Roman Reigns returned to in-ring competition during last night’s Payback event, winning the WWE Universal Championship. He signed his contract late into the match that was taking place between “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman. He then inserted himself into the fray and, ultimately, won the gold.
According to Paul Davis of WrestlingNews.co, the WWE Universe can expect a lengthy title reign now that “The Big Dog” is back on WWE programming. WWE boss Vince McMahon is said to be firmly behind the push to establish Reigns as champion with the end goal still being to get him to the same level as John Cena.
A WWE source revealed how “Vince is not playing around. He wants Roman to hold onto that belt until WrestleMania at least. Everyone knows the fans will cheer him and we all expect him to be a babyface sooner than later but the games with the silly verbiage in promos are done with. Roman will have more input this time with his promos.”
Roman Reigns returned at WWE’s recent SummerSlam event, attacking both Wyatt and Strowman after their match. It was then revealed on SmackDown that Reigns had aligned himself with Paul Heyman.
Prior to his SummerSlam return, Reigns had been off WWE programming due to coronavirus concerns. He had originally been scheduled to compete against Goldberg for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36. Reigns would be replaced by Strowman.
Roman Reigns worked his first match in several months in the biggest contest featured on the Payback card.
“The Big Dog” took part in a Triple Threat No Holds Barred Match against Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt, who was portraying The Fiend character, for the Universal Title.
WWE saved this match for the main event spot at the WWE Payback pay-per-view event in Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center. The contest saw Strowman and Wyatt work the majority of the match.
It was a brawl up until a superplex spot that sent the two big men breaking the ring. Reigns walked down to the ring as he signed the contract on his way. They did a spot where Reigns covered both men, but they kicked out. Moments later, Reigns hit a spear to Strowman for the win and to become the champion.
Although this match only had a one week build, WWE did a big angle at the SummerSlam pay-per-view event. Wyatt had beaten Strowman in a Falls Count Anywhere Match. After the match, Reigns made a surprise appearance by not only spearing The Fiend but also Strowman in addition to whacking Strowman several times with a chair.
One of the bigger pieces of news to come out this week was the pairing of Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman.
It’s been reported that WWE had plans to give Reigns more of an edgier side coming out of WrestleMania 36 where he was supposed to beat Goldberg for the Universal Title. That didn’t happen as Reigns went on hiatus.
Dave Meltzer noted on today’s Wrestling Observer Radio that the reason for the alliance between the two men was due to WWE needing to justify the big-money contract that Heyman has.
t was also done as a way to cement Reigns’ heel turn. Heyman hadn’t been used on television since WrestleMania and there’s no word on when Lesnar is expected to return. Thus, Heyman was being paid without working.
It should be noted that Heyman did have two different deals with WWE – one for being a performer and the other being for the role of RAW Executive Director. Of course, Heyman lost on the second deal when Vince McMahon decided to remove him.
With such grand plans that WWE has for Reigns as a heel, it made sense to pair Heyman with him another big star.
Nearly 24 hours after WWE showed that Paul Heyman had secured his latest client, Roman Reigns commented on the pairing.
During Friday’s episode of SmackDown, Vince McMahon instructed producer Adam Pearce to get the contract for the No Holds Barred Triple Threat Match at the Payback pay-per-view event signed by Reigns, Braun Strowman, and Bray Wyatt.
The last few minutes of the broadcast that aired on FOX saw Reigns and Heyman sitting together in the backstage area. Reigns stated that he would get back his Universal Title and how it wasn’t a prediction, but rather a spoiler. By watching the segment, it was pretty clear that Heyman is now advocating for Reigns.
On Saturday, Reigns took to Twitter where he responded to a tweet by Heyman by writing, “Been waiting on this for a long time. Here we go!!”
This marked Heyman’s first appearance on WWE programming since WrestleMania 36 when Brock Lesnar dropped the WWE Title to Drew McIntyre.
It was likely the first time that Heyman was also backstage at a WWE event since McMahon decided to end Heyman’s tenure as the RAW Executive Director a few months ago.
Just a day after making his return to WWE programming, Roman Reigns has his first match back booked.
On Monday evening, WWE confirmed that Reigns will battle Braun Strowman and newly crowned Universal Champion Bray Wyatt in a Triple Threat Match at the upcoming Payback pay-per-view event. It should be noted that WWE did mention that Wyatt would be portraying his Fiend character and not the FireFly Fun House version.
