Why Roman Reigns Nearly Didn't Return To WWE
A Roman Reigns-less WWE was one major decision away from becoming a reality...
Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman were reportedly considering not returning to WWE in 2020 had one major decision not been green-lit.
Coming into this year's Show of Shows still reigning and defending his Universal Championship on the back of a freakishly dominant run at the top of Friday Night SmackDown on FOX, The Tribal Chief sat down with ESPN to discuss his incoming Winner-Take-All throw-down with WWE Champion Brock Lesnar at 'Mania 38.
On top of admitting that Reigns feels he made the right choice in sitting on the sidelines as COVID-19 initially gripped the planet, stating "I think I made the very smart choice in stepping back and kind of game planning and figuring this thing out and seeing where it went,", The Tribal Chief talked how he wanted to be seen upon his return to the squared-circle at that time:
"I just kept going back to power. I just want to be viewed as the most powerful superstar of all time, when it comes to WWE and sports entertainment. I just really wanted to convey this portrait of strength. Almost like a Mafia-style power. Not only is it respect, but they fear me."
And it was through this vision that an ultimatum of sorts presented itself as Reigns and his eventual Special Counsel were said to have considered not stepping back into a WWE ring without Vince McMahon's permission "to execute this story in a mostly unscripted fashion.”
Thankfully, the WWE Chairman saw the potential in this ground-breaking character shift and a Head of the Table was born.