Roman Reigns will not be competing in WrestleMania 36. According to Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet, Reigns decided not to take part in WWE‘s biggest show of the year because of health concerns. He was scheduled to face Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship and it was going to take place next weekend at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Reigns reportedly said he didn’t feel comfortable competing at the Performance Center amid the coronavirus pandemic due to his battle with leukemia.
WWE reportedly honored his request and will be replaced by another Superstar. However, it’s not known who that person will be, but it could be announced on the next episode on Friday Night SmackDown, which airs tonight. The news of Reigns comes on the heels of WWE Superstars Rey Mysterio and Dana Brooke being quarantined due to them being sick. It’s not known if they have contracted coronavirus, but both will not compete in WrestleMania.
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WWE is the only sports and entertainment organization still competing in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. The United States now has more confirmed cases of the disease than any country in the world, and as a result, WWE has moved their events to the Performance Center with no live audience. Along with WrestleMania being at the Performance Center, it will air on two nights instead of one (April 4-5) and it will not be live. The show is scheduled to tape this week along with next week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown and Monday Night Raw.
Reigns is one of the top stars in WWE and his match against Goldberg was one of the more anticipated contests of WrestleMania. He signed a contract extension with WWE last summer and it was one of the many good things to happen to him in 2019. He returned to the ring in February of that year after missing the last few months of 2018 due to his leukemia returning. He also started in the film Hobbs & Shaw with his cousin and WWE legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Reigns made his WWE debut in 2012. In his eight years in WWE, Reigns has won the World Heavyweight Championship three times and the Universal Championship once. He was also a top college football player as he was named to the All-ACC team in 2006 as a defensive lineman for Georgia Tech.
