What if Roman Reigns Never Wrestles Again?

We are a couple of days removed from the shocking news that Roman Reigns delivered in the opening segment of the October 22, 2018 episode of Raw.

Reigns informed the world that he was suffering from a recurrence of Leukemia, a condition he had battled and won a decade ago.

Explaining to the crowd that the cancer had returned, he announced he was vacating the Universal Championship while he begins an extended break from the company to attempt to recover from his devastating illness.

For those people who may be unaware, Leukemia is cancer of the blood. For reasons unknown, the body develops abnormal white blood cells that can lead to a wide array of serious effects on the human body as it does not function as normal. There are many varying forms of Leukemia, each with different degrees of potency and recovery rates.

In Reigns' favour is that he is a young, healthy man and he has defeated the disease before. However, make no mistake, this will be a long, traumatic battle which will take unbelievable strength from Reigns and his friends and family to overcome.

It is unclear how long WWE has known about Reigns' condition. He did not work house shows over the weekend that he was advertised for and he has been chiefly programmed in six man tag team matches ever since he lifted the Universal Championship from Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.

It may be that Reigns has been contending with this for a while. If so, that demonstrates an incredible feat of strength and endurance which should serve the former Champion well in his recovery.

Reigns signed off his emotional speech declaring he was not retiring and he would be back.

However, as mentioned above, this could potentially be a long and arduous recovery for the man born Joseph Anoa'i and there is the possibility that even if he does defeat cancer that he will not return to action in a WWE ring.

However, if that proves to be the case, what if Reigns never wrestles again?

SK investigates over the following slideshow.

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#3 WWE Need To Find A New Top Babyface

Braun Strowman - Lead contender for the new top baby face

Roman Reigns has been the premier babyface post-John Cena on WWE television for the past three years.

His coronation as the chosen one came at the 2015 Royal Rumble held on January 25 that year in the notoriously passionate and hard to please wrestling town, Philadelphia.

Fans loudly rejected Reigns during and after the match in which he was victorious, as they saw him as WWE Chairman, Vince McMahon's choice whereas the WWE Universe wanted their favourite Daniel Bryan to win.

It was so obvious to everyone other than McMahon that this would happen, as precisely the same thing occurred the previous year at the 2014 Royal Rumble with Batista in the unfortunate Reigns spot instead.

However, Reigns was the choice and WWE has persevered ever since. Four consecutive Wrestlemania main events later and no one can dispute the "Big Dog" has been the number one star in the promotion ever since, regardless of whether the crowd react to him in the "desired" way or not.

Now, with Reigns gone, someone has to step up, even if his absence is only temporary. If it does prove to be permanent, then that fact is even more imperative.

It could well be Bryan, as the fan choice several years ago is still insanely popular. However the more larger than life, Braun Strowman seems to be the most likely choice.

Like Bryan, he was also turned face organically by the crowd and is once more a good guy after his short-lived heel run ended last week.

The monster should win the vacated Universal Championship at Crown Jewel next week versus Brock Lesnar to kick off his career as the top guy in the promotion.

#2 Likely Hall of Fame Induction

Roman Reigns is surely Hall of Fame bound

Despite only debuting on main roster WWE in November 2012, Roman Reigns's six year tenure in the company is already Hall of Fame worthy even if he never sets foot in the ring again.

As the "enforcer" of the Shield, Reigns eventually broke out as the star of the trio with his devastating power moves and intimidating presence.

Racking up wins over the company's biggest stars, The Shield quickly established themselves as the premier act in WWE.

Splitting up in summer 2014, Reigns clashed with turncoat Rollins before climbing the card with wins over the likes of Randy Orton and at the 2015 Royal Rumble was set to become WWE Champion at that year's WrestleMania.

Negative fan reaction caused WWE to get cold feet and put the belt on Rollins instead. However, Reigns would finally capture the WWE Championship before the end of the year and was explicitly pushed as the top star in the company from that point on.

Defeating The Undertaker at Wrestlemania and John Cena at No Mercy in 2017 established the "Big Dog" as the man to beat.

He is a surefire Hall of Famer and should Reigns never return, expect to see his induction sooner rather than later.

#1 No Glorious Return

Roman Reigns hopes to return to reclaim gold

It would be a shame if Roman Reigns never returns to action. For the man, he lives and breathes wrestling as a member of the legendary wrestling family, the Anoa'is who boast such superstars as The Rock, Nia Jax, Rikishi, The Usos, High Chief Peter Maivia and The Wild Samoans within their midst.

The WWE Universe would also be devastated if their hero could never make a comeback.

If Reigns was able to return to action, he would unquestionably become the hottest star in the promotion; the super over babyface that Vince McMahon has always yearned for him to be.

It would be hugely satisfactory for Reigns too; not just for beating cancer for a second time but for finally eliciting cheers from the crowd and earning the respect the man's immense all round talents deserve.

Get well soon Roman. Come back soon.