When Roman Reigns returned to WWE in August of 2020, the promotion, and the entire world for that matter, was in a very different place.
For one thing, there weren't any fans allowed in the building for RAW, SmackDown, or PLEs, and there wouldn't be any for some time due to COVID-19. Then there was the makeup of the main roster, with “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and Drew McIntyre both on top and Cody Rhodes, his WrestleMania 39 and WrestleMania 40 challenger, away in AEW pursuing “The Cody Verse” while iced out of the World Championship picture due to his own stipulation.
Discussing how much has changed during his transformational run at the top of the WWE Universe, Rhodes noted in an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show that his magnetism has drawn the biggest names from around the professional wrestling world back to the promotion, even Rhodes, who was doing “a whole lot of nothing” during his time in AEW.
“Everybody's story revolves around me. [Cody] is one of many trying to tie this thing up. At the end of the day, he's just a chapter in the big book,” Roman Reigns told Pat McAfee via Fightful. “This thing started in August 2020 when I came back and told the whole world that I was the ‘Head of the Table' and the head of the greatest wrestling dynasty to ever exist. We have done so many great things. There is a magnetism. You [McAfee] got pulled in. Same thing with Cody. He was off doing who cares, a whole lot of nothing, he saw what we were doing in WWE and he wanted to be part of that. Hollywood, Dwayne, saw what we were doing. I'm the only guy that didn't have to go to Hollywood. Hollywood came to me.”
Oh snap, that's one heck of a shot at Anthony Agogo, Malakai Black, Brodie Lee, MJF, and Chris Jericho, who were just some of the performers the “American Nightmare” feuded with in AEW during his run with the promotion. Still, considering Rhodes personally put a ceiling on his AEW career via his stipulation versus Jericho – and his ridiculous commitment to not turning heel no matter how much the fans begged him to – jumping to WWE really did prove to be the perfect solution to unlocking the potential of Dusty's son, as he's now a pin away from being the new face of WWE.
Roman Reigns takes aim at CM Punk,
(Pat McAfee Show) pic.twitter.com/PZiR4KPaa3
— Wrestle Ops (@WrestleOps) March 22, 2024
Roman Reigns is tired of CM Punk's bellyaching too.
While trashing CM Punk is normally relegated to the Drew McIntyres and Seth Rollinses of the WWE Universe, Roman Reigns decided to get in on the fun too during his appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, noting that unlike the “Best in the World” he didn't get to the top of the mountain and then complain about the view, as he's loving life as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
“I'm living my dream. This is what I wanted my whole life. I'm not one of them people that is, once I got there, it wasn't what I expected. I'm not like CM Punk where I got to the top of the mountain, ‘Oh, it's not what I expect, I'm going to b**ch about it,'” Roman Reigns noted via Fightful. ‘No. Once you reach goals, enjoy the dream. This is what you have been working for. That's exactly what I'm doing. For me, I don't want this to ever end. I don't want this dream to end. I don't want to wake up, so I do everything I have to do to maintain this position. It's a lot of work. I'm very private about my me time and family time. You don't get that backstage look at everything I'm doing. Know that I'm constantly working. I'm obsessed with continuing to progress. I know there is another level and there is more that I can do. I don't like to get satisfied or comfortable with the current level that I'm on.”
While CM Punk is unquestionably one of the most popular wrestlers in the business right now among the fans, he is not particularly well-liked by the older members of the locker room regardless of the promotion, as whether in AEW or WWE, his peers have been singing a remarkably similar tune when they participate in a feud together. Maybe it's a dissatisfaction with the business as a whole, maybe it's an issue with being proud of his personal accomplishments, but no matter how you slice it, it's clear Reigns is having a good time right now, as you don't fly that loose off the cuff if you're worried about a contract signing on SmackDown later that night.
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