Roman Reigns reveals how he was able to thrive even without fans in attendance

Last year, Roman Reigns took some time off from WWE due to the COVID-19 outbreak. As a result, he wasn't able to perform at WrestleMania 36. However, Reigns returned to WWE at SummerSlam last year and showed a new side to his character.

Since his return, Reigns has arguably been doing the best work of his career, most of which took place without live fans in attendance. Many believe that it allowed for a smoother transition to Reigns' villainous character as he was able to focus completely on developing a brand new narrative for himself.

Speaking with Forbes, WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns opened up about competing in front of no fans and how it affected his performance:

"We’re in a business of moments,” Reigns said. “We’re always trying to create and capture these transcending and electrifying moments that really happen at its greatest when our audience is there and our crowd is live in-arena or in-stadium. For me, not having that portion of the performance to lean on really showed me how important the bridges of continuity are, the small details, the nuances of storytelling and the subtle pieces of information that can bridge the gap between huge moment to huge moment. Especially for a weekly product, something without an offseason—we don’t have a 3-5 month break where we go back to the drawing board and craft this narrative to put on for the rest of the year—this is something that is continually evolving and being hashed out in real time. It’s really important to be able to rely on those basics—the detailed portions of the storytelling to be able to create and craft a very complex, sophisticated but still very entertaining narrative."

.@WWE’s Chief Brand Officer @StephMcMahon and Universal Champion @WWERomanReigns sat down with @michaellore from @Forbes to discuss WWE’s return to live events beginning this Friday for #SmackDown at the Toyota Center in Houston.https://t.co/PsiGKqiP2a

— WWE Public Relations (@WWEPR) July 14, 2021

Roman Reigns was able to perform in front of a live crowd at WrestleMania 37, where it became evident that his heel side was in full effect. Everything he did elicited a desirable storm of boos from fans in the Raymond James Stadium.

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Roman Reigns will have a match this Friday with fans in attendance

Have a united @WWERomanReigns & @WWEUsos met their match in @EdgeRatedR, @reymysterio & @DomMysterio35? #SmackDown @HeymanHustle Full results 👉 https://t.co/rP0fZZutIu pic.twitter.com/lgsrGgJdw3

— WWE (@WWE) July 10, 2021

WWE goes on tour starting July 16 as SmackDown will take place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Roman Reigns is booked in a big tag team match this Friday. He is set to tag with The Usos to take on the team of Edge, Rey Mysterio, and Dominik Mysterio.

Just two days following SmackDown, Roman Reigns will defend his Universal Championship against Edge at WWE Money in the Bank. Who do you think is walking out of the pay-per-view with the title? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.