– Below is video of new WWE Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns talking to Mike Rome after the big win over The Miz on last night’s RAW. Reigns says he feels good about the win and was informed by Dean Ambrose that he’s now a Grand Slam Champion. Reigns says it’s no secret that he’s had a rough few months, he’s missed some time but this goes to show that if you’re passionate about something and you’re persistent about it, you can make it happen if you believe in it, no matter what gets in your way. Reigns thanks all of his supporters and says he wouldn’t have these opportunities if it weren’t for his team. Reigns indicates that he will be issuing Open Challenges soon.
– The Bella Twins turn 34 years old today while former WCW star Jerry Flynn turns 58, WWE Hall of Famer Afa The Wild Samoan turns 75 and ECW Original Shane Douglas turns 54.
– Below is a promo for this week’s WWE NXT with the fallout from “Takeover: WarGames” and Johnny Gargano vs. WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne:
– Drew Gulak vs. Akira Tozawa has been announced for this week’s WWE 205 live episode. Gulak talks about the match in this post-RAW Fallout video, noting that WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore isn’t happy with The Zo Train losing on RAW.
– As noted, Paige returned to WWE TV on this week’s RAW and brought WWE NXT Superstars Mandy Rose & Sonya Deville with her to attack others in the women’s division, including RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss. Paige tweeted the following on her return:
– New WWE Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns is now a Grand Slam Champion after his win over The Miz in the main event of this week’s RAW. Reigns is the 17th Grand Slam Champion in company history. WWE Hall of Famer Booker T welcomed Reigns to the club with this tweet:
Roman Reigns defeated The Miz in the main event of Monday’s RAW from Houston to become the new WWE Intercontinental Champion.
This is Reigns’ first run with the WWE Intercontinental Title. Miz won the title back at the June 4th Extreme Rules pay-per-view with a win over Dean Ambrose.
The reason for The Miz dropping the IC title is that he’ll be taking time off soon to film another movie. No word yet on what movie he’ll be filming, but Miz has starred in the past 3 installments of WWE Studios’ The Marine franchise, so that’s certainly a possibility.
After Monday’s RAW went off the air, WWE filmed an angle that saw The Shield triple powerbomb Miz through the announcer’s table. This was done to write him off television for the foreseeable future.
The Miz is not expected back on television until after his new movie projects finishes shooting. During his time away from WWE, he’ll also be able to spend time with his pregnant wife, Maryse.
– As seen on SmackDown Live this past Tuesday Night, the Raw roster took revenge for SmackDown’s Invasion last month by attacking the stars of the Blue Brand during the final segment of the program.
After the show, the SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon didn’t update his twitter for a while and he broke his silence via the following tweet telling Raw to expect their receipt this Sunday:
– As we noted before The Game Triple H announced that he’ll be going head to head with the Big Dog Roman Reigns at the upcoming WWE Live Event from Abu Dhabi, UAE on December 8th. After the announcement, Roman Reigns made the following tweet hyping his upcoming match with the Cerebral Assassin next month:
WWE may have canceled one of their planned two shows in India this December, but they have added a second show in Abu Dhabi to make up for it.
WWE will be holding back-to-back shows in the Zayed Sports City Tennis Stadium on December 7th and 8th before heading to India for their planned Super-Show on the 9th.
Triple H has announced that he’ll be competing in Abu Dhabi – and his opponent will be none other than Roman Reigns.
Roman Reigns has been medically cleared to return to action, according to a report at PWInsider.com.He’s been out of action with an undisclosed medical issue since late October.
With just a few days notice, Roman Reigns was pulled from last month’s Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view and replaced by RAW General Manager Kurt Angle.
Reigns is scheduled to return to television at Monday’s RAW from Atlanta. Brock Lesnar will also be on hand to address his new Survivor Series opponent, WWE Champion AJ Styles.
As we’ve been reporting, the plan is for The Shield to reunite (again) and face The New Day at next weekend’s Survivor Series event. This feud was set up on this week’s RAW when New Day cost Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose their tag titles.
