Roman Reigns On WWE Dropping Single Branded PPVs, How Minorities Are Pushed, Brock Lesnar Rematch
Roman Reigns was interviewed by Chuck Carroll of CBS Sports to promote this Sunday's WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. Below are a few highlights:
Possibly facing Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania, having unfinished business with Lesnar after Seth Rollins cashed in during their WrestleMania 31 match:
"Yeah, we definitely have that. I think what puts validity behind this whole situation is we had a barnburner of a match. It's one of my favorites that I've ever ? Well, let me take that back. It's not my favorite, because it didn't feel good. But going back and seeing it and the outcome and the story and the reaction and just the rollercoaster ride that the crowd took with us, it was one of my finer days at work. There's always gonna be that animosity to wanna finish the job. Not only towards Brock but towards Seth for interrupting that. The key is to be able to get to that point and deliver and capitalize. Hopefully I'll get the shot. We gotta go through the Chamber on Sunday. We gotta make it out of that unscathed and then take a ride to Suplex City. It sounds a lot better than it really feels. Trust me."
If it's harder for a minority to climb the ladder in the business or if it's a pretty level playing field now:
"I think I'm a great example of that. I'm a multi-racial man. I don't think it has anything to do with your color or your background. It's the man that you are and what you stand for, and obviously the performer that you are. That's one thing that Vince [McMahon] deeply wants to be embedded in his guys, in his superstars, that they're good people. That's one thing he's always told me from the beginning is, "I don't care if you're the greatest wrestler in the world. I don't care if you're the most charismatic talker in the world, but I do care if you're a good person and I think that's all that matters." When it comes down to it, it doesn't matter what you look like, how big you are, what color your skin is or hair or eyes, if you're a good person, you're a good person."
WWE dropping single branded pay-per-views after WrestleMania:
"I think, like anything else, it has its pros and cons. It's gonna increase the work schedule as far as pay-per-views, but if you don't wanna perform in a pay-per-view, then what are you doing here? I think it'll also keep storylines fresh. It'll allow us to continue to dot all our "i's" and cross all our "t's" because we'll have more weeks to continue those storylines and these rivalries, and we'll be able to have more time to carry those out."
Reigns also discussed which minority wrestlers were influences of his, visiting the new African American Museum on The National Mall, where last Monday's Gauntlet match on RAW ranks on his list of performances, Seth Rollins' performance in the match and more. You can read the full interview by clicking here.