 2024 stands in stark contrast to the response Reigns received on Raw in 2017 after defeating the Undertaker at WrestleMania 33. For almost 20 minutes, Reigns stood in the ring, unable to speak, drowned out by a chorus of boos and offensive chants, such as, “You Suck,” “A**hole,” and “F*** You, Roman.”

When he finally spoke, Reigns said all he needed to say in one sentence.

“This is my yard now.”

After that night, Reigns would eventually overcome Brock Lesnar, John Cena, and a second fight against leukemia to establish himself as wrestling’s premier superstar. In 2020, Reigns joined the rest of the world in lockdown during the pandemic. He returned later that year with Paul Heyman by his side. Under his new moniker, The Tribal Chief, Reigns won the WWE Universal Championship days later and would hold that title for a whopping 1,316 days before losing it to Rhodes this past Sunday.

Despite the loss, Reigns is back at work, preparing for his eventual return. The morning after Raw, he posted a video on social media from the gym with a message: “Yesterday I mourned. Today is Day 1.”

Reigns’ post is his first comment since Sunday’s loss and the first time he’s been seen since he and his special counsel, Paul Heyman, ditched The Rock at ‘Mania. As fans in Philadelphia finally gave Reigns his flowers, he was noticeably absent from the show. Instead, his cousin, The Rock, showed up. Like Reigns in 2017, those in attendance directed their venom and vulgarity at The Final Boss as he spoke publicly to Cody Rhodes.

The Rock had little to say about Reigns other than to concede that Rhodes defeated his cousin cleanly and that his issues with The Tribal Chief were over. However, Rock added that his story with the new Undisputed Champ is just beginning and will resume sometime after The Rock completes filming on his next movie.