Roman Reigns: When I Returned At The ThunderDome, I Wanted To Work On The Tiny Details

Roman Reigns explains his thought process during the pandemic era. 

Roman Reigns stepped ahead of WWE before WrestleMania 36, deciding to not put himself and his family at risk at the start of COVID. Reigns remained off WWE television until his return at SummerSlam 2020. 

While he was away, Reigns studied what wasn’t working and wanted to change things up. 

“It’s everything,” Reigns told ESPN when asked about the last four years and how much WWE has grown during his reign. “I was asked a question about coming up and wrestling in front of essentially no one, a small crowd. I’ve wrestled in front of two people before. Literally taking requests. ‘What do you want to see? You’re the only guy here. You want a bodyslam?’ To take on the challenge of the ThunderDome, video screens, a very Black Mirror feeling. You have to be different. You have to think outside the box. One of the advantages I had was I was able to sit back and study the process. I wasn’t working at that time, at the beginning of COVID. I was at home, just doing the process and trying to figure out what was going on. I was able to, like a football player, study film. I’m watching my colleagues not take advantage of the silence. They’re still wrestling as if we’re in front of thousands of people. The art form is built for a simultaneous response, but when you don’t have that, you have to change it up. You have to throw a curveball. You have to figure out what other pitches you can throw. I figured, why not bring the big screen? When it’s my time to get back in there, let’s work on the nuances, the tiny details, because we don’t have to cater to the ecosystem or the atmosphere that we create. We never want to not showcase that. We always want to show the craziness that is the WWE universe, but if we don’t have them, how do you stand out. That’s how I attack it.”

Reigns has been the WWE Universal Champion since Payback 2020 and the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion since WrestleMania 38. 

Reigns will compete at both nights of WrestleMania 40, defending his title against Cody Rhodes in the main event of night two. He’ll team with The Rock to face Rhodes & Seth Rollins in the main event of night one. 

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