In the 2017 Royal Rumble match on January 29, Reigns entered as the surprise last entrant despite losing a WWE Universal Championship match against Kevin Owens earlier that night. Fans had anticipated other surprise entrants including Finn Bálor, Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura and Kenny Omega—international media outlets noted that this drew "This is bullshit!" chants from the live crowd and even more boos when he eliminated The Undertaker. Reigns was still booed after eliminating villain wrestlers Chris Jericho and Bray Wyatt. Stone Cold Steve Austin believed that Reigns was the "set-up guy" and "did a favor" to help Randy Orton by letting Orton eliminate him to win the Royal Rumble. The following night on "Raw", the villainous Braun Strowman received a "Thank you Strowman!" chant for costing Reigns his WWE Universal Championship match at the Royal Rumble. This chant was repeated after Strowman cost Reigns a match on the February 6 episode "Raw", with Tom Colohue of "Pro Wrestling Torch" writing that Strowman's vendetta against Reigns may have "accidentally turned" the villain into a fan favorite. In February 2017, Meltzer said it was "obvious" that WWE's push of Reigns "will never end". Later that month, wrestling podcaster Peter Rosenberg lamented that—unlike the similarly powerful Hulk Hogan—Reigns "doesn't show vulnerability, ever".