Reigns and Big E were talking trash on Twitter this week, furthering this rivalry.
Chill, lady. He’s only about 250. They should call him “The Medium Dog.” Naw…”The Mid Dog.” They should definitely call him “The Mid Dog.” https://t.co/Gapxx1W4jW
With Survivor Series taking place in less than two weeks, the latest update on Roman Reigns is that WWE officials are starting to make alternate plans in the event that he’s not medically cleared in time for the PPV.
Reigns has been out of action for several weeks due to the medical outbreak that sidelined Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas, both of whom have since returned. The plan was for him to return to television next week on RAW, but PWInsider reports that Jason Jordan is being considered as a possible replacement for Roman Reigns. The storyline would be that Kurt Angle will be teaming up with his ‘son’ for the first time ever.
There is said to be concern that Reigns might be rushing back too soon and may not be in proper ring shape to resume working a full-time schedule.
If Reigns is able to return, the plan is for him to team with Captain Angle, Braun Strowman, Samoa Joe and Finn Balor to face SmackDown Commissioner & Team Captain Shane McMahon, Bobby Roode, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura and either Rusev or AJ Styles.
Expect several more members of Team RAW and Team SmackDown to be revealed following this week’s television tapings from the UK.
In the latest edition of the WWE Network’s Table For 3 special, former WWE World Champions The Shield reunited at the dinner table to share some memories about their run as a trio.
Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose discussed several topics, including how Joey Mercury is the “fourth member” of the group due to all the great advice he provided them backstage.
Mercury was released by WWE back in January and returned wrestling on the independent scene shortly thereafter. He is the reigning MCW Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Champion.
Here are some highlights from The Shield’s Table For 3 appearance:
Rollins on Joey Mercury being the fourth member of The Shield for all his good advice:
“I was talking to an old mentor of ours, Joey Mercury, the other day,” Rollins said. “I miss Joey a lot too. I love him so much. Very, actually, integral part of The Shield. He should maybe be the fourth seat [at the Table For 3 dining table] because he was the behind-the-scenes Shield brother.”
Reigns on Mercury advising them to all stick together:
“A lot of it came from Joey. Remember, he told us… I know y’all remember he told us,” Reigns continued, “he told us, do you know what I mean, ‘you guys are going up together. I know [Ambrose] and [Rollins] worked together a lot. [Reigns] hasn’t really been around those two a whole lot, but y’all have to stick together. Y’all have to let the whole locker room, everybody needs to know that The Shield are like a legit unit, always together, walking the hallways, sit in catering together.’
“And we did that. We rode together. [Ambrose] slept on the floor the majority of the time and I owe [him] one for that one. Do you know what I mean? We trained together. We did everything together. I think that until we were able to break the tripod and get our own two feet for each man down, we leaned on each other until now and everybody leans on us, so that’s what Vince [McMahon] and Hunter [Hearst Helmsley] are looking for. [Rollins] remembers that talk. They want leaders.”
– As reported on Monday, Roman Reigns is still not yet cleared to wrestle due to his undisclosed medical situation. Reigns has been pulled from this week’s WWE UK tour, but Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that Reigns will be back on the November 13th edition of WWE RAW from Atlanta, GA. This is the final RAW before Survivor Series, where he’ll be part of Team RAW in the men’s 5-on-5 team elimination match.
Summer Rae, who was also released over the weekend (along with Darren Young) posted this photo on Instagram with the caption, “Not giving up on Summer just yet.”
RAW Superstar Roman Reigns has been pulled from WWE’s upcoming UK tour. News broke earlier this month that a ‘medical outbreak’ hit the WWE locker room, with several superstars infected with the mumps, a highly contagious viral disease.
Reigns was forced to withdraw from last weekend’s TLC pay-per-view, derailing The Shield’s big reunion. Dave Meltzer noted last week that Reigns was scheduled to be evaluated by doctors today (Oct. 30), but it appears he is not yet cleared to return.
