As seen above, WWE SmackDown Superstar Roman Reigns just spoke with TMZ Sports about his status with the company and how he’s taken time off during the coronavirus pandemic. Reigns was asked how he’s dealing with everything given the health challenges he’s had to face. He said he’s doing good and the decision to take time off was based on his family.
“I’m doing good,” Reigns said. “A lot of people, you know, they think that it was based off of my health and the history of my fight against leukemia, but just talking to my doctors and stuff, I actually am fine, and my immune system is good. The drugs that I take in order to fight the leukemia, they don’t attack your immune system, but not everybody knew because I try to keep it private in this crazy world, but my children, you know, we just had two newborn twin boys, they’re eight weeks old, so i had to make a decision for them, and I love this business… if anybody ever questions if I love this business, go back about a year and a half ago.
“I came back as fast as possible. I could’ve took a lot longer off to focus on my health, but they told me, ‘Yeah man, you should be fine if you want to get in the ring and do your thing, if you want to get back to normal.’ And I jumped as soon as they gave me the green light, so… This is bigger than me, it’s my family, it’s my children. They are my legacy. No matter what i do in this world, my children are gonna be the ones that represent my name and carry our name forward. So, I had to make that choice for them, to protect them being so young, but we’re doing good.”
Reigns continued and commented on seeing WWE TV shows with no crowd, and said he does miss his job.
“It’s tough because I want to be out there, I want to… don’t get me wrong, it’s weird to see the show in front of no one, but I want… yeah, you know what I mean, it’s strange because we sell the atmosphere,” Reigns said. “There’s nothing like being at a WWE show when the house is packed and the crowd is going nuts. It’s unlike anything I can… there’s no comparison because of the unison… and it’s all like a home crowd, you know what I mean? It’s not like a split crowd, it doesn’t get quiet. If it gets quiet out there, then that’s on the Superstars, something’s going wrong.
“But yeah, man, I miss it. 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, and also to set the example because at the end of the day, we can do a lot of different things and say a lot of different things, but it’s through our actions that really speak volumes, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”
Reigns was then asked if he’s playing everything by ear or if he has a date in mind for his return to the ring for WWE. The Big Dog said he really doesn’t know when he will return as he’s taking everything day by day, but he wants to get back in front of the fans as it’s tough to be a performer who’s not performing.
“Really, to be honest, I don’t know,” Reigns said of his return. “We’re just going day by day, taking this thing how it comes. It’s… we’re in weird times. These are brand new times for us, this is a new normal, and we’re just trying to collect as much information and make the most educated choice possible. It’s something that going forward will protect, like I said, my family and myself, but I definitely want to gt out there, I definitely want to be back to normal, and just performing for the fans. It’s tough to be a performer who’s not performing.”
The video ended with Reigns being interrupted by two kids in the background.
“But yeah man, hopefully very soon,” Reigns said of his return, laughing. “But right now we’re in daddy mode, that’s #1.”
As we’ve noted, WWE has not commented on Reigns’ status and there was a recent edict issued that said he was not to be mentioned on TV right now. You can click here to read a new report on that edict with notes on how Vince McMahon is handling the Reigns situation, and on Reigns being edited out of WWE footage. Reigns has not been seen on WWE TV since he backed out of the WrestleMania 36 match with WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg due to concerns he had over wrestling during the coronavirus pandemic as his battles with leukemia have left him immunocompromised. WWE employees were told that they did not have to work during the COVID-19 pandemic if they didn’t feel comfortable doing so, and that their decisions would not be held against them. Reigns and other talents have taken advantage of that option, choosing to stay at home at times.
Stay tuned for updates on Reigns’ WWE status and return.
Follow Marc on Twitter at @this_is_marc. Send any news, tips or corrections to us by clicking here.
