Roman Reigns had to break free from The Big Dog.
After The Shield disbanded in 2014, Roman Reigns would embark on a solo career, ultimately taking up the persona of 'The Big Dog.' While Roman was featured in many of WWE's biggest matches over the next half-decade, he knew that there was a cap to what he could achieve as that character.
Appearing on Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin, Paul Heyman said that he knew Reigns was a natural matchup for Brock Lesnar, noting that the two were destined to go down in history together. He added that, much like Lesnar when he departed the WWE in 2004, Reigns understood that he needed to break free of his corporate presentation if he wished to maximize his earning potential.
"So I had known Roman's family for so many years, and I could tell that this was a natural matchup for Brock Lesnar. This was Macho Man to Hogan. This was Rock to Austin. This was just the rivalry, the two that would go down in history intertwined together. They just matched up so well. So Roman and I had talked about it because Roman always, much like Brock understanding the cap of his money in 2004, Roman understood the cap of The Big Dog as a personality. Roman understood that the presentation of The Big Dog Roman Reigns, as much as he could make it his own, was always going to be the corporate structure produced talent.," Heyman said.
Reigns' Special Council would then compare Roman to George Michael's Freedom! '90, saying that Roman always had a vision of something beyond The Big Dog.
"I'll even reference a piece of music that Rick Rubin didn't produce. George Michael, Freedom 90. That's Roman Reigns. The whole thing about George Michael singing, they wanted my eyes this color, they wanted me to sing this way. This is how the labels wanted to present me because that was the marketing, that was the exploitation of my intellectual property. But as an artist, I want the freedom to soar or sink on my own and with my own merits. With my real colored eyes, with the way that I really look and dress and present myself and approach my art and music. Roman Reigns always had a vision of something past The Big Dog, but he was still too young," he said.
Since his return to action and aligning with Paul Heyman in August of 2020, Roman Reigns has held the Universal Championship for over 1000 days. The Bloodline saga has been WWE's premier program over these past three years.
Elsewhere during the interview, Heyman discusses Roman's 'Acknowledge Me' catchphrase and how it empowers the WWE Universe. Click here to learn more.
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