The first show of this week’s UK tour takes place on Wednesday from Glasgow, Scotland. The Shield had been advertised for all 5 shows of the tour, but RAW General Manager Kurt Angle has announced that Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose will be defending their RAW tag team titles instead.
At this time, WWE officials are hoping that Reigns will be fit to return in time for Survivor Series on November 19th.
The talk of the wrestling world this past weekend was the medical outbreak in the WWE locker room that forced the company to make major changes to Sunday’s Tables Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio has confirmed that Roman Reigns has contracted the mumps, a highly contagious viral disease. Wrestlers received shots on Thursday to prevent further spread of the infection, although others could have been exposed before the vaccinations. Symptoms, which include fever, muscle pain, headache, fatigue, and swelling of the parotid gland, typically appear two weeks after exposure and resolve after seven to ten days.
Reigns, along with anyone else who was infected, will be evaluated next Monday (October 30th) to see if they are fit to return to action.
Reigns will miss tonight’s episode of RAW from Green Bay and there’s a strong possibility he could be missing next week as well. Meltzer also noted that there is a fear that more Superstars could still get affected by the condition.
As noted earlier, Bray Wyatt, JoJo and Bo Dallas are also believed to be battling the same condition. WWE has been getting a lot of praise for their handling of the situation and taking extreme caution to prevent it from spreading further.
– Bray Wyatt has been forced out of tomorrow night’s (Sun. October 22, 2017) Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) pay-per-view (PPV) event, which means that SmackDown Live’s AJ Styles will step in to fill his spot against “The Demon King” Finn Balor. WWE posted the following video in which Balor responded to his new challenger on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BafakvAAw_Z/
– In addition to the shuffling the TLC PPV card has undergone, the evening’s main event has seen the removal of Roman Reigns, who will no be replaced by Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle. Angle will make his return to the WWE ring in over a decade to team up with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose; taking on the team of The Miz, The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro), Braun Strowman, and Kane. SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan – who has been hoping to make an in-ring return of his own soon – had this to say about the news:
The WWE world is in for a massive shock. Due to medical issues the WWE has been forced to shuffle the Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) pay-per-view (PPV) card. Roman Reigns will now be replaced by Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle; teaming up with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose to take on the team of The Miz, The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro), Braun Strowman, and Kane. SmackDown Live’s AJ Styles will replace Bray Wyatt to take on Finn Balor. Here’s the official announcement from WWE:
“Due to medical issues impacting two WWE Superstars scheduled to appear at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, streaming live on WWE Network this Sunday, the special event will now feature Kurt Angle competing in a WWE ring for the first time in more than 11 years, as he replaces Roman Reigns. In addition, former WWE Champion AJ Styles will replace Bray Wyatt and face “The Demon” Finn Bálor.
“A WWE Hall of Famer and the current General Manager of Raw, Angle will join forces with Raw Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose to battle the daunting combination of Braun Strowman, Intercontinental Champion The Miz, Cesaro, Sheamus and The Big Red Machine Kane in a Tables, Ladders & Chairs 5-on-3 Handicap Match.
“The showdown between “The Demon” and Styles is one that the WWE Universe has been wanting for a long time and promises to be one of the most exciting matches of 2017.”
We previously reported that the WWE locker room has been dealing with Viral Meningitis, affecting Superstars such as Bo Dallas and Bray Wyatt. We’ll keep you updated as more news becomes available.
The WWE Universe is elated to finally see Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose reunited on WWE TV to reform The Shield – but that happiness could once again be crushed by WWE as we approach WrestleMania 34.
As we all know, Seth Rollins betrayed his Shield brethren to initially break up the faction when he stuck a steel chair into the backs of Reigns and Ambrose on the Monday Night RAW after their Payback win over Evolution. It seems that Reigns and Ambrose have since settled their differences with Rollins since the betrayal and now unite to take on Braun Strowman, Kane, The Miz, Sheamus, and Cesaro at Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) this weekend.
