Kenny Omega has chimed in on the recent Twitter escapades of Tama Tonga and Roman Reigns. Tonga was recently suspended from Twitter temporarily and went looking for who turned him in. He eventually concluded it was Roman Reigns which led to an interesting back and forth between the two of them.
Omega took to Twitter to give his thoughts on the situation.
If the enemy of my enemy is my friend but my new friend hates me more than my enemy does, is he still my friend? pic.twitter.com/5dMq4TW2co
“If the enemy of my enemy is my friend but my new friend hates me more than my enemy does, is he still my friend?”
Omega was referring to the fact that while Tama Tonga and he are enemies in current NJPW storylines, Omega and Roman Reigns have had their issues in the past as well.
Kenny Omega and Roman Reigns Rivalry
Late last year/early this year, Omega and Roman Reigns were involved in a mild public spat as well. Their issues began after Reigns claimed he was the best in-ring performer in the world.
“I’m the best performer, in-ring, in the world right now,” Reigns said in late 2017 to the Bleacher Report. “You can go to my matches and my pay-per-views over the last three years and you can say I’m an idiot or you can be like, ‘man, he has a point.’ Do you know what I mean? I didn’t come here for any other reason.”
Omega then responded t Roman’s claims in an interview with the Bleacher Report.
“I don’t know if Roman was put up to saying a comment like that from a social media team or if it was something that he consciously thought of himself,” Omega said. “But I thought it was pretty smart of him to do — to say — that, because it became instantaneously a topic that people were talking about. And just because it sounds so ridiculous. You know what I mean? By no means do I actually think he believes in those words. There’s no possible way. … I don’t have to feel like I have to speak up about it. It is what it is, and I understand that it’s a fun thing for fans to generate interest in the product. I take absolutely zero offense in him saying it. Especially, since it’s quite clear that the fact of the matter is much, much different.”
It’s been an interesting G1 Climax tournament in New Japan Pro-Wrestling so far this summer. Easily the most talked about part of the tournament has been the actions of Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale, the two members of the Firing Squad entered into the tournament.
Yesterday, we reported that Twitter temporarily suspended Tama Tonga’s account. Tonga has a knack for handling trolls online and evidently, Twitter decided he needed a timeout for a little while. Once back, however, Tonga went looking for the person who turned him in. It wasn’t long until WWE’s “Big Dog” was centered on as a suspect.
Got the #Snitch. Your bark can’t seem to get OVER your Yard for me to hear you. My yard has no fences, come test your skills here anytime. “Jealousy is a bitch trait”- what album is that from? #RomanTheRatpic.twitter.com/VMTMKjlyNR
“Got the #Snitch. Your bark can’t seem to get OVER your Yard for me to hear you. My yard has no fences, come test your skills here anytime. “Jealousy is a bitch trait”- what album is that from? #RomanTheRat”
I actually doubled your lil videos views for you in like 4 hours. You should be thankful. Thanks for the laughs tho! ???? https://t.co/cfNXpUSSGd
“I actually doubled your lil videos views for you in like 4 hours. You should be thankful. Thanks for the laughs tho!”
Thanks for time keeping and view counting, must be looking for new material…writers gave up on you? If you need more laughs just continue fist cocking, it gets funnier every time. https://t.co/Nt5eR9PsOn
“Thanks for time keeping and view counting, must be looking for new material…writers gave up on you? If you need more laughs just continue fist cocking, it gets funnier every time.”
Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale in the G1 Climax 28
Disqualifications are rare in New Japan Pro Wrestling but they have happened multiple times in this year’s G1 tournament. Fale and Tonga, who are joined by Tanga Loa on the tour, have repeatedly used outside interference in their matches to the dismay of the live crowds.
As a result, they have only have 1 win between the two of them so far. Fale, in particular, has seemed to come into this tournament with an unsportsmanlike attitude.
Fale met Hangman Page on the first night of the tournament. It was the first match in the G1 between a member of rival Bullet Club factions. It didn’t take long for both Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa to interfere, however, resulting in a disqualification.
Tonga also got himself disqualified in his match against Kenny Omega.
WWE Superstar Bobby Lashley recently took part in a media conference call. Alex McCarthy of GiveMeSport was on the call and has provided some details on what Lashley said about a wide range of topics, including his return to WWE earlier this year, Roman Reigns and more.
Lashley was asked which WWE Superstars have impressed him the most in his latest run with the company. The former ECW champion called Roman Reigns “phenomenal” and also said guys like Elias, Braun Strowman and Finn Balor have caught his eye.
As for Reigns, in regards to the division on him amongst the WWE Universe, Bobby Lashley doesn’t really understand it. “It kills me to be out in the ring with somebody of his level and the crowd be divided as to whether or not he deserves to be in the position he is – and I don’t get it. He has the look, he’s a great athlete and he’s a great in-ring performer.”
