Roman Reigns Believes He's The Best Wrestler In The World

"They're all trying to catch me," says the WWE Universal Champion.

Roman Reigns
WWE

Roman Reigns has stated that his current pro wrestling mindset revolves around him and Paul Heyman believing they're the best in the world at what they do, doing so during an appearance on Cheap Heat.

The WWE Universal Champion and SmackDown standout spoke on taking his performances to a new level as a heel, and the level of preparation that he and Heyman put into their work (h/t Cageside Seats for the transcription):-

“Well I think the rare moments, displaying new layers, and elevating the performance every single week, that’s always going to be a staple of what we’re trying to do. But I think what’s made us so special is, you know, the preparation. And that goes individually throughout our careers, Paul [Heyman] and I. Everything that’s had to happen and the journey that we both been on to get to this point in our careers to kind of collide and make this thing happen. But I think it goes with the similar and the very parallel mindset of trying to be the very best every single week."

Reigns went on, explaining that he wants to go down as being the absolute best in the world, potentially dipping into kayfabe territory as he spoke of "lapping people" in a marathon:-

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"And this is some stuff I’ve said to Jey [Uso] and Jimmy [Uso] on screen, but I mean, it’s a shoot. It’s for real. This is the only way I want to be remembered is being the hands down, head and shoulders, better than everybody else on the show, everybody else in the world. They’re all trying to catch me. At this point, I feel like within a marathon, we’re lapping people because we put so much preparation, so much thought into the detail, the nuance, and trying to deliver the most sophisticated, not confusing, but very respectful stories as we can."

Comfortably the most critically acclaimed act in WWE right now, Reigns has held the Universal Championship since Payback 2020, where he defeated Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman after entering a Triple Threat bout in its last few minutes. This came one month after returning from a five-month absence to turn heel at SummerSlam.

Reigns has since acted as something of an overlord figure on SmackDown, looming over everyone else on the brand with his dominant in-ring record. In over 300 days with the show's top belt, he has notched 12 successful title defences.

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Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.