Following TLC, however, how long are The Shield expected to stay united? Per a report from PWMania (via Sportskeeda) the WWE is actually planning on turning Dean Ambrose heel to set up a feud between he and Seth Rollins at WrestleMania. It’s still early in the WrestleMania planning faze, and ideas change on the drop of a dime, however, it’s worth noting WWE is considering a Rollins-Ambrose match-up.
Discussion: Is the WWE making a mistake by turning Ambrose heel and breaking up The Shield again? Who would you like to see each of “The Hounds Of Justice” take on at “The Show Of Shows?”
Former WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes took his ongoing verbal war with Roman Reigns to a new level by cutting a promo on Reigns during Ring of Honor’s Global Wars: Chicago iPPV.
Cody was part of the opening segment of the show and during it, he took a shot at Roman’s failed drug test by saying that he thought that the tactical vest was to cover up failed drug tests, but it’s actually covering up envy.
For those who don’t know, the war between these two stars started when Cody cut the following promo a few days back saying that he is the ‘biggest draw in wrestling’ :
A fan tweeted this video to The Big Dog asking for his reaction. Replying to it the former World Champion said that he doesn’t even need to watch the video unless the house drew over 100k fans:
I don’t even need to click the link and watch it. If that house didn’t draw over 100K. He’s just talking silly. #WalkOverTalkhttps://t.co/azQyqDpHUN
After this Cody cut the mentioned promo during the ROH PPV. It’s worth mentioning here that Rhodes did not call out Reigns by name but the implication was clear.
Roman Reigns was suspended for 30 days for his first violation of WWE’s wellness policy back in June last year after reportedly being tested positive for a banned substance.
With Cody Rhodes cutting a clear promo on Reigns’ failed test, it’d be interesting to see where this real-life rivalry will head next.
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns took part in a conference call earlier this week with members of the international media to discuss a variety of topics. Reigns talked about a number of his fellow WWE Superstars, such as his longtime rival Braun Strowman, who are able to make what they do in and outside the ring their very own.
He proceeded to take a shot at The Young Bucks by saying “No offense to any of these guys, but we don’t need guys running around doing ‘too sweets.’ We don’t need guys acting like they’re DX from 20 years ago. We need original characters, guys who are [themselves].” One fan responded to this on Twitter by sending Reigns a part of his quote along with a recent DX photo shoot WWE Superstars did. Reigns responded by saying that The Shield already beat DX and they don’t need to celebrate them:
Roman Reigns defeating and presumably retiring the Undertaker at WrestleMania 33 is one of the most talked about events of wrestling in the past decade. During a recent interview with Inside The Ropes Reigns talked about the responsibility of retiring the Dead Man among other things. Below are some of the highlights from the interview:
What facing The Undertaker at Mania meant to him:
“It was a great honor, We have a whole new generation here. We have a young generation of talent coming up and it’s going to get to a point one day where there’s only a handful of us that can say yeah, I’ve been in the ring with John Cena, I’ve been in the ring with Randy Orton, I’ve been in the ring with the Undertaker, with Shawn Michaels, with Kurt Angle, with Triple H. There’s a lot of young guys who are never going to have that experience and are never going to have that opportunity to learn from being out there with guys like that.”
On feeling the responsibility of likely retiring the Dead Man:
“Being in the ring with the Undertaker, I was able to feel that respect for the business from him. I was able to feel that responsibility and also to see that weight lifted off of him. That was one thing that was really neat, but it was semi-concerning. The times that I’ve wrestled these legends, these guys who have plugged in all this time, you could see a sense of relief on their faces after the match. They could finally take a breath for once. And for me, I know that’s quite the responsibility.”
On the mixed crowd reaction:
“I like to feed off of whatever they give me. Each night I look at it like I’m dealt a new hand of cards and I’m going to play them the way I play them.”
