On October 22nd, wrestler Roman Reigns relinquished his Universal Championship Title during the live show known as Monday Night RAW. Reigns came out during the beginning of the show and made a shocking announcement stating he was diagnosed with leukemia. 

Reigns gave a statement during his announcement saying, “I’ve been living with leukemia for 11 years, and unfortunately it’s back.” He was originally diagnosed at the age of 22, he quickly was able to put it back into remission then and hopes for the same results now. He began fighting one of the most difficult battles that he would ever face, “But I’m not gonna lie that was the hardest time of my life. I didn’t have a job, I didn’t have any money, I didn’t have a home, and I had a baby on the way.” From where Reigns started, he has come a long way and now he has more to fight for. The second he admitted to living with cancer, the demeanor in the room changed completely, the room went completely silent, you could hear a pin drop.

In the beginning of his speech he opened with an apology to the fans and to everyone at WWE. “I said I’d be here every week, I said I’d be a fighting champion, I said I was going to be consistent, and I said I was going to be a workhorse. But that’s all lies.” When giving this statement Reigns became very in distress and emotional, holding back tears as the fans chanted “Thank you Roman” as a way to show their support. Reigns feels that since he cannot complete his job to his satisfaction stating “because the leukemia is back I cannot fulfill my role, I can’t be that fighting champion.”

Reigns then goes on to thank Triple H and the whole WWE staff and corporation, “The team that gave me a chance was the WWE. And when I finally made it to the main roster and I was on the road, they put me in front of all of you. The WWE universe and to be honest y’all you have made my dreams come true.” Reigns continues to thank the people who have helped him make it to where he is today including his wife, kids, the fans, and his coworkers. He says life “isn’t fair and it isn’t all peaches.” But as he previously stated he has hope and he will not let cancer beat him down, he will thrive just like he did last time and come out on top once again.

He ended his speech with, “I want to make one thing clear, by no means is this a retirement speech. Because after I’m done whooping leukemia’s ass once again I’m coming back home.” With this being said, the arena went in an uproar, chanting yet again, “Thank you Roman” now to empower him, this time meaning more than a thank you.

He finally ended his speech by putting down his championship title, looks into the crowd and says his final goodbye “I will beat this and I will be back. So you will see me very very soon.” Signing off with “Once again, thank you, god bless, and I love you. Believe that.” Finally he walked off the ring and into the arms of his teammates, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose, known as The Shield.

Nothing can stop Roman Reigns as he keeps his head up and keeps his faith as times aren’t going as planned. Reigns has the support of not only the fans but the WWE staff and management. Reigns will come back and be better than what he was before. Hopes and wishes is all the outside world can do for Roman now.