It is a little over 12 hours removed from the WWE Fastlane event, and there is a lot of controversy among fans about what has transpired. There seems to be an argument-ception taking place of what people feel should have happened as well as how people should be reacting and how their actual reactions are garnering re-reactions, resulting in arguing about arguing. There is an exquisite simplicity to this all though that is going unsung and I would like to shed some light on it.

Here is what I know – Roman Reigns speared Daniel Bryan and pinned him in the middle of the ring. This made me feel awful. It generated lots of negative emotions – discontentment, resentment, dissatisfaction, etc. The guy that one wants to win in a wrestling match is sometimes different than who actually wins. This is typically in a dynamic that contains a babyface and a heel, the blow of a loss is cushioned with the acceptance that sometimes this is the only reasonable way to progress the story, and that makes it palatable. However, I watched Roman Reigns stand tall as the victor at Fastlane, and listened to a chorus of boos when Bryan shook his hand – signifying that the same visceral negative feeling that I was experiencing was shared with many others – likely the majority of the viewing audience.

Have you ever gotten some news that you were unhappy about and ended up slamming your fist into a table or a wall? It’s dumb, it’s childish, it’s embarrassing to think about, but most of us have done it. That is an echo of your unevolved brain from ages passed, before wisdom and reason found their way into your psyche, but it remains somewhere in there. Did Reigns deserve the negative reception he received? He absolutely deserved better, however, you had about 15000 people that needed to put their collective fist through a wall, but reacted in a more suitable way for a wrestling audience. Everything beyond that point is attempting to articulate why this occurred.

There is plenty of time for debate and conversation about what is wrong or right with this whole scenario, but the bottom line is that I know how this made me feel – it made me feel bad. Based on reaction from fans that were there as well as people clambering on the internet – I know I am one of many. We are upset – people will try to explain why they are upset, or conversely, why one should be happy or content. Debate all you want, a large portion of the fan base was left feeling jilted last night and that deserves more than a simple brush-off.

Like I said, I am abstaining from listing pros and cons of either side, or how it should have been booked, or anything like that (until the show on Tuesday). That is an argument for another time. This is simply a commentary on the simplicity of the emotion that what we saw generated. It did not make me hate the bad guy and make me want to watch the next installment to see if he finally gets his, it did not make me want to tune in to see the hero’s victory celebration, it made me despise the hero and pity the jilted wrestler. Explanations aside, if WWE’s goal was to make me (and fellow fans) cheer for the good guy and boo the baddie in the main event of Wrestlemania, they have failed miserably. Yes, believe that.