Lashley said he thinks Apollo Crews is underrated and hopes WWE finds a meaningful role for him. “I hope they find something for Apollo because h has so much untapped potential.”
After a 10 year hiatus where he proved that he can work with virtually anyone, he is determined to capture another world championship in WWE.
He also had some very brief comments regarding Hulk Hogan being reinstated by WWE after a 3-year suspension. Lashley said simply, “If he’s in, he’s in. Nothing to do with me.”
As of this writing, Bobby Lashley does not have an opponent for next month’s SummerSlam pay-per-view. He lost to Roman Reigns on Raw in a number one contender’s match to determine the next challenger to Universal Champion Brock Lesnar.
Tonight (Mon. July 23, 2018) we find out who will go on to SummerSlam to take on Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal Title – Roman Reigns or Bobby Lashley. Last week on Monday Night RAW both Reigns and Lashley won their respective Triple Threat matches.
Now they will face off on tonight’s edition of RAW, with the winner going to SummerSlam in attempt to dethrone “The Beast.” Reigns recently took to Twitter and talked about getting to spend some quality time with his daughter in Los Angeles this week.
With all that behind him now, he says he’s ready for Lashley tonight and declared he’ll be the one going to SummerSlam – and he’s going to beat Brock Lesnar:
Got to spend the week with my daughter at the #ESPYs and #KidsChoiceSports Awards this week in LA…but now it’s time to get to my ring and take back what’s mine. I’m going to #SummerSlam. I’m facing Brock. #Raw
Four teams will compete in a tournament on SmackDown Live to determine SmackDown Live Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers’ next opponents for the straps. One of those teams is none other than former SDL Tag Team Champs The Usos.
Jimmy and Jey posted the following video message to The Bludgeon Brothers from WWE’s official Twitter account backstage from a Springfield live event:
WWE has spent the better part of two decades building SummerSlam, their mid-year pa-per-view event, into a show that they deem as big (or almost as big) as WrestleMania. The same kind of glitz, glamour and excitement and big-time matches worthy of The Showcase of The Immortals.
As we move towards this year’s iteration of SummerSlam I can’t help but feel like a lot of that is being undone by the fact that we (almost) know exactly what’s scheduled for the main event: Brock Lesnar losing the Universal Title.
With Brock’s short-term WWE contract and already-announced move back to the UFC, it’s an almost inevitable but then again that is what the fans predicted at both WrestleMania AND the Greatest Royal Rumble when he faced Roman Reigns, so could we once again be ‘swerved’ at the last minute?
Whoever faces Brock at SummerSlam (if we discount any shenanigans with a Money In The Bank cash-in) is likely walking out with the Universal Title. This pretty much means the only thing of interest in this match is the who, and how of it all.
This past week on RAW, Roman Reigns and Bobby Lashley won separate triple-threat matches to win the right to face off this Monday to see who will face Brock for the Universal Title at SummerSlam. This presents three possible scenarios:
Lesnar Vs Lashley – WWE is sometimes like a little kid. They fixate on a certain toy or show and that’s all they want. Right now for3-year old WWE, it’s MMA. With Brock’s appearance in a UFC Octagon, and Lashley’s MMA background, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were to try to put them in the ring and say “As long as Brock loses, just go for it!” Of course, that’s unlikely because there’s more to putting on an MMA-style shoot fight than just doing it. Plus, in the PG era I doubt it’d fly. Another possibility: Heyman turns on Brock and becomes Lashley’s advocate. Lashley really needs to do that “not talking” thing, and we could all use more Paul Heyman in our lives.
Lesnar Vs Reigns – Roman Reigns is a good wrestler. There, I said it. You know it, I know it, and maybe this is the time for him to shake off the bad booking he’s suffered through and make a full (badass) heel turn. Remember his promo the night after facing the Undertaker at Wrestlemania? It was spectacular. If finally beating Lesnar gets us that Roman full-time, it’ll all be worth it. It could really change his career trajectory, and also elevate the title, because who wouldn’t want to beat the crap out of that guy?
Lesnar Vs Lashley Vs Reigns – This is practically Wrestling 101. It would be easy for WWE to have the match between Lashley & Reigns go to a no contest through some kind of shenanigans, causing them to repeat the match the next week, which would more than likely end in similar circumstances, and they’d just declare it a Triple Threat at SummerSlam. This match would be great for Brock because he could lose the title without being pinned. It’d be terrible for the audience in that it’d be nothing but a glorified Reigns/Lashley match, which we’ve just sat through, like, a lot. This is the most likely of the scenarios, to be honest. It could give us the outcome of a 1-on-1 Reigns/Lesnar match, while protecting Brock and making Lashley…still be there? I guess?