WWE wrote in a tweet on Twitter, “BREAKING: #TheBigDog @WWERomanReigns is BACK, and he’ll challenge #TheFiend @WWEBrayWyatt AND #TheMonster @BraunStrowman in a #TripleThreat Match for the #UniversalTitle THIS SUNDAY at #WWEPayback!”
This comes after Reigns returned after the main event of Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view event. Wyatt had beaten Strowman in a Falls Count Anywhere Match.
After the match, Reigns made a surprise appearance by not only spearing The Fiend but also Strowman in addition to whacking Strowman several times with a chair.
Reigns was supposed to challenge Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36 – Night 1. That all changed as Reigns had announced his decision to pull out of the contest.
Before SummerSlam, Reigns has not been mentioned on WWE TV since that March 27 episode.
WWE holds the Payback pay-per-view event on Sunday, August 30, 2020 in Orlando, Florida at the Amway Center.
The trilogy match between Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt was an interesting encounter, but more interesting was Roman Reigns making a surprise appearance.
The third bout took place at the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view event. It was much different compared to their previous two matches as Wyatt portrayed his Fiend character.
The match saw a brawl in the ring, around ringside and more. The finish saw Strowman get a box cutter and tore up the ring. Wyatt hit two Sister Abigails for the win, which marked his second Universal Title reign.
The big news was the return of Reigns, who speared both Wyatt and Strowman after the match. Reigns hit Strowman several times with a chair. Reigns closed out the show with another spear to Wyatt then held the title up and told Wyatt that he runs this place.
Reigns hadn’t been seen since before WrestleMania 36 when he made the decision to pull out of his Universal Title Match against Goldberg due to him wanting to be with his family as the COVID-19 pandemic started to grow increasingly worrisome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2TxqpjOlqY
The first battle came when Firefly Funhouse Wyatt lost to Strowman at the WWE Money In The Bank pay-per-view event back in May. The rematch came at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view event with the Wyatt Samp Fight.
With each star holding a win over each other it was supposed lead to a third and final match that would take place at SummerSlam for the Universal Championship.
WWE came up with the idea for it as a way to extend a feud over several months and use all of the personas that Wyatt has.
Current WWE Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles has shared his thoughts on Roman Reigns’ current hiatus away from in-ring action. Reigns made the decision to not attend his Universal Championship match at WrestleMania 36 due to coronavirus concerns.
Speaking with The Irish Sun, Styles stressed how it’s impossible to deny Reigns’ star power. “The Phenomenal One” referred to Reigns as “one of the biggest stars in WWE” adding how “He’s WWE. I mean, he’s the guy. so to get him back would be a big help.”
Styles then reflected on his interactions with Reigns since he first debuted in WWE back in 2016. He relayed how he was known as an “indie guy” and was presented with a perfect scenario against Reigns.
“This guy from Japan just walked right in there and step in the ring with Roman Reigns. Now the perfect scenario was in place because not everybody loved Roman. Now he is definitely one of the biggest stars but not everyone loved Roman then and so you have this indiedarling, right? And it was like, oh, they made it easy for me to be in there with Roman, because Roman is such a huge star.”
AJ Styles explained how it only got better from there when he had the chance to compete against Reigns. He reflected on his championship opportunity against “The Big Dog” and shared how their match was “unbelievable.”
“I’ve watched it back. Wow. I can’t believe we did all this stuff that was really good,” Styles confessed. “So, yeah, Roman Reigns is a big part of the reason why my career’s where it’s at.”
AJ Styles will defend his Intercontinental Championship during tonight’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown. He faces off against SmackDown’s newest Superstar, Matt Riddle.
AEW on-air personality and former WWE agent Arn Anderson recently discussed his first meeting with WWE Superstar Roman Reigns. Anderson was discussing the Money In The Bank 2010 PPV on his ARN podcast alongside Conrad Thompson this week.
“I’ll never forget the first conversation I had with Roman” Anderson began. “It was down at the school [FCW] and he hadn’t been there long. I just said ‘hey, you know, give me five minutes to get to know you.'”
Roman Reigns first signed for WWE back in 2010, joining Florida Championship Wrestling. FCW was the developmental ‘territory’ at the time for the company; with Reigns, then known as Leakee, making his televised debut in August of that year.
Arn Anderson on Roman Reigns
“We had a nice conversation” Arn Anderson continued. “The first thing that popped into my head is ‘this guy’s a star.’ Roman speaks like a star, looks like a star and he carries himself with a lot of poise. He’s respectful.”
