Roman Reigns on how his latest leukemia battle changed his outlook, how he’ll react if WWE fans who are cheering now eventually reject him

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

Roman Reigns spoke with Brian Fritz of Sporting News and spoke about the new outlook that his latest leukemia battle left him with. “For me, it rearranged my perspective because I still enjoy creating,” Reigns said. “I love to go out there and tell a story through wrestling and sports entertainment, but we’re in a place now where we’re not just performers. We are people. I’ve always wanted to have just a little more of a purpose than just being that entertainer and I think now with my story and the things I’ve gone through, people can connect with me and they can see where I’m coming from and the struggles I’ve been through and it gives them a little better taste of the person I am. If they can connect with Joe a little more than Roman, then I think I’m doing a better job at my career and my life than I was before.”

Reigns also addressed the idea that some fans who are cheering him now may revert to booing him. “As long as they are achieving what they set out to do when they come to these shows and that’s to have a good time, to get lost in it – whether it’s cheering or booing – as long as you’re having an emotional connection, that’s all I care about because I don’t want you to pay your money and then come here and sit on your hands,” he said. “I want you to go nuts whether it’s in a good or a bad way. I want you to go crazy and have a great time and disconnect from the world and escape with us.” Read the full interview at SportingNews.com.

Powell’s POV: We need more Joe and less Roman on WWE television. Vince McMahon can’t stop himself from booking Roman as a dominant babyface badass, but it was the more relatable Joe that truly connected with the audience. Reigns also spoke about missing the crew while he was sidelined, the hellacious schedule brought on by the European tour and the new wild card rule, his role in the Hobbs and Shaw film with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and more.

Check below for the latest Pro Wrestling Boom Podcast with Jason Powell and guest Gursinder Singh (a/k/a Tony Gill), who explains why he asked for his release from Impact Wrestling. He also discusses his background, being trained by Lance Storm, being in the Desi Hit Squad, his future, and more.