My choice? It’s actually a fourth scenario: With the excitement around the Intercontinental Title right now, Ronda Rousey Vs Alexa Bliss and the rumoured Samoa Joe Vs AJ Styles WWE Title match potentially on the card, honestly, we don’t really need a Universal Title match. The best thing WWE could do is start the show with the Universal Title in a display case in the ring, announce that Brock has been stripped and the Title will be retired to a closet in HHH’s office. In it’s place will be a re-instated Heavyweight Championship (Hey, it’s my fantasy booking, let me have this), which Lashley and Roman will battle for in the Main Event.
The Universal Title debuted at SummerSlam, so ending it there would be fitting.
Sound off in the comments! What scenario would you like to see play out at SummerSlam with the Universal Title?
Roman Reigns has given his take on the latest super fight that is trying to be made by the UFC.
In the main event of the UFC 226 pay-per-view event, Daniel Cormier was able to score a KO win over Stipe Miocic to win the UFC heavyweight title and after the fight, Cormier invited WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar Lesnar inside the Octagon with Lesnar accepting the invitation and shoving Cormier in the process. Lesnar then cut a promo on the heavyweight division and Cormier.
The former WWE Champion recently spoke to Helen Yee Sports where he discussed being a big fan of Cormier and how he would fare in the WWE if he did decide to make the transition from MMA to pro wrestling.
“He’s really into what we do and he always seems like a super nice guy. But with our schedule and the amount of events that we run I wasn’t able to see it. I did hear about it obviously about Brock coming in and making a spectacle, but that’s the showman in him.” “I don’t see why not,” Reigns replied. “You know he has all the instincts. He’s a natural fighter. I think he’d be able to learn very fast. It really just depends on where he is in his career physically and his health and his age.”
Reigns continued by stating that Cormier is a great talker and would be very comfortable on the microphone which is something that he would have an advantage in the WWE. He also believes that there would be a lot of people helping him to kinda get on the fast track and get on the main roster with the WWE.
Reigns was asked what he thought about Lesnar fighting Cormier, which led to the RAW star stating that Cormier has a good shot at beating Lesnar and that WWE is always looking to create a buzz and with what Lesnar is doing, it’s a good crossover between WWE and UFC.
”We’d love to have him in WWE a lot more. We’d love for him to show up a lot more, but you know it’s Brock Lesnar. He’s The Beast, he’s gonna do what he does. If he shows up I’m ready for him.”
Roman Reigns has opened up about his recent feud with Bobby Lashley on WWE television.
The former WWE Champion recently spoke to Helen Yee Sports where he discussed Lashley’s run in WWE since his return earlier this year. In this interview, he noted that the feud with Lashley is new and caught us up to speed on their current storyline, which is the fact that Lashley beat him at Sunday’s (July 15, 2018) WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the PPG Paints Arena and that they will square off in a #1 contender’s match on next week’s episode of RAW to find out who will challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at SummerSlam. “We both had triple threat matches in order to earn an opportunity to be the #1 contender to take on Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. So we’re gonna meet next week and go at it again. This time I have a better feel for him and hopefully, it’ll be a better result for me.”
Also in this interview, Reigns was asked how he thinks Lashley’s WWE return has worked out for him thus far which he noted that he thinks it was a little rocky from the get-go but that Lashley is really settled in and getting comfortable. “You could tell that it seems like he’s starting to feel at home again. When you leave WWE and you move around a little bit you can kinda get out of the shake of things. It seems like he’s really getting comfortable. He had a great showing on Sunday, next Monday’s not gonna be the same.”
Last night, WWE was awarded the League Humanitarian Leadership award by ESPN. They received the award at the 4th annual Sports Humanitarian Awards in Los Angeles.
“The Sports Humanitarian Awards is a celebration of the impact made by athletes, teams and sports industry professionals who use the power of sport to make a difference throughout the world,” a company statement reads.
Roman Reigns, Stephanie McMahon, and Charlotte Flair were on hand to accept the award.
.@WWE is honored to be named the @espn League of the Year at their annual Sports Humanitarian Awards Dinner. Our mission is to put smiles on faces the world over, and we will continue to use our platform to inspire social good! pic.twitter.com/NT2C6yfFwF
“Our mission is to put smiles on faces the world over, and we will continue to use our platform to inspire social good!” WWE Tweeted.
“WWE helps to address and provide support on important social issues worldwide, including diversity and inclusion, education, military and bringing hope to critically ill children,” WWE’s statement continues. “In 2017 alone, WWE generated 3.1 billion impressions, held 237 events in the community and donated more than $25 million in media value to its community partners.”
WWE has placed emphasis on corporate social-responsibility these last few years. Their work on the Be A Star and Conor’s Cure are two examples of CSR projects the company has spearheaded.
Earlier this year, WWE organized the Mixed Match Challenge tournament. Each team picked a charity of their choice. The winning team would earn a donation of $100,000 to that organization. The winning team of Asuka and the Miz earned a donation to the charity “Rescue Dogs Rock”. The charity supports neglected or abused dogs and helps find them a forever home.
