WWE’s Roman Reigns Shoots on AEW and CM Punk, Forgets His Rounds

Sports

WWE’s “Head of the Table,” Roman Reigns, partook in a comprehensive interview with Complex Sports, where the “Tribal Chief” cracked open a can of whoop-ass like it was Austin in the 90s or an Uso at an open bar. Obviously, there is a tinge of “living the gimmick” with any “WWE superstar” doing an interview, hyping up a big show, so please, take all of this with a dump truck full of salt – like the salt around the rim of an Uso’s margarita. Sorry, Uce.

Noting the budding competition between WWE and their chief competitor, AEW, Reigns said it is “very subjective with passion and tribalism,” which is a string of words; it doesn’t make them coherent. Suffering succotash. Reigns doesn’t see AEW as competition, as their fanbase is “a hardcore” one with both a ceiling and built-in floor, while WWE is more about connecting with the mainstream and has the capacity to touch the casual fan – something they have failed mightily at for the past two decades, but hey, who’s counting, right, “Big Dog?”

He also says AEW is being “babied” by the hardcore fans because they are new (AEW was founded on New Year’s Day 2019; how long is “new” a thing exactly?) and that it’s strange when the fans are the “biggest character” on the show. Sucks to suck for so long he couldn’t get a pop from a vending machine or put asses in seats. Thanks for knowing what a sustained crowd sounds like; hope the fed can get around to working on that “causal fan outreach.”

“We’re trying  [and failing] to engage the new viewer while also servicing our hardcore fan base [omega lol] and give them compelling stories to fulfill them as well. I don’t know if I’ve said it before, but I’ve said it before: when the audience is probably the biggest character in your show, that’s strange to me [again, it’s called a full building; try it sometime].  You’ll hear it all the time, the reviews and the comparisons [get off r/squared circle, my dude]. I think because they are the new kids on the block, they’re the cool kids in town I guess because of how premature and how novel it kind of still is, I think there[sic] still being babied by these hardcore wrestling fans. Which is fine. That’s great. I don’t think anybody’s going to ever, especially from a performance standpoint, say, ‘Oh no, there’s more opportunities out there? That sucks.’ So, it’s not a bad thing. It’s a great thing for professional wrestling [a banned phrase in the WWE lexicon]. It’s just a weird argument because there’s so much bias and there’s so much, ‘I’m on this side and I’m not gonna open my mind to the other side.’ [Says the guy who accuses the ‘competition’ of being run by only the basement dwellers; OK, brother] And it goes both ways.”

The WWE Universal Champion went on to say others in WWE may feel the need to improve as performers, no one is better than him, and that crisis or praise about spots or counters doesn’t mean anything to him. Just wondering, how many times has he speared someone through the timekeeper’s booth?

Questioned about working with someone with whom he has had some back and forth recently, CM Punk, he basically said if it was some kids “Make-A-Wish” and heaven and Earth aligned, perhaps. This isn’t the first time Reigns has sniped at Punk, either. This desperate attempt to get Mr. Brooks’ attention involved the assertion, via a BT Sports interview, that Punk “was not as good or as over a John Cena or as good or as over or move the needle like The Rock.” That’s just objectively wrong from every measurable perspective. Punk outsold Cena in merchandise during parts of 2011 when he was way more over than the Super-Cena that was driving out longtime fans. Also, if you think your cousin Dwayne was the reason the needle was moving during the Attitude Era and that wasn’t Stone Cold Steve Austin, then you’ve been dropped on that stack of dimes you call a neck too much. And that’s the bottom line…

“[A Punk match is] not going to elevate me at all. He’s older now [says the guy who just worked John Cena at SummerSlam and is a year older than Punk and is working the billionth match against Brock Lesnar at Crown Jewel, who’s also 44. This fucking guy…]. I haven’t really seen a full match [you  should; they’ve all been stellar, and you could learn something new, for once]. I’ve seen a clip or two. And to me, a step or two has been lost [haven’t seen a full match, basing opinions on partial information, gotcha; you moonlight for CNN and talk about horse dewormer too?]. Then also he got his ass whooped in the UFC [Roman, by the way, has never had a recorded professional fight]. I don’t think anybody really believes someone 200 pounds soaking wet with no explosive bone in their body could ever really do anything to me. I’m 6’3”, 265 pounds, a legitimate [failed] athlete [something in common with Punk; see, you guys have common ground after all!] who can throw some weight around and has been on the gridiron at the highest level [the CFL is cool and all, but buddy…]. D1. All ACC [barely a conference]. I probably would’ve maintained in the NFL if my health issues didn’t happen when I was 22 years old [Joe Anoa’i has battled against Leukemia multiple times, as recently as 2018]. So, I mean, when it comes down to it, I’ll throw him and pretty much the rest of that roster out the club no problem. They’re just little brothers, you know?” Good thing it’s all a work then.

Clearly, there was an element of the character coming out in this interview. That, and Roman has always been a dogshit interview, crying about the product even back in 2016. Maybe this stuff could draw a crowd or pull some ratings, but I hear the “hardcore fan” really likes your heel run, so congrats on being the guy to finally surpass CM Punk’s modern-day WWE Championship record run of 434 days. I’m sure that fake honor will get you “acknowledged.”