On not being a heel or babyface:
“I don’t say it much anymore but it still holds true: I’m not a good guy, I’m not a bad guy. I’m the guy, that’s why I think I’ve progressed so fast and become a veteran in the ring, because I’ve heard all of these reactions, I’ve had to learn from them night in and night out. It’s not just at WrestleMania or Summer Slam or at these big pay-per-views; it’s in the smaller towns in front of 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 opposed to 101,000 people.”
Former WWE Champion Roman Reigns recently spoke with UK Mirror to talk about various topics. Here are the highlights:
Beating Cena at No Mercy:
“It was a huge honour. You don’t really get to face people like John Cena often. He’s definitely a rare breed, we had a lot of heavy things to say to each other building into the match, but I think at the end of the day we both came out of it with a lot of respect for each other, not only for what we do in the ring, but what we do for the company and all the various responsibilities that come with this role. I’m proud to say that I was able to beat an athlete and a competitor, a superstar and a role model like John Cena, especially in hindsight, someone who has been on top of the mountain for 15 years. He said it, it’s not just like he was wrestling at a certain level, he was at the elite level. I don’t think anybody else is going to have a career like John Cena, to be able to hold the fort down for 15 years, it seems superhuman. I’m just really glad I was able to display my skill and my talent in the ring and we had a really great match and I’m very proud of it.”
Learning from Cena:
“I think I learned that I’m up for any challenge. That was one of the biggest challenges for me and that’s what great competitors do. If I had to lower myself to compete with John Cena, then there’s no point in competing with John Cena. But what he did, like any great competitor, any great superstar, he forced me to step up. As he said, ‘you either step up or you step aside’. I’m very proud to show that I’m able to do these different things. For a long time my strength has always been in the ring and I haven’t had these barn burner promos that everybody talks about the next day. But, I know inside that I’m able to step up. I know what I have ability wise and talent wise and I think that’s all that John was trying to do, he wanted to bring out the best in me and I think he did that and I’m very grateful for that. I think that’s my job, that’s the most important thing about being the top guy, that you lift everybody up, that you bring everybody up to that standard. It can’t be the other way around because if that’s the case, then the whole structure is off. I think he did a great job of lighting a fire under my ass and I think I did a great job of stepping up to the occasion and we made great TV for it.”
His WrestleMania dream matches:
“Yeah I mean, when I first heard about the match with Cena, I immediately was thinking ‘man, let’s save this, let’s do this at WrestleMania’. But when the time is right, the time is right. But in the same light, I can only see me and Rock going at WrestleMania. Not only because of his schedule, but just the level of that match and the level of superstar that he is and you know, where I’m trying to get. But we also have a deep family tie. We represent the same family tree and having the opportunity to represent our culture, there would obviously have to be a sit down and we would have to express how we feel and the light we want to do this in… because there’s a lot of people we represent watching. The last thing I want to do is make it confusing or anything like that. But at the end of the day, I know it’s a money match. And I’m the guy who is still in the ring, so if someone who isn’t in the ring every single night wants to come back in the ring, we now call it my yard, so he is going to have to come to me and then we’ll go from there. It won’t go down anywhere other than a WWE ring, that’s all I’m saying. If he wants to get it, then I’m not stepping back for anybody.”
RAW Superstar Roman Reigns is clearly not a fan of The Young Bucks.
During a media conference call, Reigns spoke about about why he thinks his feud with Braun Strowman worked so well. He also took a shot at the Young Bucks, who were part of the Bullet Club’s invasion of WWE RAW several weeks back.
Regarding the Young Bucks, Reigns said, “We don’t need guys running around doing Too Sweets and we don’t need guys acting like they are DX from, you know, 15 years ago. We need original characters.”
