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Roman Reigns has several important WrestleMania matches to his name and has been in the main event of the PPV on several occasions. This year, he was set to face Goldberg for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36. However, the latest reports suggest that the ‘Big Dog’ has pulled out of the match owing to health concerns due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The entire world is battling against Covid-19, which has seen several countries go under complete lockdown to ensure public safety. To avoid the spread of coronavirus, people have been instructed to stay at home and spend time in isolation – an important step towards curbing the growth of the pandemic. This has resulted in the cancelation of all sports events and even WWE now shoots all its shows inside an empty Performance Centre.
The promotion has also confirmed that WrestleMania won’t be canceled and that they will take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety of their employees. Reigns, however, is not convinced and is allegedly out of his match at the ‘Grandest Stage of Them All’.
In this article, we will take a look at five reasons why Reigns is right in pulling out of WrestleMania 36.
#1 To ensure complete safety of himself and his family
WWE have taken the necessary steps in eliminating the chances of any employee being affected by the deadly Covid-19 while shooting for the weekly shows at the Performance Centre. However, one can’t deny that any contact with other people during this time carries a risk of infecting those who are involved.
Although WWE have decided to go on with the show while taking the necessary precautions, it is completely understandable for someone who wants to avoid taking the risk. The in-ring action guarantees physical contact between countless people which makes the situation even more dangerous.
To top that, it is quite possible for Superstars to go home and pass on the virus to their family members. The reports about the pandemic have also suggested that sometimes it may take up to a week before the infected person starts showing the symptoms. With so many crew members, guards, and the Superstars inside the building, the chances of getting infected are quite high and the ‘Big Dog’ wouldn’t want that.
#2 Roman Reigns just overcame a life-threatening battle against Leukaemia
Back in 2018, Roman Reigns revealed to the WWE Universe in an unexpected announcement that he is suffering from Leukaemia and will have to wake time off for recovery. Fortunately, he won his fight against cancer and returned to WWE in a mid-card role. After spending months away from the limelight, the ‘Big Dog’ has once again found himself in the title picture.
Although the fans would have loved to see Reigns competing against ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt for the Universal Championship, his match against Goldberg at WrestleMania would have also been huge. Their encounter was being sold as a ‘Spear vs Spear’ match and it was widely being predicted that he Reigns will walk out with the title.
But the importance of this match cannot take precedence over Reigns’ health who gave his all in his fight against cancer very recently. He needs to take necessary precautions and must avoid picking yet another battle with Covid-19 that will put him and his family through tough times once again. It would be much better for him to continue this feud after everyone’s safety is ensured.
#3 Might encourage other Superstars to follow his suit
As of this writing, the United States of America has confirmed that they have over 85000 cases of coronavirus in the country. The situation is not any more encouraging in other parts of the world either. Most of the countries have decided to go under lockdown for a few weeks as a necessary step in tackling the spread of Covid-19.
This has resulted in the cancelation of major sporting events across all sports including Cricket, Football, F1, etc. Even the 2020 Tokyo Olympics have been postponed and rescheduled for next year.
However, WWE will continue with all their scheduled events without the fans in the arena. While the promotion’s intention of keeping the show on for the entertainment of its fans seemed right in the beginning, the risk has increased by manifolds now.
Even without the fans in the audience, there will be enough people inside the Performance Centre who could infect others or get infected by someone else. This global crisis has caused the entire world to maintain distance from other individuals – something that WWE must adopt at this point. After all, the safety of the roster should be more important than the show.
#4 Indirectly protects Goldberg
Roman Reigns pulling out of his title match against Goldberg at WrestleMania 36 has opened the door for a lot of speculations. Some believe the Universal Championship will still be defended at the PPV and the ‘Big Dog’ might be replaced at the show. However, that is not the only way in which the creative can go ahead with this particular feud.
It is quite possible that WWE won’t have Goldberg defending his title at the ‘Showcase of the Immortals’ this year to avoid risking his safety as well. Contrary to popular belief, he is one of the most important people on the roster right now and the company can’t afford him being affected by coronavirus – not that they should differentiate in such matters.
Reigns refusing to compete at WrestleMania 36 will also allow Goldberg to stay at home as well, without making the Champion seem like he is backing down from the challenge. The two might then pursue their feud after things get back to normal. Ideally, it should after Covid-19 has been successfully dealt with.
Even if WWE decides to replace Reigns in the match, Goldberg is still likely to defend his title against some other SmackDown Superstar such as Braun Strowman or Jeff Hardy. A successful title defense will only glorify his title reign before Goldberg finally loses his gold to Reigns.
#5 Saves Roman Reigns’ Championship match for the live audience
As mentioned previously in this article, Roman Reigns fought a long battle to find himself back inside the squared circle. Following that, he spent a considerable amount of time outside the title picture until his Championship feud began with Goldberg. There are two main reasons why WWE would not mind saving this match for a show with a live audience.
The first reason is the Champion himself. Goldberg defeated ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt at WWE Super ShowDown to become the Universal Champion and this booking fetched a lot of heat from the fans.
On the other hand, they were not very pleased with the decision of having Reigns challenge Goldberg for a title without Bray Wyatt getting his rematch. Despite that, people are in favor of the ‘Big Dog’ winning the title which brings me to my second reason.
This time Reigns' push to the top has seemed more organic as compared to the previous attempts of the creative. He may not be the overall favorite for the title but he will definitely be the preferred winner of his ‘Spear vs Spear’ match against Goldberg.
Hence, WWE would want the poster boy of their company to lift his title by beating a disliked heel while enjoying a natural push – something that we don’t get to see quite often.