Thank you @espn for the honor of @wwe the League Humanitarian Leadership award! This award is for all of our Superstars, employees and fans who do so much to give back and put smiles on people’s faces. #SportsHumanitarianAwardspic.twitter.com/FwO3kbxcAY
“Thank you ESPN for the honor of WWE the Sports Humanitarian Leadership award!” Stephanie Tweeted. “This award is for all of our Superstars, employees and fans who do so much to give back and put smiles on people’s faces.”
Roman Reigns had a scare on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Buffalo, NY at the KeyBank Center on the USA Network after having a collision with Drew McIntyre during their Triple Threat with Finn Balor. Some fans were concerned about the former WWE Champion after he was busted open as a result of the incident. Fear not because Pwinsider.com notes that Reigns was said to be OK.
Now, Reigns is slated to square off with Bobby Lashley in a #1 contender’s match on next Monday’s show with the winner challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view event on Sunday, August 19, 2018
Ember Moon Tweets
Former NXT Women’s Champion Ember Moon suffered her first loss on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW as a member of the main roster on the red brand after taking a pinfall from Sarah Logan. After the match, Moon wrote the following about the loss on Twitter:
“.@WWE A wise man once said “streaks were made to be broken” Tonight the #RiottSquad numbers game won but the #ProphecyOfFire will be reignited and a phoenix will rise from the ashes! #MythRises #SHEnom #SHEwolf #SilenceTheRiott #EclipseTheCompetition.”
.@WWE A wise man once said "streaks were made to be broken"
Last night (Sun. July 15, 2018) WWE hosted their Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV) from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
After a ton of speculation as to what match was going to main event the show, it wound up being the 30-minute Ironman match between Dolph Ziggler and Seth Rollins for the Intercontinental Championship. When it was all said and done, Ziggler retained his strap in Sudden Death Overtime.
Many people assumed that Roman Reigns vs. Bobby Lashley was going to main event the show. PWInsider reports that was actually WWE’s original plan. The last hour of the show would’ve featured AJ Styles vs. Rusev for the WWE Title as well as Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss for the RAW Women’s Title.
Ziggler vs. Rollins was initially scheduled to open up the show instead. Of course, those plans were completely reshuffled and Ziggler vs. Rollins went on last, and put on an amazing match.
WWE superstars are gearing up for the next PPV event presented by the company, which is Extreme Rules.
Several matches are featured on tonight’s card (Sunday, July 15, 2018) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the PPG Paints Arena that will air on the WWE Network. Roman Reigns is slated to take on Bobby Lashley in a singles match and took to Twitter to hype the upcoming contest by writing, “I’ve punched through and flown over the entire WWE roster to get to you. Tonight, no one is here to stop me or save you, Bob.”
As seen on this week’s episode of WWE Monday Night RAW in Boston, MA at the TD Garden on the USA Network, the latest angle that helped build the feud saw both men being involved in a pull-apart brawl with other talents.
I’ve punched through and flown over the entire @WWE roster to get to you. Tonight, no one is here to stop me or save you, Bob. #ReignsvsLashley#ExtremeRules
Other stars also hyped this show on social including WWE Champion AJ Styles, Rusev, WWE Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler, Seth Rollins, and Lashley.
WWE has already announced that Styles will defend the WWE Title against Rusev and Ziggler defending the Intercontinental Championship against Rollins in a 30-Minute Iron Man Match. You can see their tweets here:
I’ve held the @WWE Championship for 250 days. Defended it on multiple continents, different countries. Today is like any other day. Today is #AJStylesDay.#ExtremeRules
In Pittsburgh is where i had neck surgery. In Pittsburgh is where i debuted at the Royal Rumble. In Pittsburgh is where i become champion TONIGHT ! #RusevDay#ExtremeRules2018
Two of the best in the game with the richest prize on #Raw at stake. Psyched for Pittsburgh. Psyched for #ExtremeRules. Psyched to bring the world to its feet. https://t.co/YbRemPdGwO
– WWE has launched a new line of T-shirts that are specifically designed to enhance a women’s figure.
Calling it the “Curvy Collection,” WWE’s new Curvy Fit Women’s T-shirts are “softly shaped to complement a plus-sized woman’s curves – making it perfect for lounging around the house or wearing out on the town.”
The line features Nia Jax, Ronda Rousey, Roman Reigns, Finn Balor, AJ Styles, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Alexa Bliss and Randy Orton.
Jax reacted to the news with the following:
I’m beyond happy that this is now a thing!! I’m glad we are including all shapes and sizes ??? https://t.co/GpdHyAlji4
— Savelina-Fanene.Com | Fansite (@SavelinaFCom) July 12, 2018
– Former WWE star Chris Nowinski was backstage at Raw on Monday at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. In this Instagram post, he mentions catching up with Natalya.
https://instagram.com/p/BlDZ6njAX8F/
– Tucker Knight is now on Instagram @tuckerknightwwe. The official Instagram account of WWE NXT is following Knight, thus confirming its legitimacy.