Arn Anderson would finish by heaping more praise on arguably WWE’s biggest face. “He’s just one of those guys you look at and go ‘you’ll be hearing about that guy.’ He just jumped off the page to me. He was just really…I mean he looked like a movie star.”
Do you think that Roman Reigns will return to WWE back in the main event scene? Let us know in the comments
This podcast episode as well as a ton of other content is available now on AdFreeShows.com – featuring exclusive content from Grilling Jr. What Happened When (w/ Tony Schiavone), 83 Weeks (w/ Eric Bischoff), ARN and Something To Wrestle with Bruce Prichard.
Roman Reigns has given his reaction to the recent praise by Keith Lee.
While doing an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, the WWE NXT Champion and NXT North American Champion recalled how Reigns had helped push his career forward during the 2019 Survivor Series pay-per-view where they wrestled each other.
According to Lee, Reigns doesn’t get enough credit for what he means to the pro wrestling business.art of something special, and he won’t forget what Reigns did for him.
“Roman doesn’t get enough credit for what he means to this sport,” Lee said. “And he went above-and-beyond to make that moment. The simple gesture of our fist bump, he turned that into magic. That was the start of something very special for me. He is such a superstar that he made that moment overshadow everything else that happened in that match, and I won’t forget it.”
The former WWE Champion saw the kind words made by Lee and took to his official Twitter account to respond. This is where he congratulated Lee on his journey.
Reigns wrote, “Congrats on one hell of a journey @RealKeithLee. Still a ton of work to do, which I know you already know. Keep killin it and representing. I definitely still want that one on one, Champ! [fist emoji].”
Of course, they shared the spotlight at this pay-per-view back in November. They faced off in the middle of the ring during the big NXT vs. RAW vs. SmackDown match.
Lee received high praise from many within WWE at the time.
Roman Reigns has opened up about his time away from the ring. “The Big Dog” refused to compete against then-WWE Universal Champion Goldberg at WrestleMania 36 back in April. This was due to coronavirus concerns and to prepare for the birth of his twins.
Reigns admitted that the past few months have been tough as he adjusted to looking after his newborn twins. He noted how he’s been waking up at 6:30 am, “bright-eyed and ready to go.”
He also spoke about how his kids have been a blessing to him and his family tree.
Roman Reigns’ WrestleMania Choice
Regarding his decision to not compete at WrestleMania 36, Reigns stressed how it was a “choice for my family.”
He noted how WWE has done “everything” to make the workplace as safe as possible:
“The decision was taken mainly because each performer travels so much, and we are all such a diverse group and from all over the place. I’m not convinced, and I can’t trust the fact that everybody is taking it as seriously and locking themselves down at home like I am.”
Roman Reigns continued, “I trust my life with my co-workers every time I step foot in the ring, but I just can’t put the same trust when it has my children, my wife and my family involved. But I don’t want it to come off as I am taking a stand against the company at all, because I love the WWE. I’ve been a part of this company just since I was a little boy. That’s why I always take it so personally when I represent them.”
Reigns is looking forward to eventually returning to in-ring action. He revealed he has continued to train diligently during the pandemic. Although he may be returning to perform in front of no fans, it’s not something that phases him too much.
He knows that wrestling to an empty arena is “tough.” Reigns commended the Superstars who have been doing it since the pandemic forced WWE to perform to no crowd.
He noted how everything he learned revolves around garnering a crowd reaction and to lean into interacting with them. To him, not being able to feed off of them will be “the hardest part.”
Despite declining a championship opportunity, Reigns is hoping to return to one. He spoke about his interest in challenging for the WWE Universal Championship, currently held by his WrestleMania replacement, Braun Strowman. Whether he is able to come back to a title match or not, Reigns is adamant to prove himself as he attempts to re-establish himself as WWE’s biggest star.
All Elite Wrestling’s Chris Jericho has revealed what he believes is holding Roman Reigns back from becoming pro wrestling’s top star. Speaking with Adam Wilbourn of WhatCulture, “Le Champion,” praised Reigns, sharing how he would love to have him become a part of the AEW roster. According to Jericho, he believes WWE needs to allow Reigns more freedom to be himself. If they do, the former AEW World Champion thinks Reigns could easily become the biggest star in wrestling.
