5 Signs the WWE have fallen behind, and 5 signs they have not

#2 Could have fallen behind: They lost their biggest star, hopefully only temporarily

Roman Reigns making his sad announcement.

Despite his many and vocal haters, there is no doubt that the WWE is reeling from Roman Reigns' absence.

While some fans might point out he was a polarizing figure, there's no doubt that Roman Reigns also generated a lot of interest. There is something in the Entertainment industry known affectionately as the Howard Stern/Fox News effect.

Basically, this effect boils down to this: People who hate Howard Stern and/or Fox News actually tend to be the most avid and reliable audience! It seems that some people actually like to have something to be angry about, and while they may have said negative things about Roman, his haters were still talking about him.

Then there's the fact that Roman was the biggest merchandise seller in the company, surpassing even John Cena and IWC darlings like AJ Styles. There is no doubt that the WWE might be in trouble without "The Guy".