Roman Reigns has a shot at passing up some big names in WWE history this weekend at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV).
Extreme Rules goes down live this weekend (Sun. July 15, 2018) from the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Roman Reigns is expected to go one-on-one with Bobby Lashley at the event in a normal singles match. A user on Reddit noted that should Reigns and Lashley main event the PPV, it will be Reigns’ 27th PPV main event of his career.
That would put him at number 11 all time PPV main eventers; surpassing names such as Batista, Bret Hart, Kurt Angle and Edge. That also puts him one main event behind Brock Lesnar, who is number 10 all time with 28 main events.
The other names ahead of Reigns can be found below, with John Cena leading the pack with 72 all time PPV main events:
Chris Jericho (30)
The Rock (33)
Stone Cold Steve Austin (68)
Shawn Michaels (68)
Randy Orton (68)
Triple H (68)
The Undertaker (69)
John Cena (72)
It should also be noted that if Reigns vs. Lashley main events Extreme Rules it will the the first time ever a normal match has main evented the PPV event.
There have been plenty of rumors going around as to whether or not the WWE could sign The Young Bucks to a deal soon. The Bucks are currently enjoying success with Ring Of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), as well as selling out their self-funded All In event with Cody Rhodes.
WWE’s Twitter page shows that they recently followed Matt Jackson of The Young Bucks, sparking some speculation from fans on social media. Here’s a screenshot of who WWE is following:
What Happened After RAW?
The dark match main event for Monday Night RAW last night was Elias vs. Jinder Mahal. Unfortunately the match never got to finish as both Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns hit the ring and attacked both Elias and Mahal.
They celebrated with the crowd after clearing the ring to send them home happy and end the show.
Shinsuke Nakamura has given some insight into how Roman Reigns is received by other superstars in the WWE.
The SmackDown Live star was interviewed by Lillian Garcia at the Ace Comic Con. In this interview, he was asked about who he would like to wrestle to which Nakamura stated that he wanted to have a one-on-one match with Reigns. “I really want to face Roman Reigns again,” said Nakamura. “So, we wrestled at the Royal Rumble, just like a short moment.”
Although Reigns and Nakamura have yet to have a feud on WWE television, they did compete against each other at this year’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view event as the 50-Man Royal Rumble match came down to Nakamura and Reigns, which saw Nakamura win the match.
Nakamura went on record by stating that although the fans may boo Reigns, all of the superstars is well liked and respect his in-ring work as a wrestler. “Everybody want to boo him, but every wrestler says that Roman is a good wrestler,” said Nakamura. “I want to feel it,” and would like to start a program with The Big Dog.
A unique situation occurred a recent WWE live event.
The sports entertainment held a RAW branded live event on Sunday night in Anaheim, CA at the Honda Center that was headlined by Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins defeating WWE Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre in a tag team match.
During the match, the top rope broke but the performers continued the match, which eventually saw the babyfaces go over. Fans who were in attendance posted these videos/photos on social media to document the situation.
WWE is in San Diego, CA at the Valley View Casino Center for this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw that will see Ziggler make his first title defense as Intercontinental Champion against Rollins.
What are your thoughts on these superstars continuing the match despite the top rope breaking?
Roman Reigns has put incoming WWE Superstars on notice.
Reigns was able to pick up a singles victory over former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal at Sunday’s (June 17, 2018) WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view event in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena on the WWE Network.
Following the match, WWE’s YouTube channel released this video of Mike Rome interviewing Reigns. In this interview, Reigns admitted that he wanted to be in the MITB Ladder Match but that was not meant to be.
He ended the interview by telling up and coming stars in the sports entertainment company that he will not be a stepping stone. “It’s not what I had planned originally but sometimes you gotta send a statement,” Reigns said. “There’s a lot of new guys, a lot of aggressive talent coming up. A lot of guys with a lot of experience and they all want to take what’s mine. A lot of people can say what they want about me but I busted my ass for 6 years to make this place mine, to mold it the way I wanted it to be, to make it a better place, to leave it better than I found it, and that’s what I’ve done. “I’ll be damned, I do not care who you are, what kind of name you’re trying to make… you’re not going to use me as a stepping stone. This is my yard – in the ring, out the ring, in the back, in the locker room, I am the man around here. So if you want it, come get it.”
WWE’s next big show is the upcoming Extreme Rules pay-per-view event that takes place on Sunday, July 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the PPG Paints Arena. It will be interesting to see if WWE books Reigns vs. Mahal again or they go in a different direction.
Roman Reigns has addressed fans wanting WWE to turn him heel.
ESPN published an article with an interview that was conducted with Reigns during a recent media scrum while on the WWE tour in Europe where he was asked if the sports entertainment company should finally pull the plug on his babyface run and turn him heel.
