Over the last two years, Roman Reigns has emerged as the top star in the WWE with his Tribal Chief character, but it almost didn’t happen.
Reigns is a survivor of leukemia and when the pandemic hit the United States in 2019, he decided to pull out of the WrestleMania 36 title match with Bill Goldberg.
He recently sat down with espn.com for an interview that detailed his life and goals as well as his two battles with cancer.
He talked about his meeting with Vince McMahon over his concerns and the match, and he admitted it wasn’t a good meeting.
Taking a stand
In his interview, Reigns explained his thinking and how he stands by his decision.
“We didn’t have enough information [about COVID-19]. We didn’t have a proper protocol for protection. I think I made the very smart choice in stepping back and kind of game planning and figuring this thing out and seeing where it went.”
No one can blame Reigns for his caution given what we didn’t know at the time and his medical history of dealing chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). While it’s treatable, it’s also an incurable form of blood cancer.
He, and many others, had to ensure their own health and safety given they’re more susceptible to the virus.
But his time off was more than just that as it led to a rebirth and a rise in popularity he hadn’t experienced before.
Reborn
While he was out, he discovered he liked being out of the limelight, and in time Paul Heyman called him about returning and what ideas he had.
This ended up being a career defining shift as Reigns had spent his career earning the ire of fans as Vince shoved him down our throats relentlessly. But with his new idea it would turn him heel and into a fan favorite.
One step more, he’d become a dominant heel champion, which is something the WWE hasn’t had under Vince.
“I just kept going back to ‘power’. I just want to be viewed as the most powerful superstar of all time when it comes to WWE and sports entertainment. I just really wanted to convey this portrait of strength. Almost like a Mafia-style power. Not only is it respect, but they fear me.”
Fans have finally accepted Reigns, but it all could’ve gone far differently had he not felt comfortable with how things progressed elsewhere.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfYW5MNPlK0
