In a recent interview with The Sportster, Roman Reigns indicated that he may be winding down his WWE career in the next couple of years and will transition out. He said:
How I feel physically, where my health is, I want to take advantage of the next couple of years and just really maximize my WWE career and give back to the company, to the guys in that locker room as much as possible.
He also mentioned that once his physical health declines a bit, he can start dabbling more with regards to a transition to Hollywood. Now, we aren’t saying that Roman Reigns will leave WWE in two years for a fact. We’re simply saying that since he made the statement himself, it’s very clear that it’s a large possibility in his mind.
As it is, his quick return from leukaemia was nothing short of miraculous. He made the tragic announcement on October 22nd, 2018 and returned around late February 2019. It was surprising because when he did make the announcement, the expectation was that he would return around January 2020 at the earliest.
To his credit, he fought back and openly stated that his comeback had nothing to do with championships and accolades. It was all about inspiring people to battle and adding to his legacy. Even in the same interview, he mentioned that his ultimate objective is to further the legacy of the Samoan Family and the impact they had on the business.
There’s no doubt that Roman Reigns falls well into the lineage and will be regarded as one of, if not the greatest Samoans in WWE history. He’s carved out a legacy and already had a Hall of Fame career after less than four full years on the top. Naturally, a good chunk of this is marred by a bit of controversy in that Roman Reigns was constantly rejected when WWE kept attempting to push him as the face of the company.
However, his first few months in 2019 went a lot more smooth than expected. While fans naturally cheered him at first, the general assumption was that when enough time passes, he will be booed again. However, WWE did a great job with him and the fact that he hasn’t been pushed to the World title again meant that fans had less of a reason to boo him.
If anything, the reactions for him have only gotten more positive. But if he is on borrowed time and people know it, will the positive reactions remain? Ultimately, it all depends on how WWE handles him. They have a history of doing injustice to Reigns and even those few years where he was the most hated superstar in WWE (and not polarizing) was something that was no fault of his own.
Top officials and big names always recognized Reigns for the talent he is. But it was clear that WWE did no justice by him by constantly pushing him when he was rejected by fans. It was even rumored that the WWE locker room had a sense of resentment towards fans with regards to the way they treated Reigns, but neither is it their fault nor his.
With that being said, even the vocal American audience doesn’t represent all of WWE’s fanbase. Roman Reigns is an extremely valuable player for WWE and is still their biggest full-time star, whether he’s World Champion or not. He brings in a lot of money for the company and when they go on Live Event Tours abroad, he’s more often than not among the top featured acts.
Ultimately, the reality of the situation is that if Roman Reigns does decide to wind down from his in-ring career in two years, nobody can blame him. He will then transition into Hollywood while the wheel keeps spinning in WWE. He will most likely let the company know (or already has let them know) about his intentions to call it quits and WWE will be forced to push someone to take his place.
Roman Reigns won’t be able to have a Cena-like run on top in terms of longevity, but there’s no denying the impact that he has caused. It will definitely be a big loss to WWE and it will be felt in the programming. It’s only then that Roman Reigns will ultimately get the appreciation he deserves.
All we can hope is that if it is the case, there will be someone worthy chosen to take his spot.