According to Eeigns, he feels that he is already somewhat a heel due to the reactions he gets from fans. “It’s a weird question because aren’t I already a heel? If I garner that reaction, what’s the point? It’s already happening. If I’m already being booed, then why try to get booed? “I have a great opportunity — because I’m a gray-area guy — to do a little bit of everything. I’m in a good place to do whatever I want and just play with this character and not just be a heel or a face — I feel my character can be so much more than that.”
Two stars that were babyfaces for the majority of their time with the WWE are The Usos, who are cousins with Reigns. However, they got a fresh slate once they turned heel and reinvented themselves. “They were tired of everything. They were ready for a change, they wanted more responsibility, and they wanted a bigger role,” Reigns said. “What you’ve seen over the past few years, I’ve been seeing all my life. They really do have each other’s back in every regard. “I’m super proud of them. I’m excited to not only see where they go, but also where I go — you never know. The story’s there, it’s easy. We all represent the same bloodline, we all represent the same family. It’d be pretty cool if, maybe one day, there was a Samoan ‘Shield.'”
What are your thoughts on Reigns’ comments? Sound off in the comment section.
While the company usually holds a dark match after Raw has gone off air, this week’s episode of the Red Branded Show featured a small segment involving Kevin Owens and Roman Reigns instead.
As seen last night, the main event of the show saw Braun Strowman scoring a pinfall victory in a fatal four-way match which also consisted Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, and Bobby Roode. Strowman pinned Owens for the win, however, Kevin’s night didn’t end just there.
After the cameras stopped rolling, Roman Reigns came out and attacked the former Universal Champion. Reigns went on to spear the former SmackDown Live Star and the Big Dog then celebrated in the ring to end the segment as well as the show.
Braun Strowman On His Victory
After his victory in the Fatal Four-way match during raw, the Monster Among Men Braun Strowman was featured in a fallout video where he talked about the upcoming Money In The Bank match.
Strowman, who is one of the 8 participants of the Money In The Bank Ladder match taking place this Sunday, said that his bout earlier in the night was just a warm-up.
The former Wyatt Family Member went on to claim that he will climb the ladder and take the briefcase on Sunday and said that the other 7 participants will ‘get these hands’:
Roman Reigns is not a big fan favorite, but that has not stopped WWE from pushing him as the top guy.
Earlier this week, the sports entertainment company held its “WWE For Your Consideration 2018 Emmy nomination campaign” that had various WWE Superstars as well as Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey making appearances as well as talking with the media.
At the event, Reigns was interviewed by Stephanie McMahon (H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcribed quotes).
In this discussion, the former WWE Champion spoke about creating memorable moments for the fans as well as the brutal schedule that Superstars have to do throughout the year.
“We don’t have an offseason. This is a weekly thing for us. 52 weeks a year,” said Reigns. “And it is grueling, and it is tough, and it’s not meant for everybody. But, when you achieve that goal, when you create those goosebumps… those are real, and regardless of what size crowd you’ve been in front of, or what was the best match, you still get them in the craziest moments, and those are the moments that make you feel truly alive. And when you see that effect that you have on that lady over there, or the man with his son, you know you’re creating those moments that you’re gonna be a part of for the rest of their life. And I think that’s why our fanbase is so strong, and that’s why it’s global because we’ve been able to share that connection with so many people.”
Reigns slated to take on Jinder Mahal in a singles match at the upcoming WWE Money in the Bank pay-per-view event on Sunday, June 17, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena.
What are your thoughts on Reigns’ comments? Sound off in the comments section below.
Legendary manager and former WWE creative team member Jim Cornette has pitched an idea for Roman Reigns.
It’s no secret that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon wants Reigns to the be the next big star of the sports entertainment company. However, the problem is that fans are against it.