Jericho noted how he’d put Roman Reigns at the top of any roster wish list. “Not only is he a great worker but he’s such a cool guy. If they just let him be him he’d be the biggest star in the industry, for real. That’d be a guy I’d love to get my hands on for sure.”
Roman Reigns has not been a part of WWE programming since refusing to wrestle Goldberg at WrestleMania 36. Due to his previous battles with leukemia, Reigns falls into a high-risk category in regards to the coronavirus pandemic. His decision to step away from the ring revolved around wanting to protect his family and newborn twins. Roman Reigns was scheduled to face off against Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship. Reigns was eventually replaced by Braun Strowman, who would defeat Goldberg and claim the gold.
Roman Reigns recently got some new tattoo work done on his back.
The former WWE Champion been out of action since April, when he decided to pull out of the main event of WrestleMania just days before the event. He is taking time off due to concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reigns has talked about wanting to look after his family, including his young children and pregnant wife, as a primary reason for taking time off from WWE.
On Tuesday, tattoo artist Michael Fatutoa posted a video on TikTok showing off Roman Reigns’ new ink. As seen below, the back tattoo is an extension of his tribal tattoo that covers his chest, left arm and shoulder.
Roman Reigns has been absent from WWE since before WrestleMania. Braun Strowman replaced Reigns in the Universal Championship match against Goldberg.
Reigns spoke with TMZ Sports about his decision not to take part in WWE tapings and shows during the ongoing pandemic.
Reigns told TMZ that the decision to take a hiatus from WWE was all about protecting his family, including his newborn twin boys. The boys are his second set of twins with wife Gavina. They have five children together in total.
Some fans speculated that his battle with leukemia was a factor, but Reigns denies that notion. “A lot of people … they think that it was based off of my heath and the history of my fight against leukemia. Talking to my doctors and stuff, I actually am fine and my immune system is good.”
He added that his immune system is not compromised by any medications he is taking. “The drugs that I take to fight the leukemia, they don’t attack your immune system.”
Reigns continued to talk about wanting to return to the ring but right now being safe for his family is his top priority.
“I wanna be out there, I wanna get back to work, I wanna get back to normal but I just feel like I have an obligation not only to my family and myself but to my community.”
WWE has been sporadically editing out Roman Reigns from recent footage on its shows. The company featured Reigns defeating Triple H during SmackDown’s 25th Anniversary show for “The Game.” They then edited Reigns out of replay footage from WrestleMania 31 on RAW.
Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase during that event, claiming the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar. However, it was Roman Reigns that would be pinned. Footage of this title change was edited on Monday Night RAW, removing Reigns from the match entirely.
According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE isn’t necessarily operating under a rule to erase Reigns from its programming. The situation on how WWE is approaching Roman Reigns allegedly “changes on a daily basis, depending on which way the wind is blowing.” This accounts for his inclusion on SmackDown but obvious removal on RAW.
It was recently revealed that WWE had an edict that stated commentators were not to mention Reigns’ name on TV. There was apparently nothing said regarding the use of footage.
It was pointed out how WWE highlighted its work with Make-A-Wish but included no clips of Roman Reigns or the work he has done with the charity. Vince McMahon also avoided mentioning Reigns during a recent investment conference call.
Despite this, FS1 then broadcast a one hour special on the WWE Superstar, leading to confusion and uncertainty over whether Reigns may be being punished.
Roman Reigns’ WrestleMania Choice
Roman Reigns made the decision to not compete at this year’s WrestleMania 36 due to coronavirus concerns. He has previously battled leukemia twice and is immunocompromised.
WWE has previously stated that talent are within their rights to approach them over concerns working during the coronavirus pandemic. The company stressed there would be no repercussions for any Superstars who felt uncomfortable working.
During last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW, WWE replayed a key moment from the main event of WrestleMania 31. The promotion featured a countdown of their top Money in the Bank moments over the past few years. Seth Rollins cashing in his opportunity took the number one spot. He would end up winning Brock Lesnar’s WWE Championship. There was another important Superstar involved with that cash in, however: Roman Reigns.
Roman Reigns was noticeably edited out of Rollins’ moment, with the company neither featuring nor mentioning “The Big Dog” during the footage. Although Rollins curb stomped Lesnar, he would actually pin Reigns to win the championship.
