10 Times WWE Wrestlers FINALLY Broke Character (And Why)

4. Roman Reigns Becomes Joe

CM Punk Jon Moxley Dean Ambrose
WWE.com

If you ever need another reason to admire the way Roman Reigns is going about his business as SmackDown's 'Head Of The Table', then revisit his melancholy promo on the 22 October 2018 Raw. "Promo" might actually be the wrong word here, because he wasn't promoting anything or in character at all.

The man spoke to WWE fans as Joe Anoa'i, not Roman Reigns.

Joe announced that he'd been battling leukaemia for most of his adult life, then said the cancer had come back again. So, in order to properly battle the disease head on, he was vacating the Universal Title and taking some time away from WWE. His words left fans in the arena stunned, and there was a huge outpouring of support on social media.

Reigns literally said that he'd been brave-facing things by playing a character, but that he couldn't keep doing that much longer until he was healthy again. Roman, or Joe, hadn't appeared this fragile for even one second since debuting in the company.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.