Cornette recently appeared on Busted Open Radio and during the interview, he discussed fan criticism of Reigns. Cornette pitched an idea for an angle that might just get Reigns over with the fans. “It’s a situation that has never been arisen before in the pro wrestling industry because think about it, this is the first time that a guy that has been rejected by the fans, not because of his lack of ability, but because the people know that the ‘evil empire’ wants him to be the guy over the guy that they really want to be the guy, or in some cases a few guys they want to be the guy. They have revolted against the establishment, against management, by, defecating all over anything that they try to do with this poor guy because they feel like they are getting back at the company for not featuring their favorites, most notably, Daniel Bryan. In that case, the reason why this has never happened before, now they realize that every promotion in history until Mr. McMahon became one of the greatest characters in the history of television, but every promoter wanted to be the babyface because they didn’t want the fans to be mad at the company. “To think about this logically, why am I going to buy a ticket and buy merchandise at a company that I am mad at? It is such bizarro world. Talk about United States and Canada being bizarro world, this is bizarro world situation. Vince McMahon was good enough to pull it off. He had ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, they were the ultimate ‘take this job and shove it’ versus the establishment program. It can never been repeated no matter how often people try, but after 20 years, a whole generation have grown up to believe that management is trying to hold my favorite wrestler down, yes they root for those wrestlers, but if the root of it that it is going to bubble at the surface, so, no, we are just going to say f**k you, we like these guys. It has manifested itself to Roman Reigns. Since there has never been anything like this, it just seems to me that battling against the tide because it is what you want to do, and yes, I am sure all the kiddies love Roman Reigns and all the fans in little Des Moines, Iowa, but the base audience that pays the most money per capita, and is involved the most with the internet and with programming is going to do this thing until they get tired of it, but they haven’t gotten tired of it so far because it hasn’t changed anything. Cornette continued by stating, “I would somehow – because Daniel Bryan was the root of it, and we can go back to WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans, LA. If he is the root of it I would somehow try to get him involved in it. I would try and get those two guys together. I have talked about this on my podcast before, in some way, get those guys together in terms of an interview, or a tag team match, or Roman Reigns bails out Bryan in a situation, where then Roman Reigns can turn around and sodomize Daniel Bryan, and do something to him. Then , unleash it. In the 2018 version of ‘Die Rocky Die,’ just unleash it. I was born to this. I was going to have all of this, but it was because of you, just unleash it. At the same time, he doesn’t have to be a heel, heel, just a ‘don’t trust anybody,’ type heel turn where he just doesn’t trust anybody. That got over before, didn’t it? Then, when Stephanie McMahon comes out to congratulate him to see the light, he can then cuss her out and anybody named ‘McMahon.’ The point is, he can not like anybody. Feed him some underneath babyfaces that he can sodomize, heels too. I wouldn’t have him lay Stephanie McMahon out right away, but he can do it where he doesn’t like management, or fans, but just let this guy be this anti-everybody, and let the writers be away from him, just let him write his own material. Put every emphasis into him being against everything and everybody as you have tried to make him this smiley, ice cream bar guy, and see what it can do. Just give him a chance. If it generates heat, it’s the right reaction, but if he gets go away heat, then he can get that type of heat, but after all, how can I miss you if you won’t go away? Just give him a chance to be different. Eventually, the dirtier he gets, the more they are going to like him and respect him a bit. There must be blood.”
What are your thoughts on this potential idea? Sound off in the comment section below.
The Background
Since 2014, WWE has attempted to establish Reigns as their next “face of the company.” Reigns had headlined multiple major WWE pay-per-view events, including the last four WrestleManias (31 lost to Seth Rollins, 32 beat Triple H, 33 when he defeated The Undertaker, and 34 where he lost to Brock Lesnar. There has never been a babyface that has been pushed like Reigns that is disliked more by fans in the history of professional wrestling. Historically, when a babyface is not getting over with the crowd, the promoter or booker would turn them heel. Reigns is truly a different case in that sense.
4 years ago, with the swing of a chair, Seth Rollins bought an end to one of the most dominant and popular stables in recent WWE history, The Shield. At the time it seemed to make little to no sense. The trio of Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose were at their collective height, and coming off a winning feud with Evolution, they looked rubber-stamped to rule over the company, side by side, for years to come.
However, hindsight is a wonderful thing, and as time has shown, the end of The Shield was just the beginning, leading to all three Hounds of Justice to ride the momentum of their implosion to successful singles careers, the likes of which seemed just out of reach when they were together.
The break-up was the catalyst for a new era in WWE, and all three stars have continued to lead the company ever since, though obviously some have been more successful than others.
Dean Ambrose
Whilst part of The Shield, Ambrose was painted as the de facto leader. He was their mouth-piece; a charismatic psychopath greenlit to carry the trio with the kind of frenetic unpredictability he has since become synonymous with. So when the split came, it was assumed he would be the first of the three to get a rocket strapped to his back.
This was not the case, and it would be two years before The Lunatic Fringe got his chance to hold a World Title, becoming the last of the trio to do so. A dilution of his character from the whirling ball of madness to just being “a wacky guy” also didn’t help.
Even though he hasn’t quite lit the main event scene alight as much as his former compadres, his post-Shield C.V. consists of one Tag Team Title reign, two Intercontinental Championships, a Money In The Bank victory and the aforementioned WWE World Heavyweight reign. He was however the first of the three to become a GrandSlam Champion.
Roman Reigns
4 Wrestlemania main events in a row. That should be all you need to know about Roman Reigns standing in the company ever since the split. Whilst he was the most unpolished, and least critically popular of the three at the time, he was almost immediately christened as “The Guy” by the company, and has basically lived rent-free in the main event scene ever since.
Whilst some fans disdain for being made to accept Reigns as the face of company has reached john Cena-esque levels of pantomime, Roman has, in the ring at least, lived up to his billing, putting on excellent matches with everyone from AJ Styles, Brock Lesnar, Kevin Owens and even against his former brethren.