Roman Reigns Off WWE TV
This comes off the reported news that WWE officials and on-air personalities were not to mention Reigns on WWE TV. No definitive reason was given behind this choice. It’s worth noting, however, that WWE’s decision followed Reigns making the call to not participate in WWE’s recent WrestleMania 36 event.
Reigns was scheduled to compete against then-WWE Universal Champion Goldberg. Braun Stowman would replace him and ultimately claim the belt for himself.
Roman Reigns made the decision to not wrestle at WrestleMania 36 due to his past battles with leukemia which have left him immunocompromised and, thus, at a higher risk compared to other Superstars.
It was been speculated that it may be months before Roman Reigns will reappear on WWE programming depending on his safety and the potential further spread of the coronavirus.
It appears that WWE wants fans to forget about Roman Reigns for now.
Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the current instruction for WWE TV is that no one is to ever mention Reigns.
As of this writing, there was no reason given for the edict. It is interesting considering Reigns is one of WWE’s top stars.
The former WWE Champion hasn’t been seen on WWE television for a few weeks now and it’s for a good reason.
Reigns was supposed to challenge Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36 – Night 1. That all changed. Reigns announced his decision to pull out of the contest. The reason for this is due to his concerns about the coronavirus and rightfully so as he has a weakened immune system with his leukemia battle.
Reigns didn’t feel comfortable with working the match because he is at a higher risk of complications from the virus.
Reigns has not been mentioned on WWE TV since that March 27 episode.
There’s still no word on when Reigns will return to WWE action. The latest report about his status came after WrestleMania, which noted at the time that his status was unknown.
Meltzer added that it’s up to Reigns on when he will return, and no one that was talking knew when that would be. It’s possible that Reigns is away for several months due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Roman Reigns is going to be a father of 5. The multi-time world champion revealed recently in an interview with Muscle and Fitness that his wife, Galina, is pregnant with her second set of twins.
When asked about how many children he has, Reigns dropped the news.
“Three, with two in the oven,” he revealed. “I’m looking to be Papa Bear Five. Breaking news, we haven’t really shared that.”
Roman’s oldest child, Joelle, was born in 2008. His twin boys were born in 2016.
Shortly after news broke that Reigns would not be participating in WrestleMania this year, he shared a video on social media regarding his decision.
“You don’t know the whole story, all you know is what you think,” Reigns said in the video. “You don’t know what else is going on in my life. You don’t know if I have newborns, if I have family in my household, older family.”
Congratulations to Roman Reigns, his wife and their extended family.
You can watch Reigns’ full interview with Muscle & Fitness embedded below:
Anoa’i Family Legacy
All of Reigns’ children will share in being part of quite possibly the largest wrestling dynasty in history. They are the grandchildren of Sika from the Wild Samoans. The late Rosey (Matthew Anoa’i) is their Uncle.
Jacob Fatu, the Usos & Naomi, and Lance Anoa’i are all related to Roman’s kids as well.
Former WWE star Ryback has given his reaction to the situation of Roman Reigns pulling out of WrestleMania 36.
Reigns was supposed to challenge Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36 – Night 1 earlier this month. However, Reigns announced his decision to pull out of the contest due to his concerns about the coronavirus as he has a weakened immune system with his leukemia battle.
Reigns is at a higher risk of complications from the virus and he didn’t feel comfortable with working the match. Thus, WWE got Braun Strowman to replace Reigns in the contest and had “The Monster Among Men” beat the legendary pro wrestler.
Ryback defended Reigns from fan criticism during a recent talk with Wrestling Inc.
“It’s horrible and that’s that wrestling fanbase, and it’s more than wrestling, it’s a human thing that’s going on now and this is, again, social media,” Ryback said. “There’s nobody in person who is going to go up and criticize him, it doesn’t exist.”
Ryback continued by noting that when you get on social media, you need to have the full spectrum of it. He thinks the lowest of low people are the ones who are being critics of Reigns’ decision.
He thinks those people haven’t evolved and just horrible human beings. He thinks that people need to be themselves and will get love and hate no matter what.
“I’m so happy he stepped up, and a guy in that position is actually doing it, but he’s in that position. Now if he didn’t have that and did it, the criticism he would get a hell of a lot more, and internally in WWE it would be a different situation.
He has that though, which is they cannot do anything with him, as far as depush him or anything of that nature. He has a little bit of built-in security with that.”
Ryback continued by noting that’s the negative wrestling fans. He thinks these are the same people that don’t want Reigns here.
