Roman Reigns on studying other WWE stars: ‘You take pages from people’s playbooks’
In the pursuit of greatness, Roman Reigns is sure to study other WWE stars and find ways he can improve his own game.
The Tribal Chief was a guest on The Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday, promoting his upcoming match against Bronson Reed at WWE Crown Jewel: Perth. During the conversation, Reigns was asked if he’s ever gotten the opportunity to speak with other top-tier sports greats like Tom Brady. Reigns said he hasn’t had that privilege, but he studies people like Brady, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods. Reigns also studies other WWE stars from the past and present.
“You take pages from people’s playbooks. You see somebody doing something seamlessly — ‘Oh, man.’ Like, you know, Brock, Cena, older guys than me like Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, all the way back to someone I didn’t get much time with, The Undertaker,” Reigns said.
“Everybody’s got something that they do. Just like, ‘Man, that’s so smart. Where did you figure that out?’ And then you just steal that. That’s all it is, just stealing plays. Like football, it’s copycat. You know what I mean? You just take what you like and make it your own, and then all of a sudden they’re singing your praises.”
Reigns vs. Reed at Crown Jewel this Saturday has an Australian Street Fight stipulation. The two faced off at Clash in Paris at the end of August, where Reigns got the win but was then laid out by Reed and Bron Breakker. The angle briefly wrote Reigns off WWE programming to film the upcoming “Street Fighter” movie he has a role in.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.