Ever since Cody Rhodes beat Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 40, The Juggernaut has been seen out of action, leaving tons of fans wondering how and when he will ever make his return to the WWE.
Will he come back at SmackDown? Will he come back in a high-profile match-up against The Rock? At Survivor Series?
Why did Roman Reigns leave the WWE in the first place?
Reigns had a heck of a title run in the WWE for quite some time — the “tribal chief” was the company’s Universal Champion for some 1,200 days, performing a lot of heavy lifting for the company’s schedule of pay-per-views and live events, participating in a variety of high marquee match-ups.
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But prior to his latest absence from the ring after losing the title to Cody Rhodes, Reigns hasn’t been seen in action for quite some time, why is that the case?
Anyone who knows anything about the wrestling business can appreciate how much they’re on the road — around 300-350 days a year, a topic that was covered in this documentary about the lives of professional wrestlers.
Reigns, according to The Sportster, ended up taking a “reduced schedule” in early 2022 in order to spend more time with his family. Reigns broke down what his schedule looked like when he reworked his contract with the business.
“The main thing is, when you’ve been on the road for almost 10 years straight, and someone who has been at the highest level, the main event level, I’ve ran a full schedule for a long time. Even before we went to FOX, it changed to where it was SmackDown on Friday, two live events on Saturday and Sunday, and the occasional Monday Night Raw. That’s a four-night schedule, which isn’t as bad as it used to be. We used to do Friday, Saturday, Sunday live events, Monday Night Raw, tape SmackDown on Tuesday.”
He continued, “We were only getting a day and a half. This is before private travel, buses, and all that. Fly out Wednesday morning, get half of Wednesday, you get home and you’re tired. Half of Wednesday, then you have Thursday and are trying to handle personal life and family and everything that comes with that. Then you’re back out on Friday. For me, it was trying to balance everything.”
Reigns, who took time off from the WWE in 2020 once it was announced he had leukemia and was immunocompromised, took time to address his illness until he was thankfully in remission. This, presumably, made him value time with his family even more: “Someone who has five children, we’re in a critical portion of their lives where they are so young and this is where we build these relationships and bonds and they get to know who their dad is. For me, it was extremely important that I can build my fatherhood as the priority and the number one hat that I wear. In WWE, Vince (McMahon) and everybody was very good about accommodating that and making sure to keep me in the WWE family.”
When will Roman Reigns return?
It must be a good feeling for The Big Dog to hear his name being chanted by fans pretty much every single week imploring for his return. Ever since Reigns left and Solo Sikoa took over The Bloodline, people want to see Reigns back in the ring to challenge for the title.
Since it appears that so many fans are so keen on Reigns coming back to the WWE, it wouldn’t be crazy to assume that Reigns will come in as a face (“good guy”), but when will the WWE make that move?
Assuming that Reigns’ reduced schedule isn’t a factor, there’s been talks that Reigns will actually make a return at SummerSlam, given that Solo Sikoa is rumored to be the one to contest with Rhodes for the championship.
If that’s the case, it could mean that Reigns could be there to support Sikoa, or interfere with the match in an unsavory way to try and get the crowd to turn on him and make him a heel, giving more fuel to Rhodes’ title run. Or maybe the WWE will utilize Reigns in a way that’s best for his reduced schedule?
What do you think?
