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Roman Reigns recently appeared on the Complex's Load management podcast, and the WWE Universal Champion spoke on various topics, including his honest opinions about CM Punk, his relationship with Paul Heyman, his new character, and much more.
'The Tribal Chief' was also asked about his Mount Rushmore of Wrestling during the interview. Roman Reigns picked The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and Hulk Hogan, with John Cena narrowly missing out on the fourth spot.
Roman Reigns explains his Mount Rushmore of Wrestling
The Undertaker was the easiest of Reigns's picks. Most fans and pundits also unsurprisingly have The Deadman on their respective lists. Reigns then named The Rock before picking The Great One's storyline arch-rival, Steve Austin.
Reigns noted that Austin was instrumental in transforming the wrestling business when the industry was nosediving, primarily the WWE.
Reigns was initially split between Hulk Hogan and John Cena as, according to Roman, both the veterans fall under the same category when it comes to their characters and the targetted fanbase. The revamping of Hulk Hogan as a heel during the Hall of Famer's nWo run stood out in Roman Reigns' eyes.
Here's what Roman Reigns explained with regards to his Mount Rushmore of wrestling:
"I'm going to start with Taker. That's the easy one in my mind, especially when it comes to overall. I think especially the way he has continued to do it is Dwayne the Rock. Now we are getting into a really tough zone because you have to do Stone Cold Steve Austin because of what he stood for in transitioning the whole game, especially when it was nosediving. For a couple of years, all the marbles were on him. The environment of the audience was changing, as well. Then it's weird because I almost put these two dudes in the same category, Hulk Hogan and John Cena. They are very similar in the kind of characters they were and the audience they drew. I guess I'm going to go with Hulk. John, I don't think anyone ever as a whole career sold more merchandise than John Cena. That's just a true testament to Hulk Hogan and what he did, but I think what really, and maybe because of where I am at in my career, but the revamping of Hulk Hogan and the NWO to be able to transition his career for another 3 or 4 years allowed him to utilize the bad side to then bring back the red and yellow and be the old Hulk Hogan as well." H/t WrestlingNews.co
Do you agree with Roman Reigns picks and his reasoning? Who would you have on your Mount Rushmore of wrestling? Let us know your choices in the comments section.
