Former WWE star David Otunga praised the WrestleMania 32 main event where Roman Reigns faced Triple H. Otunga said the match was meant to make Reigns a top star despite a mixed fan reaction at the time.
Main event and fan reaction
Roman Reigns had been pushed as a top WWE star for several years. He has been WWE Champion four times and held the Universal Championship for 1,316 days. At the time of WrestleMania 32, some fans were loudly against him. The source said Reigns was getting boos in places like Philadelphia.
WrestleMania 32 put Reigns in the main event against Triple H. WWE decided to have Reigns win that match at the biggest show of the year. The company hoped the victory would calm the negative reaction and lift Reigns to a higher level.
David Otunga’s view
On his podcast, Otunga explained what he saw while learning to be a broadcaster under Michael Cole. He said WWE tried to fight the negative reaction to Reigns but may have “overcorrected.”
Otunga said Triple H represented the company leadership and that having Reigns beat him felt like a symbolic passing of power. “I felt like HHH represents the office. This guy represents Vince…with Reigns going over, I felt like that was passing the torch,” Otunga said.
Otunga called Triple H one of the greatest of all time and said beating him at WrestleMania added to Roman’s mystique. “Beating HHH? In the main event of WrestleMania? It doesn’t get much bigger than that,” Otunga said. He added that the match felt like the payoff after what WWE had put Reigns through the previous year.
Reigns’ WrestleMania record and what’s next
Roman Reigns has main evented WrestleMania more than any other wrestler. The source lists his WrestleMania record as 9-3. The win over Triple H at WrestleMania 32 was a key moment in that run.
The source also notes that Reigns is scheduled to main event WrestleMania again this year when he faces CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship on Night 2.
| Fighter | Recent Result |
|---|---|
| Roman Reigns | Defeated Triple H at WrestleMania 32 |
| Triple H | Lost to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 32 |
Otunga said he could not be sure how fans felt, but he believes the WrestleMania 32 main event was built as the big moment to elevate Roman Reigns.
