"Living under the label of what WWE wanted me to be" - Roman Reigns comments on his 2017 feud with John Cena

In a recent interview, WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns discussed his 2017 feud with John Cena. He stated that, at the time, he was still trying to understand what worked best for him. In contrast, he noted that he has finally found the character best suited for him. As a result, Reigns stated that he feels like he can present himself as he truly wants to now.

During the build-up toward their match at No Mercy 2017, Roman Reigns and John Cena came face-to-face on an episode of RAW to finalize their match by putting pen to paper. Before the two stars signed the contract, they traded harsh verbal jabs at each other, with John Cena clearly asserting his dominance on the mic over Reigns.

Speaking with Joseph Staszewski of The New York Post, Reigns touched on this promo battle with John Cena and explained how it was different from his recent on-screen promo exchange with the 16-time world champion:

"[I] was still trying to figure that stuff out, still living under the label of what WWE wanted me to be." said Reigns. "And now with me turning that completely upside down, and doing what I feel is right and doing what I want to do, and what makes sense to me and what’s logical to me and showcasing the layers of the personality that I want to display"

Inside the 'top guy' WWE reinvention of Roman Reigns https://t.co/0wlmNYkUhQ pic.twitter.com/0zqWqJ5d02

— New York Post (@nypost) August 16, 2021

Last Friday, Reigns and John Cena met once again inside the ring, but this time The Universal Champion handled the situation much better than he did last time. He even made a few snide remarks that cut through the leader of the Cenation.

John Cena will challenge for Roman Reigns' WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam

Following his win at WWE Money in the Bank, Roman Reigns was confronted by a returning John Cena, who, the following night, laid out a challenge to The Tribal Chief. After he initially got turned down, Cena snuck his way into a match with Reigns after he stole Finn Balor's title shot.

.@JohnCena saw an opportunity, and he took it! #SummerSlam #SmackDown @HeymanHustle @WWERomanReigns @BaronCorbinWWE @FinnBalor @SonyaDevilleWWE @ScrapDaddyAP pic.twitter.com/hpd1q2MZZA

— WWE (@WWE) August 9, 2021

Nonetheless, the match was made official for WWE SummerSlam, and the two Superstars are now set to lock horns in the main event of the show. The last time they faced off on pay-per-view was at No Mercy 2017. Roman Reigns came out on top in that bout, and with momentum on his side, it seems like Reigns might be able to conquer Cena once more.

Who do you think will walk out of SummerSlam as the WWE Universal Champion? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.