You can listen to the audio below, courtesy of Inside the Ropes:
Reigns’ comment caught the Young Bucks off guard, since they’ve been generally complimentary about Reigns in interviews. Matt Jackson tweeted that Roman Reigns burying them was disappointing and not what they’d expect from one of their peers.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross spoke with Pop Culture to promote his new book, Slobberknocker: My Life in Wrestling. Here are the highlights:
Which Superstar will hold a title in WWE next:
“Probably Sasha [Banks]. I think Bray Wyatt’s an amazing upside. I think he’s a character baby face and I think Sasha Banks is a [natural] heel.”
Whether WWE should alter Roman Reigns’ push as the top guy: “Well, I think you just got to continue to allow him to be pretty good. You know, whenever the time is opportune. He is better than pretty good and a good kid, real good kid. Very committed. “There’s nothing you say on TV, there’s no pillow vignettes, let’s change his music, let’s change his hair color, let’s change his outfit. You know, let’s change for change’s sake. Let’s change not knowing the selection, but just change for change sake. Because well, it might work. It might not. Steer the course and not be so wrapped up in getting him accepted as a fan favorite or a villain. I accept him as a star. And that’s what Roman Reigns is, he’s a star.”
Roman Reigns is the highest rated Superstar in WWE 2K18
Roman Reigns is the highest rated wrestler in WWE 2K18. Reigns received a rating of 95 out of 100. Stone Cold Steve Austin is rated at 92, The Rock comes in at 93 and The Undertaker also got 93 as a rating.
John Cena and Brock Lesnar are also rated 93 in the game, Finn Balor (as Demon King) and Seth Rollins are at 92. AJ Styles is at 90, WWE Champion Jinder Mahal is rated 88 and Braun Strowman comes in at 88 as well.
WWE 2K18 releases on October 17th.
Road Dogg and Shawn Michaels take over NXT tapings
Triple H posted on Twitter earlier today that he was gutted to miss his first NXT taping ever. He added that he had the best team in the world doing it and wished them luck. Road Dogg responded and said that he and Shawn Michaels are holding the fort down.
Gutted to miss my first @WWENXT taping ever while in @WWEIndia but I have the best team in the world doing it…Have a hell of a show!
A 6-man tag match has been announced for the October 18th episode of WWE NXT. The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Rielly) will face the NXT Tag Team Champions SAnitY (Eric Young, Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe). This the first time The Undisputed Era has competed in a match together as a trio. Below is WWE’s announcement for the match:
Six-man mayhem: SAnitY fights The Undisputed ERA on Oct. 18
Katy, bar the door, because unadulterated mayhem is on its way to NXT.
The chaotic collective of SAnitY’s Eric Young, Alexander Wolfe & Killian Dain will battle The Undisputed ERA’s Adam Cole, Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly in a massive Six-Man Tag Team Match on the Wednesday, Oct. 18, episode of NXT.
The match will feature The Undisputed ERA competing as a unit for the first time inside an NXT ring.
The warring factions have been at odds since The Undisputed ERA’s emergence at TakeOver: Brooklyn III, when Fish & O’Reilly ambushed Young & Wolfe after SAnitY dethroned The Authors of Pain to win the NXT Tag Team Titles.
Cole scored The Undisputed ERA’s first official victory against SAnitY by pinning Young in a singles match on the Sept. 27 episode of NXT. During that electrifying match, an all-out brawl erupted between Fish & O’Reilly and Wolfe & Dain at ringside.
Whether the squared circle will be able to contain the action remains to be seen. Don’t miss this colossal main event when it streams exclusively on WWE Network on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at 8/7 C.
For the past several weeks WWE has been teasing the reunion of The Shield (Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose). While the group has yet to reunite officially, a promotional poster for the Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) pay-per-view (PPV) gives away the reunion.
It seems as though The Shield will be taking on The Miz, Sheamus, and Cesaro; while the only other match announced for the event is a RAW Women’s Championship match between Alexa Bliss and Mickie James.
TLC will go down live on the WWE Network from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Sunday, October 22nd.
On the latest episode of his Dinner With The King podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “the King” Lawler spoke extensively about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s early days in pro wrestling, competing as Flex Kavana in Memphis.
