Roman Reigns will never shy away from his history in The Shield.
Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Jon Moxley, formerly known as Dean Ambrose, are forever bonded by their time in The Shield. Debuting in 2012, The Shield ushered in a new era in WWE and now, all three men are still at the very top of the wrestling industry.
Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns are scheduled to face each other one-on-one for the WWE Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble on Saturday, January 29. In the build-up to this match, Seth Rollins referenced Jon Moxley in a promo against Roman Reigns saying that Jon Moxley and Seth Rollins help Roman Reigns get to the top in the same way that Jimmy and Jey Uso are helping Roman Reigns stay at the top.
Speaking about this promo on the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast, Roman Reigns, much like Seth Rollins, said he would never shy away from his time in The Shield and that he loves both Moxley and Rollins as brothers.
"I never shy away from my history. Those two are my brothers. Mox and Seth, we've achieved and gone through the highs and lows of it all. That will never change. I will always have a deep love and respect for both of those guys. Mox, he'll tell you too, me and him were super tight, within The Shield, and maybe even a little bit closer. They may have been super bonded through wrestling and what they did in FCW and prior to WWE, but when it comes to whether we are wrestlers or not, me and Mox, we're friends. We're the type that can just hang out and have a beer, well, I guess not anymore."
Speaking about Jon Moxley’s recent decision to undergo inpatient treatment for alcohol rehabilitation, Roman would say that he is very proud of Jon Moxley for making the decision to change his life. In regards to recent comments made by Bully Ray that Jon Moxley should have apologized to the audience for missing time in the ring, Roman would say that he understands where Bubba was coming from to an extent but added that Jon Moxley didn't owe anybody an apology.
"I didn't see the take from Bubba, but I saw the responses to it. I look at it from perspective. I understand what Bubba is saying, only because I've been in these systems and worked for a billion-dollar promotion and Bubba has too. These are some of the mindsets of, kind of the direction that you can handle some of these situations because at the end of the day, we are performers and entertainers and we want to be there for our families. We continued through a pandemic. Obviously, it's a business and we're all trying to make a living, but that's what makes our product special. There are no seasons. We try to give our fanbase as much as we can. I can see where he's coming from, but in this day and age, to where there is no too much kayfabe, I might be one of the most kayfabe performers out there, there are so many cracks to see through and blind to peek into the backstage and so many people getting rumors and info and breaking this news."
Roman continued, "In this day and age, especially with how much awareness there is with mental health and taking care of yourself and prioritizing you, I don't think he owes anyone an apology. The fact that he was responsible enough to do what needed to be done and also not shy away from it and to help other people, you rarely talk about those people that are 100% inspired and motivated by what Mox did and having that brutal honesty with themselves and everyone else. I don't think he owes anyone an apology. I see where Bubba could be coming from in a very corporate mindset of prioritizing our fans, but at the end of the day, we do so much for these fans. We don't deliver the mail. It doesn't feel good to do what we do. Obviously, it's a choice, it's not like they're giving their money to us and we're not doing anything. This is a service and we're performing that service. The extra stuff can be a little entitlement from time to time."
Elsewhere on the podcast, Roman talked about his recent bout with covid-19, saying that he still feels tightness in his chest. Learn more here.
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