In an interview with The Hindu Times, former WWE and Universal champion Roman Reigns defended his decision to refrain from going to work during the coronavirus pandemic and said what he did was not meant to be a knock on WWE and their attempts to make a safe working environment.
While Reigns was criticized at the time for pulling out of WrestleMania just a week before filming, his decision was ultimately justified after the COVID-19 outbreak WWE is currently going through.
“For me, I just had to make a choice for my family. The company has done everything that they can to make it the safest work environment possible. It is not the workplace that I was necessarily concerned about. The decision was taken mainly because each performer travels so much, and we are all such a diverse group and from all over the place,” Reigns said.
Roman added that the problem is he cannot trust that everybody is taking this pandemic seriously and while he’s okay putting his life on the line with his co-workers every time he steps in the ring, he couldn’t have the same trust when there’s his children and wife involved.
“But I don’t want it to come off as I am taking a stand against the company at all, because I love the WWE. I’ve been a part of this company just since I was a little boy. That’s why I always take it so personally when I represent them,” Reigns continued.
The former champ also talked about returning to work, saying that he has been training his butt off while at home and he’s ready to “smash people.” Reigns put over his peers for performing in front of an empty arena, saying it’s really tough to do that when all you learn in wrestling is to try and get a reaction from the audience.
“But when it comes down to it, I am gonna get in there and compete at the highest level…hopefully for a title. More specifically, the Universal Championship. If not, I will be there to prove that I’m not just the top of the mountain, but I am the mountain. I am WWE’s biggest star, regardless of if I am on the show or not…so I have everything to prove and everything to lose as well,” he concluded.
