The main event of "Monday Night RAW" was a lose-lose situation for Roman Reigns.
Internet darlings AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho and Cesaro (in place of the kayfabe injured Sami Zayn) battled it out in a Fatal Four Way to determine the No. 1 contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. No matter who won Monday night, Reigns lost by default.
After over 100,000 fans booed the leader of the Roman Empire at WrestleMania 32 this past Sunday, the red-hot crowd in Dallas for "RAW" continued the trend. Styles emerged victorious in Monday's main event, hitting the Styles Clash on Jericho to bounce back nicely from his loss to "Y2J" at the "Show of Shows" and earn his first crack at the richest prize in the game.
This spells disaster for Reigns.
The WWE has opted to keep the former Shield member a babyface, but it certainly didn't do him any favors by booking Styles, a former Indy darling and TNA Heavyweight Champion, as his first opponent. If Reigns wins, which appears likely, it'll only further feed the angst most of the fans feel toward their champion already.
If Styles wins, it'll be yet another short-lived run with the belt for Reigns. The former Hounds of Justice member won the belt at TLC, only to immediately lose it to a Sheamus cash in. He won it again on RAW in December, only to drop it to Triple H in the 30-man Rumble Match.
It's likely he'll hold the belt until at least SummerSlam, but having him beat the likes of Styles will do nothing to get him over, unless the WWE finally bites the bullet and turns Reigns heel.
It's amazing that Styles has been given this opportunity and it could only help Reigns to be in there with a veteran of his caliber, but as a character, the WWE Universe definitely won't support the reigning champion over the No. 1 contender. The match, however, should be a solid one, whenever it takes place.
Should Reigns cleanly go over Styles, it could lead to a full-scale revolt.
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