Roman Reigns Comments On New Part-Time Deal With WWE

Since spring, there have been numerous reports that Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns signed a new deal that greatly reduced his schedule. That has since appeared to be true, with Reigns appearing only on select Premium Live Events and episodes of "WWE SmackDown," and in an interview with the "Sports Illustrated Media" podcast, Reigns confirmed as much.

"When you've been on the road for 10 years straight, and someone who has been at the highest level, the main event level, I ran a full schedule for a long time," Reigns said. "For me, it was really just trying to balance everything. And as someone who has five children, we're at a very critical portion of their lives, where they're so young. This is where we build these relationships and these bonds, and they get to know who their dad is. For me, it was extremely important that I can build my fatherhood as the priority, and the number one hat that I wear. And WWE, Vince, everybody was really good about accommodating that and making sure to keep me in the WWE family."

But while Reigns isn't around as much as he used to be, he still plans on being a major player on WWE programming going forward.

"We're not going to be on every single PPV," Reigns said. "But anything that I am on will of course be all the major ones, and a couple of the other ones that fall kind of in between. The Big Four and the Saudis. I'll always support those with TV's, to build the story and the rivalry going forward ... It's a part time thing compared to what I usually run, but I'm an annual character on WWE television."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Sports Illustrated Media and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.