You've probably heard the news by now. If you haven't, we'll recap it for you: In an interview with The Sportster, Roman Reigns indirectly revealed that he has two more years left in his WWE career before he decides to hang up the boots.
How I feel physically, where my health is, I want to take advantage of the next couple of years and just really maximize my WWE career and give back to the company, to the guys in that locker room as much as possible.
Basically, he's on borrowed time. It seems as though his health won't be at its best all the time and there will be ups and downs that he has to fight through. So despite having been in remission, it's sad to see that someone who's career has such a bright future has to end in such a short way.
Also read: 5 reasons why Roman Reigns plans to transition out of WWE in 2 years
With that being said, there are going to be some major ripple effects to Roman Reigns leaving WWE in two years. Here are a few things that will happen.
#5. Seth Rollins will become the short-term face of WWE
Even when Roman Reigns announced that he was going to be out of action indefinitely, WWE made an instant plan to put Seth Rollins in that position. The expectation was that Reigns would return in early 2020 but he returned much earlier.
If Roman Reigns does, in fact, leave, then Seth Rollins will be the face of WWE. However, it'll only be a rather short-term thing and he may have a 2 or 3 year run on top at the most. By 2 years or more, there will be plenty of superstars on the roster ready to take that spot. Speaking of being ready to take the spot...
Also read: 5 reasons why Vince McMahon will never push Braun Strowman again following his injury
#4. Another superstar will be built to take that spot
At any given point of time, WWE is always looking for the "next big thing". They have the most talented roster in their history but there is a clear lack of organization and a clear lack of creative implementation to build stars bigger.
That's why they say that John Cena is WWE's last megastar. In a way, it is true. While Roman Reigns is undoubtedly the biggest full-time star in the company, he never reached that level of mainstream success that John Cena, The Rock, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin or even Hulk Hogan did for that matter.
The reason for that is because WWE wants the brand to be bigger than any star. Regardless, they'll be nurturing and building someone up to take that spot once they're ready and when Seth Rollins is beginning to wind down.
#3. Fans will start hailing Roman Reigns as one of the all-time greats
It really is true when they say that absence makes the heart grow fonder. You don't appreciate what you have until you don't have it anymore. If you noticed with John Cena, the tides started turning in terms of fan reaction once he became a part-timer and started appearing very infrequently.
Also read: 5 superstars Vince McMahon favors who will replace Roman Reigns if he leaves in 2 years
Now, he's hailed as one of the all time greats and gets a positive reaction any time he's out. Since Roman Reigns does have a Hall Of Fame-worthy career, he will undoubtedly be hailed by fans and critics alike as one of the most unappreciated superstars of his time. He is a solid in-ring worker and though he may not technically rank up there with the greats, WWE is certainly going to promote him as exactly that. His name will become bigger than ever.
#2. WWE may not have another star of his stature
Roman Reigns, as we mentioned, is the biggest full-time star in WWE. Seth Rollins is perhaps the second but he still isn't on the same level as The Big Dog. Apart from just the live audience and the kids in the United States, fans need to realize that children and people across the world watch WWE and they are very much believe kayfabe without holding strong opinions like we do.
They practically worship Roman Reigns as a hero and he is second to John Cena in many major markets - such as India, for example. Since WWE really pushed Reigns hard for the last three or four years, it's clear that he became a massive star.
WWE may intentionally not make a star of his level or they may simply fail to do so, depending on who they choose for the spot.
#1. Roman Reigns will pursue a Hollywood career
This is Roman Reigns' next big career path and he's been very open about it. He stated that while his commitment is to WWE right now, he is open to taking side projects. He also stated that once he's done, he can fully commit to films.
"That's when I think we can really start to dabble and go on a fuller schedule as far as films."
Once he reaches his physical decline, he'll pursue his Hollywood career and end his WWE run. It's interesting because he'll be following the path of John Cena and his distant cousin The Rock.
It definitely helps for Reigns that he has a distant cousin who also happens to be one of Hollywood's top stars. There's no doubt that Reigns can have a succesful career and though we wouldn't like to see him leave WWE so quickly, it's probably for the best.