Despite his top guy status, he just misses out on being the most decorated of the three, with one US Title run, one IC run, three WWE World Heavyweight Championships and one (notoriously ill-fated) Royal Rumble win.
Seth Rollins
The Architect of The Shield’s demise, at the time Rollins was considered to be the one most at risk of slipping through the cracks and getting lost in the shuffle of WWE’s burgeoning roster. Oh how wrong we were. Becoming’s The Authority’s hand picked champion, Rollins has been on absolute tear these past 4 years, gaining a reputation as one of the best wrestlers not only in the company, but on the planet.
From lasting over an hour in a gauntlet match, to defending titles in eight separate countries on four different continents in the space of 4 weeks, he has growing into a beast of a workhorse for the company. All those miles and hours he has put in have not gone unrewarded, with him being the most successful member of The Shield in terms of silverware.
The KingSlayer has two post-split Tag Team Title runs to his name, along with one reign a piece with the Intercontinental and US belts. He also is a two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, one of which came about from a Money In The Bank win.
While a reunion has been teased and even attempted (you can’t really count late 2017 as the wheels fell off well before it was even out of the garage), and it would be insanely profitable for the company, you’ve got to commend the WWE for not fully pulling that particular trigger. It’s refreshing to see them hold off for so long and bank on all three to individually carry the company, becoming some of the biggest stars they have at their disposal.
4 years on from a moment that genuinely shocked and surprised audiences around the world, the break-up of The Shield has proved to be beneficial not only to the three individuals who ran roughshod over the company for two years, but also for the WWE, fans and wrestling as a whole.
What did you make of The Shield’s split, and it’s impact on the landscape of the WWE? Let us know in the comments section below.
WWE fans were completely baffled when the main event of WrestleMania 34, between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns for the Universal Title, didn’t go as they had been expecting for the past year.
The stage seemed to be set for Reigns to be the one to dethrone Brock Lesnar after both men had become the only people in history to defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania. The Beast had been successfully defending his Universal Title all year, getting the pinfall victory after hitting one F5 every time.
Reigns, however, was able to kick out of several, but after Lesnar hit a sixth F5 he got the three count on Reigns and left New Orleans still the Universal Champion.
Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Live recently explained why the plans were changed at WrestleMania. It was said McMahon had a one-year plan that included Lesnar beating all his adversaries all year by hitting just one F5. At WrestleMania, Lesnar would hit an F5 on Reigns and The Big Dog would kick out before hitting a Spear on The Beast for the win. This remained the plan until the week before WrestleMania, when Vince changed his mind. Instead, Vince came up with the storyline that Lesnar retains his title and Reigns blames The Authority for keeping him back.
As of this writing, Brock Lesnar has been WWE Universal Champion for 423 days.
Discussion: How do you feel about the current Universal Title picture and the last-second change to the WrestleMania 34 main event?
A lot of people believe CM Punk should not be part of UFC 225’s main card after his loss to Mickey Gall, especially when stars like Alistair Overeem and Rashad Evans are competing on the prelims.
During a recent Press Conference, President Dana White was asked about this and responding to the critics, he said that we can argue on this topic when Alistair sells as many PPVs as Punk.
You can check out his comments in the video below:
Roman Reigns To Miss More Events
Fans were surprised when the Big Dog Roman Reigns who celebrated his 33rd birthday this past Friday was not present at this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw from Richmond, Virginia.
While the reason for his absence is still unknown, it has been revealed that the former World Champion will be missing some more events this weekend.
According to report, Roman is not scheduled to be a part of this weekend’s Live Events though he is expected to be back for next week’s episode of Raw from Houston, Texas.
Roman Reigns is currently scheduled to face Jinder Mahal at the upcoming Money In The Bank PPV on June 17th.
Being a famous person means that you are never truly alone and doesn’t matter whatever you do or wherever you go, fans are always following you, even when they probably shouldn’t.
It sometimes becomes frustrating enough that the celebrity ends up having a breakdown and saying something harsh. This usually erupts in a controversy and it appears that Roman Reigns has found himself in middle of one.
A story has recently been making rounds on social media saying that a young girl wanted to take a picture with the Big Dog but the former World Champion told her to ‘get lost’.
After it became viral, Roman was forced to reply to these allegations and sharing his side of the story on Twitter, Reigns said it was actually a grown man who approached him while he was enjoying some time with his family:
First of all, it was a grown man that approached me while I was feeding my sons breakfast and talking to my daughter. B4 I could finish saying “I’m sorry but I don’t get much time with my family”, he stormed off calling me a “sell out”. That’s the truth. Get your gossip right. https://t.co/hYr2YXTZhm
The moment in which this incident took place is in the past and we’ll probably never know who is speaking the truth.
The only thing that can be said is that in any such situation both the sides should act maturely and while celebrities should be kind to their followers, people should also not disturb them in their private time.
Roman Reigns is currently scheduled to face Jinder Mahal at the upcoming Money In The Bank PPV.