Lawler also commented on Roman Reigns defeating John Cena at No Mercy, Cena “passing the torch” to Reigns and Reigns’ role as a locker room leader.
Here are the highlights of what Jerry Lawler said about:
Roman Reigns becoming the “Face of the WWE” after No Mercy:
“The reason for that match was, we talk about mythical passing of the mythical torch, I think that’s what that match basically represented.
In WWE, you have to have, there always have been and always will be, a pecking order in the talent roster. And you usually have that one featured guy that is considered “the guy.”
That, obviously, is a Vince [McMahon] decision on the final say-so on who will be “the guy.” You have to feature him, or “push.” Sometimes if the fans don’t feel that person is ready for that big push, they resent it.”
Does this mean Reigns becomes the locker room leader?
“Yeah, I think so. You know what is a funny thing in the business? When you get to be “that guy,” you suddenly no longer dress in the same locker room as all rest of the guys. You have your own bus. You have your own locker room. You’re not in the one big male talent locker room.
There is a little bit of a fallacy in the fact of the guy that is “the guy” is the locker room leader; that is just not necessary real.
A guy like Brock Lesnar; you never see Brock. He’s always on his bus or his own locker room. You never see him. He stays in there until basically it’s time for his match. He goes out and comes back, and then he’s gone.”
RAW Superstar Roman Reigns was a guest on the CBS Sports In This Corner podcast and spoke to host Brian Campbell about about his favorite WWE feuds.
Reigns put over AJ Styles as his all-time favorite feud, saying that he could wrestle AJ every day for the rest of his life.
“It’s hard for me to rank. Do you know what I mean? I have such a deep respect for all the guys that I’m out there with and for me to rank them, I’d feel weird about that. But I think both AJ and I know what we had going on and we can both say that it was special. And I’ll wrestle AJ for the rest of my life. I’ll go out on a limb and say that I would have no problems being in that ring with him if you’re like, ‘hey, that’s the only person you’re going to wrestle,’ I’d be like, ‘well, thank you! That’s easy.’ I mean, it really is.”
Reigns continued, “If you don’t know by now, if you didn’t know AJ before his coming to the WWE, there’s a reason why he’s in the WWE. There’s a reason why he’s used the way he’s used and it was an absolute pleasure to be in the ring with him.”
Reigns, who has had memorable feuds with Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker and John Cena, says he and AJ Styles had instant chemistry from the night AJ made his surprise debut in the 2016 Royal Rumble.
“It was one of those situations I honestly cherish and I’ll never forget those matches we had. I thought our chemistry was incredible from day one in the Rumble. Do you know what I mean? And we had no clue of each other outside just being in that ring and dancing with each other and it was magic. Hopefully, one day, we’ll do it again. He’s over there on the blue side and that’s important because with his leadership, his tenure, being all around the world and having a deep respect for this business. And like we talked about before, that passion, you can’t fake that.”
You can listen to the full episode of Roman Reigns on the In This Corner podcast below:
Roman Reigns was a guest on Miz TV to kick off this week’s episode of RAW. The Miz and Reigns started trading insults throughout the segment. The Miz said that The Miztourage could defeat The Shield. Roman Reigns wound up challenging The Miz to a fight, but The Miz got out of the ring and said that he wanted no part of it. RAW GM Kurt Angle came down to the entrance ramp and announced that The Miz will face Roman Reigns in a match later on RAW.
Reigns emerged victorious in that match, despite Curtis Axel and Bo Dallas constantly interfering from ringside. After the match, The Miz, Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel beatdown Roman Reigns. The Miz planted Reigns with the Skull Crushing Finale and went to leave but ultimately decided that wasn’t enough. The Miz came back down to the ring and hit another Skull Crushing Finale, but this time he slammed Reigns face-first into a steel chair. The Miz, Dallas an Axel then posed like The Shield while standing over Reigns.
It was announced towards the end of RAW that Roman Reigns will face The Miz next week for the Intercontinental Championship.
