Roman Reigns Says He Could Retire Early From WWE To Protect His Family
Following a five-month hiatus, Roman Reigns made an unexpected return at SummerSlam. A week later, he defeated Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman in a triple threat match at Payback to become the new Universal Champion.
It's still early, but this is already shaping up to be Reigns' greatest run yet in WWE. He made the smooth transition to a heel persona after pairing himself with legendary manager Paul Heyman.
Reigns is on top of the wrestling world right now. And fans better enjoy it, because it's very possible that the Big Dog will call it quits much earlier than you think.
Speaking with Corey Graves on After The Bell (h/t Gary Stonehouse of The Sun), Reigns admitted that he could quit WWE in the near future due to concerns regarding the wellbeing of his health and family.
Reigns has had two battles with Leukemia, and for health and safety reasons, he decided to remove himself from a Universal Championship match against Goldberg at WrestleMania 36.
And if he feels it's necessary, Reigns won't hesitate to end his Hall of Fame career while in the midst of his prime:
The most defined thought I had was that I made a lot of sacrifices on behalf of my family and this is one area where I'm not going to make that sacrifice. I will sacrifice my career, sacrifice a performance, I'll sacrifice the audience if I have to. To protect my family, I will quit. I'll hang up my boots.
I've done everything that I needed to do in this business within sports entertainment/professional wrestling. There isn't a moment or accolade that I haven't had. Whether it was a WrestleMania moment all the way to a house show. I've experienced everything I could possibly experience.
For me, it was about putting my family first and right there if I had to retire and that was what was going to be asked of me, I would do it. For one of the first times in a long time, I put my family first. They were 1A."
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On the Oct. 22, 2018 episode of Raw, Reigns announced to the WWE Universe that he was battling Leukemia a second time. He relinquished the Universal Championship and went on hiatus for four months, before making an emotional and unforgettable return on the Feb. 25 episode of Raw.
During the interview with Graves, Reigns also stated that nothing could change his mind until WWE was able to reassure him that it was safe to return. So enjoy Reigns while he's still competing, because he could retire at any point in the immediate future.
Reigns Will Do What's Best For Him & His Family
Reigns received plenty of cruel and harsh responses on social media when he announced his plans to opt out of WrestleMania, which is unfair. He should never be faulted for doing what's best for the health and safety of his family. If Reigns retires in the near future, nobody has the right to judge or criticize him. He's already accomplished so much in WWE, and at the end of the day, some things are much bigger than sports entertainment.
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