October 29, 2018 Observer Newsletter: Roman Reigns diagnosed with leukemia
Roman Reigns (Leati Joseph Anoa’i, 33), the man the WWE has been grooming for the past six years to be the face of the company, announced at the start of Raw on 10/22 that he is suffering from leukemia.
He noted that this was the second time he had contracted the disease, saying the first was 11 years ago, after his football career was over. That time line doesn’t fit perfectly since he played the 2008 season with the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League, prior to his July, 2010 signing with WWE.
The news seemed to come out of nowhere. Few knew that he had ever battled the disease, as either he, or Vince McMahon, if he even knew, decided not to allow that out. There were friends of his who had played college football with him at Georgia Tech who knew, but the number wasn’t large.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.