5 Controversial statements made by Roman Reigns

#2. Roman Reigns' "WWE is a kids product" comment

Something to memorize 😊Elimination Chamber 2018Was an incredible match where our champ@WWERomanReigns 💎won the road to WrestlemaniaOpportunity 👊 pic.twitter.com/1bKtXPGHSh

— ❥Kokila❥ℝ𝕆𝕄𝔸ℕ𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟💎 (@REIGNSkokila83) February 5, 2021

It's important to note the context when Roman Reigns made this comment. He was still at the height of unpopularity. At this point, he had won the Elimination Chamber to qualify for the WrestleMania main event where he faced Brock Lesnar for the Universal title.

Fans were angry because it was Braun Strowman who they felt was deserving of the spot. Strowman was, at the time, an organic babyface who was legitimately loved.

Speaking to the Orlando Sentinel a month before WrestleMania 34 in 2018, Roman Reigns said that the fans booing him were mostly adults who he wasn't in the business for:

“Typically if you hear the boos, it generally is grown men my age and I’m not really in this business for the grown men. (laughs) I’m in this business for the families. That’s what we are; we’re a PG product. We’re a family-based product. We’re here to entertain families and give them enjoyment. If you’re a 30-year-old man and you want to flip me off at a kids show, then, hey, like I said, you paid your money but just be careful because you could get kicked out.”

This was, understandably, not well received by said adults of his age. It isn't that controversial a statement when looking back at it, but it drew the ire of fans at the time regardless.

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#1. Roman Reigns fires back at his haters in early 2015

#ThursdayMotivation We all remember when Roman Reigns got booed out of the arena at Royal Rumble 2015. He used the anger and embarrassment he felt that night as fuel to improve his craft. It paid off.At the end of the year, he was cheered in the same arena to win the WWE Title. pic.twitter.com/gYSmjIIYkK

— Daily DDT (@FanSidedDDT) May 23, 2019

Early 2015 was when Roman Reigns realized the harsh reality of how fans felt about his push. He appeared on Sam Roberts' Wrestling Podcast and was asked about his thoughts on the critics and haters. In a bit of a passionate response, Roman Reigns said:

"To be honest I really don't care. I can only do my thing and do the best that I can. The majority of critics, I would say, are people who have no clue what they're talking about and have never been in a wrestling ring. They've never been a public speaker. They wouldn't even know how to lock up with me if I allowed them to. If I gave them the opportunity to lock up and tangle with me in the ring, they would have no clue what to do so for them to critique or ever say anything about any performer is asinine and just blows my mind." (H/T Inquistr)

It should be noted that this was well over 6-and-a-half years ago. Roman Reigns has matured a lot as a performer and a human being. We can understand why this was controversial since the already polarizing star decided to isolate the fanbase by insulting them.

It didn't help his case, but we can still understand his point of view. Roman Reigns today has the crowds eating out of the palm of his hand and has come a long way as a performer.