Roman Reigns has been the WWE’s top man for the past few years. He held the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for a record number of 1,316 days before losing it to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40.
However, his climb to being the “Tribal Chief” has not been easy, dating back to his days with The Shield.
Roman Reigns’ Insecurity During His ‘Big Dog’ Era
Before he became the “Tribal Chief” that everyone acknowledges, Reigns was one-third of the faction, The Shield along with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. During his time with the group, Reigns was seen as the muscle but a man who rarely spent much time on the microphone. However, things changed after The Shield splintered and the three went their separate ways.
With the Shield no longer a faction, Reigns was forced to stand on his own and had the help of the notorious former chairman Vince McMahon. It’s no secret that McMahon wanted to push Reigns like John Cena was pushed. The only problem was that fans knew Reigns’ push was being forced down their throats.
At the beginning of his singles career, Reigns had moments where he was constantly criticized on social media for a supposed lack of charisma while cutting promos in and out of the ring, his inability to connect with the crowd, and overshadowing the other talent on the roster.
In a recent documentary, Reigns spoke on his career during the time he was being called “The Big Dog,” and revealed that he had some insecurity around that time.
“I wasn’t ready,” he said. “I think it created an insecurity which then created an obsession [of] relentlessly pursuing the top echelon of this business and it was all just happening too fast for me.”
Reigns had to reinvent himself in order to appeal to the fans. The moment came during the October 22 episode of Monday Night Raw in 2018. The WWE superstar announced that his leukemia had came back and that he had to take some time off to focus on his health and become better not only for him but also for the fans.
In February 2019, he returned to the WWE to announce that he was in remission. In a more recent interview, he revealed that he has since turned to oral chemotherapy.
“It’s a medication that I’m going to ave to remain on my entire life, most likely. So yeah, that’s just a part of my personal battle,” he said.
Since his return, Reigns has been at the top of his game and shocked the world when he partnered with Paul Heyman, who, at the time was known for being Brock Lesnar’s main man.