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Roman Reigns recently made his return to WWE TV for the first time since March. The former World Champion will now challenge for the Universal Championship at Payback after he sent a strong message to both Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt at SummerSlam.
Roman Reigns has been missing from WWE TV whilst he self-isolated as part of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it appears that the danger has now passed and Reigns has been able to make his return to the company.
Over the past few months, Roman Reigns hasn't been able to see many of his closest friends whilst away from the company and interestingly, the former Universal Champion has many friends on WWE's main roster.
#5. Sasha Banks
Sasha Banks came through the ranks in NXT and obviously crossed paths with Roman Reigns on her way through developmental, whilst also teaming together in a mixed tag team match against Rusev and Charlotte on RAW back in 2016. Banks has also defended Reigns against many of his haters over the years since she believes that it's jealousy based on his talent.
Sasha Banks revealed when the former Universal Champion was diagnosed with Leukemia, that the star had taught her so much since she had been on Monday Night RAW and that everyone in the company looks up to Reigns.
“Everyone found out with that promo, the whole world. No-one backstage knew. I ran to gorilla ’cause I’m like- he is the strongest, most amazing man I’ve ever met. He’s taught me so much since I’ve been on RAW.
“To know he has been battling with this and didn’t tell a soul and he is legit. He is a leader, he is everyone- everyone looks up to him. There’s no bad word[s] that anybody can say about him, because he is the hardest working person I’ve ever met, and I wish him all the best, and I know he’s gonna overcome this.”
Roman Reigns and Sasha Banks are now on the SmackDown roster together once again, which means that there is a chance that these two stars could team up together again in the near future, especially since both WWE stars could be heel coming out of WWE Payback.
#4. Braun Strowman
At present, Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman are on-screen rivals since they will both fight for the Universal Championship in a No Holds Barred match at WWE Payback. Strowman and Reigns have been rivals and friends at different points in their careers, but outside of the ring, the two men are the closest friends.
Roman Reigns and Strowman were in the middle of a feud on WWE TV back in 2017 and the two men decided to go sightseeing together, and images of the two men were then spotted online, which broke kayfabe.
At the time, Strowman and Roman Reigns were in the middle of a blood feud which includes some fantastic matches. Reigns crashing and ambulance, and Strowman at one point flipping the emergency vehicle.
Not only did this day of sightseeing ruin the illusion that the two men were in the middle of an intense feud that was being pushed forward by WWE, but it made it clear that throughout their time working together on-screen, Strowman and Reigns had become close friends.
#3. Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns have crossed paths in WWE ring a number of times. But, one of the biggest matches between the two men came back in 2015 when Bryan was able to push Reigns to have one of the best matches of his career.
Roman Reigns won the chance to fight in the main event of WrestleMania by defeating Bryan. It appears that Reigns hasn't forgotten that Bryan stepped up and helped him to deliver that day.
Roman Reigns spoke to Answer The Call a few years ago, where he was able to reveal how close he is to Daniel Bryan.
"Bryan is the best. If anybody says any different, they're an idiot. You can learn anything from him.” asserts Reigns. He has had a long association with Bryan starting from his days in The Shield, when he was feuding with Bryan, Kane and Ryback. Roman feels that he has come to realise the importance of putting in the hours in the ring and in the business as a whole from the journey of Daniel Bryan. “Bryan is a journeyman, and he's one of the few that we have, with Seth and Dean also in that category. He's just so smart. He has a great take on everything, and he doesn't just think about his product. He has so much knowledge on life. I feel very blessed to have made a friend with Daniel Bryan."
Roman Reigns has also noted on numerous occasions that if he is to completely turn heel on WWE TV then he wants it to be against Daniel Bryan.
#2. Seth Rollins
Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns were promoted to the main roster together back in 2012 as two-thirds of The Shield. Over the years, Reigns has talked about how much he learned from Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose throughout those first few years on the main roster.
Rollins and Reigns have been able to put on some fantastic matches over the years and when the former World Champion found out about his former teammate's leukemia diagnosis, he was visibly upset on WWE TV.
Whilst Roman Reigns was on the sidelines back in 2018, Rollins admitted during an interview with Iridian Fierro of La Ley 107.9, that he spoke to Roman Reigns regularly and the two friends caught up at least once a week.
"I stay in touch with Roman. I talk to him once a week just to see how he’s doing. Mostly it’s about that. At the end of the day he doesn’t want to worry about work, he doesn’t want to deal with that headache right now, so it’s about seeing how he’s doing and his recovery right now.
"It’s nice to hear from him, and once in a while he’ll have a question about how things are going [with RAW], but it’s mostly just two friends catching up together."
Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are currently on separate WWE brands, but with the WWE draft coming up, there's a chance that the two men could cross paths once again.
#1. R-Truth
R-Truth is one of the most entertaining stars in WWE at present and it's interesting to note that off-screen Truth is very similar to his on-screen character. Truth took Roman Reigns under his wing when he first came to WWE and the two men have been traveling together for the past six years, where they have become close friends.
Roman Reigns spoke to Sports Illustrated back in 2019 and confirmed that he was close friends with R-Truth and that he believes he is one of the greatest of all time.
"Ronnie is my best friend. He's right there with the Usos, he's like blood to me.""We first started riding together six years ago. He used to always tell me, 'Be that babyface, baby. Always be kind to people.' We've been tight for a long time, and he's one of the greatest of all-time."
The former 38-time 24/7 Champion has always been one of the stars supporting Roman Reigns throughout his career and throughout that time, it's clear that the two men have developed a strong bond.
