Jimmy Smith Praises Top WWE Star’s Ability To Elicit A Reaction

WWE Raw commentator Jimmy Smith recently spoke with Busted Open Radio about the heat Roman Reigns got at the Royal Rumble. He felt that it was the loudest reaction of the entire night, stating his work was brilliant.

"He's a genius, I will say this a million times over. The heat that Roman Reigns got, they love his work, will he be cheered or will he be booed? You never know with Roman Reigns because the fans respect him so much. He got booed in the Seth Rollins match, deafeningly booed, and he played the crowd so well.

"He went after him and pounded his chest, they booed more. It was brilliant. The reactions, not only that he was able to get, but elicit. There's a difference, some people can get a reaction, other people elicit a reaction. He got one, and then he poured gasoline on it and got more. It was brilliant stuff. The loudest reaction I heard was the heel work of Roman Reigns, it was absolutely brilliant."

Jimmy Smith also spoke about the small details that Roman does in order to get heat. He believes that the Tribal Chief and Randy Orton are the best in the world at that. Smith recalled a situation where Roman angered the fans during a commercial break.

"The two people that are really great at it, in my opinion, two of the best: Roman Reigns and Randy Orton. Just a shrug, just a little Randy Orton kind of dismissive thing, and he's Randy and gets this huge pop. It was a triple threat match, it was Roman Reigns, Big E, and I forget who the third one was. It was a triple threat a few months back.

"We were in commercial, so I was just sitting and watching, and the crowd was chanting, 'tables,' because it's no disqualification. Roman Reigns lifts the ring apron like he's going for a table. The crowd goes absolutely nuts, he drops the apron and shrugs at him. Like, 'I'm not going to give you what I want even though it's good for me.' The placed booed and threw stuff, it's brilliant."

While Jimmy Smith was impressed with Roman Reigns, he actually believes the standout moment was the finish to the WWE Title bout. Smith praised the work of everyone involved, while he also pointed out how great Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley are as athletes.

"The standout to me is the end of Bobby – Brock. Where you had Roman Reigns coming in, you had Paul Heyman coming in and then going out with Roman Reigns. That two minutes of interaction, so Roman spears him, interferes in the match, and Heyman hands him the belt. Is he scared so he's handing him the belt, are they in it together? He hits Brock with the title and then they walk out together. That two minutes of questions — questions make things interesting. That two minutes asked 50 questions that will contain answers over the next few weeks. That will stand out to me.

"It was insane the athleticism of both those guys. I was on The Bump and they asked me what was special about this match, I said, 'you don't understand unless you've been around athletes. Guys built like Bobby and Brock aren't usually great athletes. They're great bodybuilders and they can lift a lot, but they don't move like these guys.'"

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Busted Open Radio with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.