Roman Reigns is one of the top stars in the WWE. He is a former world champion who is beloved by many young fans and despised by the older “smarter” WWE fan who wants different wrestlers at the top of the card. In the world of the WWE, Roman Reigns is one of the most recognizable and successful superstars on the roster.
However, in the U.K., there are people who don’t know who Roman Reigns is. At least one person was confused when a Roman Reigns mask was sold at a Touchwood Shopping Centre. According to the Sun, the person thought the Roman Reigns mask looked like English serial killer The Yorkshire Ripper.
The Yorkshire Ripper was a serial killer named Peter Sutcliffe. In 1981, he was convicted of murdering 13 women while attempting to murder seven other people. His murder spree lasted from 1975 until 1980. His appeal was declined in 2010, and he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. In August, 2016, Sutcliffe was returned from a mental facility to prison to remain until his death.
While the murders took place over three decades ago, the fact that Peter Sutcliffe is still in the news should let everyone know how The Yorkshire Ripper affected England. That makes him slightly more infamous than Roman Reigns.
[Image by WWE]
A father was shopping in the toy store over the holidays and saw the mask. He immediately issued a demand for the store to remove the mask because he said it looked too much like The Yorkshire Ripper. That was despite the mask being in packaging that had both Roman Reigns picture and face on it as well as the WWE logo.
According to the father, if the mask was worn on the streets, he believed that people would immediately think it was of The Yorkshire Ripper and not Roman Reigns.
“I said to [my wife] think of a serial killer, and showed her the mask, without hesitation, and in an instant she said ‘The Yorkshire Ripper’. The mask looks nothing like the actual WWE wrestler, and I have shown a close up the mask to friends and they all said ‘The Yorkshire Ripper’.”
The complaints fell on deaf ears as the toy store said that the mask is for sale at stores everywhere. Bleeding Cool reported that Jakks Pacific also chimed in on the controversy. The company, who makes most of the WWE toys, said that the Roman Reigns mask would remain on the shelves.
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Roman Reigns remains one of the top faces in the WWE and is in main events on a regular basis. People who don’t watch the WWE might not know who Roman Reigns is if they saw a kid wearing the mask on the streets. Jakks Pacific said that they had not received any other reports from anyone who thinks it is The Yorkshire Ripper, a man convicted of murder 37 years ago.
“We have received no other comments regarding the resemblance of this mask to other people, and there are no plans to de-list it from our shops across the UK.”
Roman Reigns is slated to fight for the WWE Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble in January against Kevin Owens. Roman Reigns is also penciled in for a major role at WrestleMania later in the year and will remain a top star in the WWE for a long time.
[Featured Image by WWE]