- 2 days ago
Out of the mouth of the Tribal Chief himself - "I honestly don't know if I'll be back here again"
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For more awesome WWE, AEW and other wrestling content, check out: http://whatculture.com/wwe
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Roman Reigns is leaving.
00:03Well, well, wait a second, Michael Hambler.
00:06Breaking news ahead of our WrestleMania backlash stream.
00:10We are just getting ready here.
00:12There is just the two of us in the office, hence why I had to run out of shots.
00:16And I'm going to have to do that again at the end of the news.
00:18But yes, the big story breaking this afternoon, Michael Hambler,
00:22is what Roman Reigns, you know the guy, finger in the air,
00:26is leaving WWE.
00:28Maybe.
00:29Maybe.
00:30Yes, this is very, very interesting, this development that has come about
00:34following a live event where?
00:35In Trenton, New Jersey last night.
00:38New Jersey, yes.
00:39He caught a promo after the show, sending a lovely message to the fans.
00:44I saw some videos from the New Jersey event.
00:46It turns out the bloodline is still massively over.
00:50Everyone very much the ones in New Jersey.
00:52But he said, I've been here a couple of times in the past 10 years
00:55and I'm starting to work into a new phase in my career.
00:59I honestly don't know if I'll be back here again.
01:02If that's the case, I just want to say thank you for all these years of support.
01:06That happened after his main event with Drew McIntyre.
01:10And, yeah, the internet, as you can probably tell, has exploded with this news.
01:16Yeah, it's big because it's Roman Reigns.
01:20He is obviously undeniably the biggest star in the company, finger in the air or not.
01:23And now we have a career path that, you know, two prominent former big stars have already taken.
01:29There is almost becoming a playbook, as WWE would like to say themselves, for how to do this.
01:34You become a big star.
01:35You become the biggest star.
01:36And then the bigger industry says, we'll take your big star and we'll make you the biggest star in the world.
01:40John Cena said all that to The Rock and then followed in The Rock's path.
01:44Roman Reigns said all that to John Cena and now may be doing the same thing.
01:48These are not the first teases, but they could just be the first in a way that, I don't know,
01:54Roman Reigns himself is trying to make real what a lot of people have been speculating for a while.
01:58It could be, as has been speculated elsewhere, nothing more than Roman Reigns becoming a part-timer.
02:03Just doing the house show, sorry, just doing the pay-per-views and bringing them live out to television
02:07rather than doing the house shows.
02:09Maybe he was referring specifically to a building like in Trenton, New Jersey,
02:12where he wouldn't be expected to do these kind of things anymore.
02:15And you could just see him if he bought tickets to WrestleMania.
02:18The Brock Lesnar schedule.
02:19Yeah, exactly.
02:19For the want of that shorthand.
02:21There are a number of different ways in which a big main eventer can no longer work every single night on the grind.
02:27And maybe he was referring to that.
02:28But, you know, maybe not.
02:31Maybe not.
02:32WrestleMania next year was deemed to be Hollywood enough with him and The Rock.
02:37Maybe it's like...
02:38And just riding off into the Hollywood Hills.
02:40Thanks very much, everyone.
02:41See you later.
02:42Maybe he sees those big letters from like staring at the WrestleMania lights and thinks, I'll have some more of it.
02:46By that logic as well, the next person that calls out Roman Reigns for going Hollywood will become a Hollywood star.
02:52That's it.
02:53It's like when Edge asks...
02:53Boogs, get on it, mate!
02:55It's like when Edge asks for a WrestleMania point.
02:56We'll just answer that.
02:58Seth Rollins, that's how you get on the card.
02:59That's it.
02:59The first person to call out...
03:01It's going to be Cody, isn't it?
03:02It's going to be Cody.
03:03Yeah.
03:03Oh, God, it is as well.
03:05Look, do you know how I discovered this?
03:08So, I've not been on Twitter over the weekend and popped on to see, oh, what's going on?
03:15And, you know, on Twitter sometimes it doesn't give you the latest tweets.
03:18It just gives you popular tweets or what have you.
03:21It kind of annoys me now, if I'm perfectly honest, because it gives me stuff from like seven hours ago.
03:25And I go, oh, cool.
03:26So, you tell me, Chesterfield, I've got a chance in this.
03:28Oh, we've already lost 2-0.
03:29I saw a tweet from, I don't know if you follow them, I don't think I follow them, Wrestling Banana.
03:37No.
03:37Who I think I would have been clicking on their tweets because they did those brilliant moving graphics, which everyone loves, of course.
03:44And he'd created, or they'd created, I should say, a Roman Reigns is going to AEW graphic.
03:50And then he fell off my chair, subsequently read about this and thought, it's probably more than likely he's going to be, yeah, he's going to be a Hollywood star.
03:57The interesting thing here is, I think it's fair to say, WWE has quite a lot of their eggs in the Roman Reigns basket.
04:04I'm not saying there is no one left if he goes, but he is someone, and I'm not suggesting that he's going to lose the six-man tonight at WrestleMania Backlash, drop the title of Hell in a Cell, and buy SummerSlam.
04:16Be like, well, thanks very much, guys.
04:18See you in five years.
04:19Yes, but there will be a huge void, even if it's six months from now, a year from now, when Roman Reigns goes.
04:25I mean, he is someone they have invested a lot in, of course.
04:28Massively.
