Roman Reigns returned to WWE TV at SummerSlam after a four-month hiatus. The last time WWE fans saw Roman Reigns on TV was during the build to his WrestleMania 36 match against Goldberg for the Universal Championship.
Roman Reigns had decided to pull himself from the WrestleMania 36 match due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reigns wanted to keep his family protected and didn't want to put them at risk because of his work.
Braun Strowman replaced Roman Reigns to face Goldberg at WrestleMania 36. The Monster Among Men beat Goldberg at the PPV to win the Universal Championship for the first time in his career.
Why did Roman Reigns not perform at WrestleMania 36?
Roman Reigns was the guest on this week's edition of the After The Bell podcast. On the show, the current Universal Champion spoke about his return, why he thought it was safe to return, and a merchandise idea that he had but was ruined because of the pandemic.
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While talking to Corey Graves on the show, Roman Reigns was asked about his state of mind when he had decided to pull himself from the WrestleMania 36 match against Goldberg.
"The most defined thought I had was that I made many sacrifices on behalf of my family and this is one area I wasn't going to make that sacrifice. I would sacrifice my career, I'll sacrifice the performance, I would sacrifice the audience, if I had to. To protect my family, I'd quit. I will hang up my boots. I've done everything there is to in this business within sports entertainment, within professional wrestling, there isn't an accolade, there isnt a moment that I haven't had. Whether it was a WrestleMania moment or a little house show. I've experienced everything there is to experience. So, for me, it was about putting my family first. Right there, if I had to retire and if that was what was going to be asked of me, I was willing to do it."
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