Roman Reigns talked for the first time about not appearing at WrestleMania 36 and hinted it could be because of concerns over more than his own personal health.
The 34-year-old Reigns, whose real name is Joe Anoa’I, has battled leukemia and is immunocompromised, putting him at greater risk if he contracts COVID-19. It was reported last week that he pulled out of WWE’s biggest show and will not wrestle Bill Goldberg for Universal Championship because of coronavirus health concerns. He expanded on that in a video posted to his Instagram account on Monday.
“All you know is what you think. ‘Oh, well his health’ and this and that, but … you don’t know what else is going on in my life,” Reigns said. “You don’t know if I have newborns. You don’t know if I have family in my household, older family. So yeah, like the old saying, man … go and flip that cover open and read a few pages, get into a few chapters before you really start running your mouth. And just take this time to better yourself, be present and make the most out of this.”
Reigns announced in February 2019 that he was in remission.
WWE is broadcasting WrestleMania 36, originally slated for Raymond James Stadium, over April 4-5 and holding matches at multiple closed-set locations – including its Performance Center in Orlando, Fla. – with only essential personnel to adhere to the CDC’s coronavirus guidelines. The majority of the WrestleMania 36 matches have been taped as WWE put an advance recording schedule into place before Orlando issued a stay-at-home order in response to coronavirus that will close all non-essential businesses in the city for two weeks, according to Variety. Former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski will host WrestleMania 36.
Reigns was part of the “Friday Night SmackDown” without fans two weeks ago, but has not appeared on WWE television since. Him not being at WrestleMania 36 has not yet been addressed in storyline and no replacement has been announced, but one is expected.
“For all my fans, I’m sorry I didn’t get to compete this year and put on a show and entertain … but sometimes things are more important and I had to make a choice for me and my family,” Reigns said in the video. “No matter what, you already know the deal, man. I made the town, you know what I mean? I made it to Orlando. And I had to make a decision for me.”
Triple H, WWE’s executive vice president, global talent strategy and development, addressed Reigns pulling out WrestleMania 36 in an interview on SportsCenter on Sunday, but did not want to get into details. He noted that WWE is taking “as much safety precaution as we can.”
“All of our talent are in this in a voluntary capacity,” Triple H said. “So right at the get go, if they don’t want to be a part of this, if they feel there’s a risk — for whatever reason, be it themselves or somebody around them — they don’t have to be here and there will… nothing is held against them for that. Same with our crew and everybody else. But we don’t want to take chances on that, and with Roman having a pre-existing condition that would make him more susceptible to something, it’s understandable.”