WWE Rumors: Update On Whether There Is Backstage Heat On Roman Reigns After Pulling Out Of ‘WrestleMania 36’
Roman Reigns removing himself from WrestleMania 36 amid the coronavirus outbreak was a smart decision given his underlying medical issues. The superstar only entered remission for leukemia last year, so he’s more susceptible to catching the virus. However, he was set to face WWE Universal Champion Goldberg for the title in the show’s biggest marquee match, and pulling out of the event put a dent in the company’s plans. According to a new report from Sportskeeda, there is no backstage heat on “The Big Dog” for forcing WWE to replace him at such short notice, as some pundits speculated that it may have upset officials.
Speaking on the site’s Dropkick DiSKussions podcast, Tom Colohue revealed that the general consensus backstage is that Reigns made the right decision. However, Colohue did say that there’s no telling if recent events will affect the way some backstage officials view Reigns moving forward, as they might feel that they can’t rely on the former Universal Champion whenever he’s needed.
“There is no heat on Roman whatsoever, or at least there is no heat on Roman that is public, I don’t mean to say that no one’s come and said it publicly but in the background, there may be, but in many ways, you may encounter unconscious prejudice. So there may be in the future at some point, someone will think to themselves, ‘Oh, we can’t use roman because he is unreliable.’ At the moment, everyone is in Roman’s corner, they truly believe in him and think this is the right move for him.”
.@Goldberg: WHO'S NEXT?!?@WWERomanReigns: … I'm next.
???????#SmackDown #UniversalTitle pic.twitter.com/8QIza0s1Vy
— WWE (@WWE) February 29, 2020
Sportskeeda also noted that Reigns pulled out of the event at the last minute, even though he was still involved in storylines and promoting his match. “The Big Dog” reportedly only notified the company about the change of plan one week before the event was to begin filming at the Performance Center.
The report also states that Reigns supposedly made the decision by himself and wasn’t influenced by anyone in the company. He reportedly changed his mind as more and more people around the world decided to enter self-isolation, and Reigns came to the conclusion that traveling wasn’t worth the risk.
Of course, Reigns has faced some criticism from the WWE Universe over his decision. As The Inquisitr recently reported, “The Big Dog’s” army of “haters” have accused him of being a “coward.” According to Reigns, these people are also the same ones who have voiced their frustrations over him competing at previous WrestleMania shows.
