The New York Mets are in a heated battle at the moment for the top position in the National League East rankings. They entered the All-Star series with a strong 55-42 record. But their postseason push has been threatened by a string of injuries. The team’s pitching staff, especially, has been ravaged. Principal arms such as Griffin Canning, Christian Scott, and A.J. Minter are all gone for the season. That turned Sunday’s return of their veteran starter was a pivotal moment for the franchise.
That pitcher who made his way back was the $75 million star of the team, Sean Manaea. The lefty was coming off what he called the “best season of my career” in 2024. He finished with a 3.47 ERA and completed his ascent as the clear leader of the pitching staff. But a frustrating oblique strain and an elbow problem kept him out for the first 96 games of 2025. His debut was mixed at best. He appeared in complete control, striking out seven batters, but eventually surrendered the game-winning hit in a 3-2 loss.
The official social media account for Major League Baseball attempted to seize the moment as the veteran lefty took the mound. They tried to hype him in his return with a tip of the hat to another entertainment titan. The league sent a plain-language message to its enormous audience on X, formerly Twitter. “The Tribal Chief is back. Sean Manaea makes his season debut for the @Mets this afternoon!”
The Tribal Chief is back
Sean Manaea makes his season debut for the @Mets this afternoon! pic.twitter.com/fCO1AsZLfp
— MLB (@MLB) July 13, 2025
The tweet was intended to honor a baseball player’s return. Instead, it sparked a cross-cultural firestorm. MLB’s social media squad had unknowingly trespassed on sacred ground. They used a title that is attached to one of the most protected and commanding characters in modern entertainment. To millions of wrestling fans, there is only one Tribal Chief, and his name is Roman Reigns.
The “Tribal Chief” is more than a nickname. It’s the centerpiece of a multi-year, record-shattering storyline in WWE. It represents Roman Reigns, a member of the famous real-life Anoa’i wrestling family, that also his cousin, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The title signifies his hard-won journey from a rejected hero to a universally acknowledged ruler of this “Head of the Table”. For those of us who lived through this saga, the name is up for grabs. It must be earned.
WWE fans invade MLB mentions
One of the first waves of comments was simply pure shock: “The WHAT?”, commented a fan. And the reaction underscores the cultural difference that MLB had just bridged. The “Tribal Chief” isn’t just some generic nickname; it’s the official title at the center of a multiyear story. It has roots that run deep in Roman Reigns’ Samoan wrestling lineage. For a diehard fan, witnessing it used so casually was akin to hearing a network news anchor refer to the Super Bowl trophy as the Stanley Cup. It was just fundamentally wrong.
The shock wore off as people labeled it as blatant disrespect. “This is just flat out disrespectful. There is one tribal chief, and his name is @WWERomanReigns. Be better, MLB”. The anger stems from the title’s narrative weight. The “Tribal Chief” persona embodies the zenith of the WWE’s absolute peak. Roman Reigns achieved that through a dramatic character arc, transforming from a rejected hero into a dominant figure. Fans believed that using this honor, which took years of storyline build-up, on a competitor from a different league undermined the entire storyline.
Perhaps the greatest pushback we saw was from fans, who drew parallels between wrestling and baseball. They didn’t just pass judgment on Manaea; they put forth players they felt truly deserved the title. “The only two that are worthy for the Head of the Table right now are Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal”. This fan wasn’t into gate-keeping; they were presenting a stats-based argument. Paul Skenes was the historically dominant 2024 Rookie of the Year. Tarik Skubal won the 2024 AL Cy Young Award and the pitching Triple Crown. Their level of performance creates a stark contrast with Manaea’s.
Amid the anger, portions of the fanbase responded with playful sarcasm. They interpreted the MLB’s analogy in the context of wrestling. Rather than resolving the argument with numbers, fans envisioned an actual fight between the two sports stars. “I don’t think he’s beating Roman, but let’s see how it goes.” This response highlights the absurdity of the situation by organizing an imaginary showdown. The user illustrates a physical fight to emphasize how ridiculous it is to compare a 6’3” professional wrestler to and 6’3″, 265-pound professional wrestler.
The best criticism came from those who know baseball and wrestling. A fan took a common issue with Roman Reigns’ work schedule and ran with it in reverse. “The difference between Sean and Roman Reigns is that Sean will have more days worked by the end of the season than the OTC will have all year”. This is a great, layered takedown. The fan brings up Roman Reigns’ known issue with his part-time schedule as WWE’s champion. He compares it to a starter’s full season of work. But the kicker is that despite his limited appearances, Reigns’s status is so far beyond Manaea’s that the comparison is absurd.
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