Roman Reigns speaks after Raw.
Last night on WWE Raw, Roman Reigns made his return to television, announcing his leukemia had gone into remission and that he was "back." Later in the night, Reigns showed no signs of wear and tear as he, alongside Seth Rollins, took out Bobby Lashley, Drew McIntyre, Elias, and Baron Corbin with his trademark Spear and Superman Punch.
Backstage in an exclusive interview with WWE, Roman discussed his emotional return.
"I sat around and thought about how this would go for a long time. I was so nervous and choked up and emotional that, I hope it came off well and everyone knows how grateful I am," said Roman. "The second half of the night was cool because we were able to show them through action just how much better I'm doing. Hopefully, after seeing some physicality and kicking some ass, they can tell, 'He is much better. He's doing better, looking better, and moving better.' Hopefully, people will stop worrying about me and will deflect this beautiful energy that's been sent to me and use it to help others."
Roman continued, "I'm a bit of a polarizing character at times. Just to see everybody put away their opinions and critiques and just put love behind what they were sending to me is awesome. I always feel like that's my family out there. It's like, 'We can pick on this guy sometimes, but nobody else can, including cancer.' It was nice to see everybody rally behind me."
Roman was then asked about his time away and his fight against cancer. Reigns announced on Oct. 22 that his leukemia had returned, forcing him to step away from the WWE for the time being. Reigns admitted that he was more scared this time than he was over a decade ago when he first had to fight the disease.
"I was terrified of this because you just never know. I'm not a doctor or scientist. I'm in God's hands at that point, hoping my medical team can make things happen and they did. I always had faith. I always knew...I just didn't know when. I was a much younger man the first time. 22 years old, just spry. I've been on the road for almost seven years. I could tell that the energy drop was totally different. To be able to bounce back, it's completely Godsend."
Finally, Reigns was asked about the Universal Title, a belt he vacated the same night he announced his leukemia had returned. Brock Lesnar would go on to win the title at WWE Crown Jewel in a singles bout against Braun Strowman. Roman admitted that he's not worried about the title at the moment.
"I feel like I got a long ways to go. Right now, it's not about the title," said Reigns. "It's about being in the ring, being with my fans, entertaining them, supporting this company and just being part of the show. That's what I miss the most. Being (backstage), being with everybody, the camaraderie."
You can view the entire interview with Roman in the video above.
