Roman Reigns explains why it’s all about perspective.
Roman Reigns recently spoke with Ariel Helwani for BT Sport and he was asked for his thoughts on the role part-time wrestlers play in today’s business. Speaking about performers that have left the business and returned for bigger spots over the years while mainstays like himself stick around, Reigns said he could see it from multiple perspectives, and some might be bitter about wanting more, but he fought to earn his spot and will fight to keep it.
Reigns namedropped CM Punk and said Punk wasn’t as good as the guys who were getting the main event spots instead of him. He noted that John Cena is in a similar position as a “part-time wrestler” now, but he sees it as a good thing because not only does it help get more eyes on the product, but now Cena is the one stepping up to him, and not the other way around anymore.
“I can see it from both perspectives. A rising tide raises all the boats, everybody benefits. So I do think there’s a strange threshold, but those statements are coming from bitter people who possibly thought they were better than they really were. When it comes down to it, CM Punk was not as good or as over as John Cena, he wasn’t as good or as over, didn’t move the needle like The Rock, it just was what it was. From a full-time performer, I understand the frustration in wanting more, but like I said before, you’ve got to take it. I’m a full-time performer, but I’ve done everything that needs to be done to stay in this position, to be in this position, to continue to make the opportunity for myself and to be in a main event at SummerSlam against John Cena.
If anybody ever comes along to try to push me out of that scenario, I’m going to fight like hell to keep the ground that I’ve made. It’s one of those debatable, we can go back and forth and we can change our perspective if you’re one of those types of people that can see it in a different set of eyes, but I just really think that if more eyeballs are being brought to our product, and of course it depends on who it is, but a guy like John Cena, who’s starring in multiple movies this summer and when it comes down to it, has earned the right and he’s at that point of his career where he is a part-time performer, I’m not going to complain. I’m just going to capitalize on him being here and everything that he brings with that. That’s my goal and that’s the whole gimmick. That’s John Cena, why wouldn’t I want to be in the ring with him? Why wouldn’t I want him to come to me, you know what I mean? This is the biggest movie star of the summer right now,” Reigns said. “He came to me, he came to the Head Of The Table, he came to Roman Reigns. He wanted to be in the ring with me, so I’m not going to complain about that. I think other people that think that they should have more and be more and aren’t willing to actually do it, they’re going to have a different explanation than what I just did.”
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Roman Reigns is set to defend his Universal Championship against John Cena at SummerSlam on Saturday night. CM Punk will debut as “Ricky Rabies” in the new STARZ series Heels on August 29, and you can find out the latest on his reported return to the ring with All Elite Wrestling at this link. Oddsmakers have even gotten in on the hype surrounding Punk’s return, and have listed a new favorite for his first opponent in AEW at this link.
Read More: Roman Reigns: Losing To John Cena At SummerSlam ‘Would Change The Whole Dynamic Of What I’m Doing’
"These statements are coming from people who thought they were better than they were.
CM Punk wasn't as good or over as John Cena, he didn't move the needle like The Rock."@WWERomanReigns talks to @arielhelwani about the fight for main event spots and putting eyes on WWE ? pic.twitter.com/0JK37sjkTi
— WWE on BT Sport (@btsportwwe) August 19, 2021
