— With John Cena away from the company for so long, Roman Reigns has now overtaken him as WWE’s top wrestler for merchandise sales. This would likely be a significant contributing reason why WWE has stayed committed to him as the centerpiece of the promotion despite the audience reaction.
— The same thing happened with Cena himself in years past as he was getting negative reactions at the live events but his merch sales were “through the roof” which is likely when Vince McMahon stopped caring about his top faces getting booed.
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Subscription information & prices available at f4wonline.com