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A familiar name across the WWE universe won’t be participating in this year’s WrestleMania event scheduled to air on April 4-5.
According to a report by Pro Wrestling Sheet, Roman Reigns has decided to withdraw from WrestleMania and the WWE Universal Championship match due to his past health history and worries over the coronavirus pandemic.
Roman Reigns Out of Wrestlemania Over COVID 19 Health Concerns https://t.co/rbc6lYK8fP
— TMZ (@TMZ) March 27, 2020
Reigns’ Health History
With COVID-19 rapidly spreading across the country, and health officials urging the public to take the necessary steps to remain safe and healthy, for Reigns, these warnings are definitely of importance.
In October of 2018, Reigns made the announcement that he had been living with leukemia for over 11 years, according to an article by Joshua Berlinger of CNN. While the star wrestler had begun remission shortly after the diagnosis in 2008, it had unfortunately made a return.
Reigns was ultimately forced to step away from wrestling for four months to focus on his health. In February of last year, he made his return to the ring in a resounding fashion.
The Big Dog is BACK! #RomanReigns announces that he is in remission and back on #Raw! @WWERomanReigns pic.twitter.com/yHQdiFH2Ty
— WWE (@WWE) February 26, 2019
How WWE is Handling Pandemic
Still looking to provide entertainment for its wrestling fans, the WWE has made a number of changes on how they are going about business due to the impact of the coronavirus. In addition to not allowing fans to attend events, shows have recently been relocated to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando to keep wrestlers and workers safe, according to an article by Joe Otterson of Variety.
Furthermore, Stephanie McMahon, who is WWE’s chief brand officer, said the company has also begun taking extra health precautions for those entering the facility, according to the article. This includes working in collaboration with doctors to have every employee’s temperature taken upon entering, and also paying close attention to those who have traveled out of the country.
Lastly, in addition to moving all shows to the company’s training facility, the WWE also announced last week that it will be moving WrestleMania.
The @WWE has confirmed #WrestleMania will be relocated from Tampa Bay, FL to the @WWEPC in Orlando, FL. pic.twitter.com/BU49sEOV6S
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) March 16, 2020
Final Thoughts
Reigns’ decision to back out of WrestleMania comes a week after WWE made the choice of relocating arguably its largest and most profitable event of the calendar year. It will be interesting to see what transpires in the coming weeks, and whether or not other wrestlers decide to participate in the event.