He thinks if Reigns does something and now that he’s not around, the name-calling is always a go to for that portion of the people. The reason for the name-calling is due to them not having any other options.
Not much has been heard about Roman Reigns ever since he pulled out of his WrestleMania 36 match against Goldberg and WWE has also ceased any mention of the former World Champion on their programming.
Dave Meltzer talked about the former Shield Member in the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter and provided some updates on the Big Dog.
Some recent comments from Triple H sparked speculations that the company might already be planning his return, however, Meltzer notes that “it is said to be up to Roman Reigns when he returns”.
When Can Roman Reigns Return To WWE Programming?
While a time frame for his comeback is not known, due to his previous health conditions it’s believed that the former champion will not return to active competition until the coronavirus outbreak is contained in some way.
This means that the former Champion could stay out of action for months, making it hard for the company to plan something for Reigns’ comeback.
For those who don’t know, Triple H had said that the story of Roman Reigns pulling out of WrestleMania would ‘unfold in a unique way’ but it didn’t turn out to be the case.
The company simply announced that Braun Strowman will be replacing the Big Dog at the Show of Shows and they have not even mentioned his name since Roman Reigns released a video on Instagram explaining his decision to pull out of the event.
WWE Superstar The Big Show has shared his thoughts on fans who have been critical of Roman Reigns’ decision to pull out of WrestleMania 36. Reigns was set to face Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship. Unfortunately, “The Big Dog” has a lowered immune system after two battles with leukemia. This concern amidst the coronavirus pandemic led him to pull out of their match. Speaking on The Gorilla Position Podcast, Big Show labeled Reigns’ detractors as both ignorant and selfish.
“I think anyone that was to give anyone grief or something like that? It’s really very selfish,” Big Show explained. “[It’s an] almost ignorant point of view. Roman Reigns has had his battles with leukaemia. This is an illness that, you know, own his own he has fought, repressed and got into remission. This guy’s literally got his life in his hands and he’s also got two new kids who are extremely vulnerable.”
The Big Show On Roman Reigns’ Position
Big Show believes Reigns’ decision was a difficult one to make. He added how the only right decision to make in this situation is the one that protects himself and his family. “So you can’t begrudge someone for making that choice. I don’t think there’s not one person out there that wouldn’t have made the same choices as Roman. When you look at the facts, every talent has to weigh, you know, risk reward factor.”
He doesn’t believe this will be much of a set back for Reigns. When he is able to, Big Show thinks Reigns will be ready to get back into the ring and pick up where he left off. He acknowledged how the coronavirus concerns are “bigger than Roman Reigns” and that he understands his decision.
“He has to take the precautions that he thinks are right. I’m proud of him for doing that. That’s the thing about WWE, they’re not going to ask you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with,” Big Show said. “As much as people like to talk trash or portray things of what goes on backstage. I’ve been with Vince McMahon 20 plus years, he’s never asked me to do one thing I’m not comfortable with. Even wearing 40 yards of silk up my butt to wrestle sumo wrestlers, Believe it or not, I was comfortable with that.”
WrestleMania 36 airs this weekend on April 4 and April 5.
Triple H has teased that Roman Reigns’ WrestleMania story will pan out in a “unique manner.” Reigns recently pulled out of his WrestleMania 36 matchup. He was due to face Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship. Speaking with Ariel Helwani, Triple H addressed Reigns’ decision, noting how there are different ways for fans to engage with the pro wrestling industry.
“Well, it’s a funny thing. You know, I think you can watch our business in multiple different ways,” Triple H said. “One of them is the storyline aspect of and [following] the storyline. Another way is the online component of it. And the reality of it behind it, Roman has is his situation and his reasons for doing the things that he’s doing.”
Triple H suggested that there are still plans in place for where Reigns can go from a narrative perspective. He added that he doesn’t want to go into too much detail, as he didn’t want to “give away the ending of the movie.”
He continued, “But I will say from our standpoint and the storyline standpoint, it’s going to play out in a unique manner. And we wanted it to play out that way. And, you know, it’s not necessarily putting me in an awkward position. It’s just me saying I don’t want to give away the ending of the movie before the movie takes place.”
“So I think everybody just has to watch and kind of see how this unfolds. But it will unfold in a unique way. And I think it will be meaningful, you know, for everybody. And again, there’ll always be critics and we’re doing the best we can.”
WrestleMania 36 airs on the WWE Network this weekend on April 4 and April 5.
