The WWE Reality Era was the shortest of all WWE’s Eras. It was a time of massive change in WWE, as the company moved away from its PG rating. The creation of the WWE Network and the rising popularity of social media changed how the product was presented.
The lines of reality were blurred, with many programs leaving fans questioning what was real and what wasn’t. Fans had more access to the company than ever before, and WWE used that transparency to drive storylines.
Because of this transparency, WWE heard about every success and every misstep. When a PLE main event was off the charts, the love came in, but when it didn’t hit the mark, the IWC blew up. It was hard to maintain any level of consistency, with just as many great main events as terrible ones. Let’s take a look at the best and worst of these Reality Era main events and how the world reacted.
Best and Worst WWE Reality Era Matches:
Best: Randy Orton v Batista v Daniel Bryan (WrestleMania 30)
The main event of WrestleMania was a fan-driven match. Daniel Bryan had the backing of the WWE audience, but not the office. Bryan was not seen as a main event player, and when fans realized he was being left out of WrestleMania’s main event, they used their influence to change the narrative. Bryan was thrust into a program for WWE’s top prize, making it one of WrestleMania’s most cathartic main events.
Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, and Batista were always going to give the world a well-wrestled main event. The contrast in styles presented a great dynamic, but this was always a match driven by emotion. The emotion of Daniel Bryan and the New Orleans crowd took everything to the next level. The Miracle on Bourbon Street was proof that the audience mattered.
Worst: Triple H v Roman Reigns (WrestleMania 32)
The Roman Reigns project didn’t work well in his early days. The office continued to push the future Tribal Chief to the moon, and nearly every fan rejected it. Everywhere Reigns went, he received negative reactions despite being booked as a top babyface. Nothing was working, and WWE marched ahead anyway with a WrestleMania main event that no one wanted.
Triple H was past his prime here, and Reigns was green enough that he couldn’t call a match alone. The action was painstakingly slow, and the audience’s anger grew as the contest plodded on. Roman Reigns’ coronation was met with crickets from the Dallas crowd.
