Giving back means more than even WrestleMania, and Roman Reigns is a prime example
WWE Superstar Roman Reigns took some heat from some fans on social media who vented about him and at him, because he opted not to participate in WrestleMania 36.
Whether the reason(s) was health concerns (Reigns is a cancer survivor), family related and/or other, WWE allowed him to back out of his WrestleMania title match against Universal champion Goldberg.
Like him or not, The Big Dawg gives his 110 percent each time in the ring, especially on the big stage. He has already contributed WrestleMania moments with hard-fought, aggressive battles against Brock Lesnar (twice), Triple H, Drew McIntyre, and The Undertaker.
Getting Over Via Undertaker
Just reflect on the next night on “Raw” after Reigns beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando.
The crowd at the Amway Center for Monday Night Raw would not let Reigns speak. Fans booed and jeered him for several minutes while he just stood in the middle of the ring to open the show. That reaction was amazing, one of the loudest and longest in a long time, and he didn’t have to say a word.
And he didn’t, until the end, when he blurted, “This is my yard now,” dropped the mic and left.
The Roman Empire
Reigns, 34, a former Georgia Tech football player, is a four-time world champion in WWE, having held the WWE championship three times and the Universal championship once.
He enjoys what he does in WWE. His passion for the business is hereditary, so to speak, blossoming from the famous Samoan Anoa’i wrestling family tree.
https://www.foxsports.com/wwe/story/roman-reigns-10-most-powerful-moments-022520
Main eventing WrestleMania, something he has accomplished, is still a goal, and facing Goldberg for one of the main titles is main-event worthy, but this WrestleMania is different. Because or coronavirus, it moved from a sold-out 75,000-plus Raymond James Stadium in Tampa to an empty and much, much smaller WWE Performance Center across I-4 in Orlando.
The COVID-19 Effect
WWE decided to split WrestleMania into two nights, a first, and taped the show, another first, which was smart because the city, county or state could shut down all activities at anytime with COVID-19 concerns.
Reports on the Internet claim Dana Brooke, The Miz and Rey Mysterio did not wrestle, because of health issues. If someone was not feeling well (not necessarily coronavirus), they were sent home or told to stay home.
Only healthy essential personnel could participate in WrestleMania 36.
Reigns, a Tampa resident, opted on his own to remain home, and WWE obliged.
This is a tough time for everyone around the world. This is bigger than WrestleMania. It’s about health, safety, life.
I think Roman Reigns made a good decision. Sure, I would like to see The Roman Empire compete against WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg, but there is a bigger picture during these trying times.
The bigger picture
Speaking of a bigger picture, giving back is a mantra of WWE.
During WrestleMania Week in the host area, WWE conducts several events, giving back to that community. Just awesome.
Unfortunately, can’t this year, like it would, because of coronavirus.
Still, WWE Superstar Roman Reigns found a way.
Anthony, 15, is a kidney disease patient, who visits the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital each week in (South Florida) Hollywood to undergo dialysis. He is a big WWE fan, and his favorite superstar is Roman Reigns.
When the staff at the children’s hospital learned that Anthony was upset because he could not attend WrestleMania 36 — since it was moved to an empty WWE PC — they, along with members of the hospital’s nonprofit foundation and its Child Life specialists, decided to do something about it.
Anthony acquired WrestleMania 36 tickets and was really looking forward to experiencing the Super Bowl of pro wrestling firsthand.
With those plans dashed because of COVID-19, the children’s hospital contacted Reigns, who was more than happy to send Anthony a shout-out video.
The situation hit close to home as Reigns is a cancer survivor.
The children’s hospital staff then surprised the teen with the video earlier this week during one of his dialysis sessions.
Reigns delivered much more than a five-star match or WrestleMania moment.
Putting smiles on faces is another WWE mantra, and Anthony’s face said it all.
Throughout the year, WWE would do that, especially WrestleMania Week when it gets involved in the host area community with activities and charity type events.
The company can not this time around, because of the coronavirus concerns, but Reigns did it on his own with this one act of kindness during WrestleMania Week, via special video message to Anthony.
That, my friends, is a bigger picture.
Keep fighting Anthony, and Happy WrestleMania everybody.
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This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 11:02 AM.