Roman Reigns was slated to challenge Goldberg for the Universal Title at WrestleMania 36 this weekend.
However, Ryan Satin reported last week that Reigns had pulled out of the contest due to his concerns about the coronavirus as he has a weakened immune system with his leukemia battle.
Reigns posted a video on Instagram where he confirmed that he has indeed pulled out of WWE WrestleMania 36. After talking about how he noticed how social distancing has made people nicer and kinder, he made his comments about the decision.
Roman Reigns Confirms The News
“You already know what’s going on, it’s all over the news, the dirtsheets, whatever you wanna call them that I pulled out of WrestleMania. It’s funny because, for years, people were like ‘don’t show up to WrestleMania, we don’t want you in it.”
Reigns stated that there was a handful of people that didn’t want him there but the moment that he makes a choice for him and his family, he gets called a coward or a sissy.
“You don’t know the whole story, all you know is what you think. You don’t know what else is going on in my life. You don’t know if I have newborns, if I have family in my household, older family.”
Reigns stated that he’s sorry to his fans for not working the show but did note that he was in Orlando last week for the tapings and made a decision for himself and his family.
WWE has yet to confirm Reigns is out of the match and still promoting it. That will have to change sometime this week.
Reigns’ comments about WrestleMania are around the 2:30 mark in the video you can watch here.
It has been widely reported that Roman Reigns will not appear on the pretaped WrestleMania 36. WWE has yet to acknowledge that Roman will not be on the show, however. Reigns had been scheduled to take on Bill Goldberg for the WWE Universal title on the card.
Triple H recently appeared on ESPN Sportscenter and addressed WWE talent missing the event.
“You know, there are various talents, and I don’t wanna get into the specifics of WrestleMania because that’s a must-see event, but we don’t like to take precautions with our talent, any more so than we need to, and all of our talents are in this in a voluntary capacity,” Triple H said on the program.
He would continue to mention Roman Reigns specifically on the show. Triple H noted that Roman Reigns’ pre-existing condition (Roman has twice beaten Leukemia) could potentially make him more susceptible.
“If they don’t want to be a part of this, they feel there’s a risk, for whatever reasons, be it themselves or somebody around them, they don’t have to be here. Nothing is held against them for that. Same with our crew and everybody else. We don’t want to take chances on that, and with Roman having a pre-existing condition, that would make him more susceptible to something, it’s understandable.”
Roman Reigns’ sudden decision to pull out of WrestleMania surprised fans and it left people wondering about the reason behind this move.
The thing that especially puzzled the fans was that the Big Dog was still present for the tapings of the show and he chose his replacement for the match against Goldberg himself.
Dave Meltzer provided some updates on the situation during the latest Wrestling Observer Radio and revealed that an incident with The Miz led to this decision from Reigns.
Per Meltzer, The A-Lister was sick but he was still present for the tapings despite clear guidelines from WWE that every ill person needed to stay at home.
This upset The Usos and his cousin’s unhappiness helped in Roman Reigns’ decision to pull out of his WrestleMania match against the former WCW star.
WWE announced on SmackDown this week that the SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Miz and John Morrison will defend their titles against The Usos and The New Day in a ladder match at WrestleMania 36.
However, reports suggest that the Miz did not work the Mania tapings after the incident with Reigns so it’s likely that the company will change this bout on next week’s episode of SmackDown or before that.
News broke earlier today that the former World Champion Roman Reigns has decided to pull himself from the upcoming WrestleMania event due to coronavirus concerns.
WWE was working on a replacement for the Big Dog for the PPV and on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio; Dave Meltzer provided an update on Goldberg’s potential new opponent for the Show Of Shows.
It was reported previously that the company taped some of the bigger WrestleMania matches on Wednesday and they planned to complete the tapings by Thursday before the Florida Mayor’s ‘stay at home’ mandate came into effect. Meltzer mentioned that he believes it was Braun Strowman who replaced Roman Reigns on the card and wrestled Goldberg at the tapings.
The Big Dog was present for this match and the former World Champion himself made the call for the Monster Among Man to be his replacement for the match.
It’s not confirmed how WWE is handling this situation storyline-wise and we should get a better idea about it on tonight’s episode of SmackDown.
There is no confirmation about the winner of this bout either. It would be interesting to see if the officials went with their original plans and put the title on Braun Strowman, giving him his first world title reign in the company.