04:29Greatly so.
04:30This is, yeah, this is far from RVD getting popped in a car.
04:32Is that right?
04:33Both belts, off you come.
04:34Yes.
04:34I don't think it's one of those situations.
04:36But yeah, look, this is how WWE operate now.
04:39It's the exact same thing that happened with John Cena, and you could feel when he was phasing back and they hadn't quite got Roman there, you could feel the gap.
04:45Yeah.
04:46It's their job to make stars, to always keep the machine grinding.
04:49Vince McMahon wants that machine to keep grinding, so he's got to put stars in his place.
04:52It's a good test for them.
04:54I think it's way more, with respect to Roman Reigns, who I think is excellent on his day.
04:59I've said this myself on my own Twitter, and I've whinged on about it in other bits of content that we do here.
05:04I think he's kind of giving them a cheat code.
05:06They get 20 minutes of their television show to do nothing, because he just walks to the ring and does that.
05:12We get two seconds of video on our YouTube channel for that.
05:15He's going to be in 20 minutes and get a billion dollars for a time.
05:18It's about time this will force the test themselves again, by lifting him out of their main events, out of every segment where they need him.
05:24You know, they've got a huge roster.
05:26They've got assets with which to get an even bigger and greater roster if they want to.
05:30They're the biggest in the world at this, still.
05:33Making stars should still be their bread and butter.
05:34And I think their landscape is far more fascinating, ironically enough, with the Roman Reigns lifted out of it.
05:40It forces the hand.
05:41Yeah, I see this in a similar way to when I hear about wrestlers getting injured, and I never wish that on anyone.
05:47But I often think that this is sort of blessing in disguise.
05:49But if someone goes away for a bit, or like this, if someone is going to be, like you say, just sort of lifted out, I don't see it as, oh my God, there's going to be this void and what are they going to do?
05:59It's not like he said, like I say, I'm off in two weeks, goodbye forever sort of thing.
06:04They have time to plan this out, but you suspect maybe it even leads to WrestleMania 39 or beyond that, you know.
06:10He said what he'd been there, what did he say exactly?
06:14I've been here a couple of times in the past 10 years.
06:17So by that maths, you've got five years.
06:19But what I'm saying here is, as I saw of several of the, what I describe as opposite Vincels on Twitter, which is people who cry a laugh emoji about WWE and take dodgy positions.
06:34Not saying that there isn't positions you can mock WWE for, but I think turning around and saying, ha ha, WWE've got no stars, is a load of bollocks.
06:41Without doubt, Roman Reigns is their biggest star right now, but you can't tell me that, I mean, still got Brock Lesnar knocking about, let's not forget.
06:49But Seth Rollins, who they've done and kind of buggered up before, but he's certainly still got the in-ring talent.
06:54Cody's just shown up.
06:57Big E, when he hopefully finally recovers, is one of the guys that we've always pitched to take one of the titles off for Roman Reigns.
07:05Sasha, Becky, you know, the list goes on and on.
07:08I don't think it's quite the same as, like you say, when Cena left.
07:13And I hope, finally, and it's more of a hope than anticipation, this is the catalyst for WWE realising, you don't just have to have one guy or girl.
07:24You can have a few that are all really good.
07:28You know, like, when you think back to, what about the Attitude Era?
07:32Yes, you think automatically of a Stone Cold and another Rock.
07:35But then you also had Triple H, you also had Jericho, you also had, you know, a smattering of talents.
07:40You need one and 1A talents rather than just one and then, like, a few threes knocking about.
07:47Totally.
07:47I welcome this news now.
07:49We are, what, a month, a month and a half away from entering Stadium Season S. Ed Zen.
07:54Yeah, Drew McIntyre, for Christ's sake.
07:55I don't know if I get him.
07:56Three in a row, hundreds of thousands of people.
07:59Push yourself, test yourself, push your guys, push your girls.
08:01See who steps up in that enormous setting when you've got three goals in a row to make it happen.
08:06Let's just see.
08:07Like, sometimes it is worth strapping the rocket.
08:08It's not probably going to be an Ezekiel.
08:11But, for example, Ezekiel's getting bigger spots.
08:13Yeah, he's won't be over.
08:14Kevin Owens is really helping that act.
08:16All that sort of stuff.
08:16You just don't know.
08:17Give money in the bank briefcase to Sami Zayn.
08:19Like that.
08:20Just commit.
08:20Pat McAfee.
08:21Pat McAfee.
08:22Pat McAfee.
08:24Just commit to people and see what happens.
08:26Yes, exactly.
08:27It's going to be very interesting to see where this goes next.
08:29We'll, of course, keep you up to date with this.
08:31There'll probably be an update on this in a few hours' time when Andy and I are still here doing the news
08:36after the premium live event.
08:38But if you're watching this before WrestleMania Backlash, do join myself and Michael Hamflit for that one.
08:44Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
08:46And continue the conversation on Twitter at WhatCultureWWE, where you can also find me.
08:51I'm going to run off camera now to stop the recording.
08:54But Michael Hamflit, to wrap things up and to say this slowly, because I've got to get over there and press the right button,
08:59where can people follow you on Twitter?
09:01They can follow me at Michael Hamflit and us at WhatCultureWWE.
09:06All that sort of news, all that sort of good stuff, and Will Bond made it to the buttons.
09:09Thanks for joining us, and we will see you soon.
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