At WrestleMania 34, Brock Lesnar & Roman Reigns will collide once again in the main event for the Universal Championship. With that match being exactly one month away, let’s take a look at Roman Reigns talking about his WrestleMania 31 match with Lesnar on an episode of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast:
Reigns: It was just weird. It really was. It was last-minute… you know what I mean? It was one of those deals where we went in lot of talk and (they) didn’t seem open to ideas because essentially in their minds, and when I say their minds, I say Brock and Paul… they were convinced (that) however many people were there, 80 (thousand) whatever, wanted to see me get crushed. They just wanted to see Roman get his a$$ beat.
And I can’t disagree with them (Brock and Paul). But brother has got to fight. I mean, like – ‘Hey, you can kick my a$$ all you want, but I’m gonna fight’. And that’s what we did.
The coolest part of that match was – I got to the after-party and I walk in, me and my wife, and the first person I randomly see is Bret, Bret Hart. And he just shook my hand and he goes (talking about the match), ‘instant classic’. He was like, ‘there’s never one like that, there will never be another one like it.’ And that’s what I’m proud of.
It’s cool because it felt that way, but as we got closer he (Brock) got more receptive and he got more into the moment and then he was more open. And then we went out there and we did what we did. But I just think for me it was just about taking that a$$-whooping. And I’m very grateful to Brock because he’s got a name. I mean Brock is legit. I mean (he is like) ‘I’ll break your face’.
Again, I’m not scared to go in there and have someone break mine because you’ve seen him crush people, I’ve seen him get his a$$ whooped too. But just have the balls to go in there and do that… you got to be a man.
I respect him and I respect his name and the fact that he went out and he built it. So, for me, I took it very seriously. Like, ‘I’m not gonna go out there pussyfoot’. Like, ‘he doesn’t wanna get hit and that was the first thing I’d do’.
I knew he wanted to get straight to the (Suplex) City, and I was like, ‘f*ck it. Here we go!’ And nobody does this, like, it was ‘ding, ding, ding’ and I went right into him. I didn’t run at him like we were gonna do a spot. I stuck him. I caught him. And then he scooped me. (Both laughing)
Jericho: It was a great match though, because of the fight elements.
Reigns: Well, the thing that helped – getting hurt. It was easy to sell because it was a rough match.
So, he scooped me, ran me right into the buckle. Like – you just do the running deal. And he popped a rib. Something happened. He separated a rib. It was messed up. For the rest of that match I could not breathe. And then he started suplexing me every way. And then we got him.
Jericho: It was your dad in the front rows, was he mad?
Reigns: There’s like some speculation about that. No, he wasn’t mad. You know what I mean? He just gets into it. Especially that, it was brutal. My mom cried. God bless her. She gets so like scared. And I’m sure all our parents, they all call and they’re like, ‘Are you okay? That’s all I want to know.’
I’m proud of that match. I don’t know if it’s my favorite of all of them, but I think it might be my best one, you know, just story wise and just the moment and like the crowd switched and then just with Seth come in. It just had a little bit of everything. It’s really good business.
I’ve rubbed people either the right way or the wrong you. Either you like me or you don’t, but I was always like on a team, I was always like a leader. For me, as long as you rub people some way, you have like a position in show business.
Jericho: You get a top guy reaction either way. It might not be the top guy reaction that’s expected, but it’s a top guy reaction.
Reigns: Well, for me, and I always say – ‘it’s loud’. It’s really loud. I don’t know how else to say it. It’s loud.
But the thing is it’s cool because they compete. They compete. You know what I mean? The people who like me, they’re gonna cheer and then the guys who don’t know, they want to be louder.
That’s what it’s all about. This is the world that we live in today. Not everybody’s gonna like you. And and people want to see you do good but not that good. You just are the way you are. You have to believe in you. You’re living your life, I’m living my life. So I can’t go off of what everybody else is saying. I have my routine and the things that work for me. So far things have worked out.
Jericho: I like how the boss has been doing it to you because he did the same thing with John where people were like, “Just turn him heel.” Guess what? If you turned heel or John turned heel, all the people that are booing you, stop to boo you. They start to cheer you.
Reigns: If I turn heel, what am I……… (Why) just like everything that’s been done. Why not just be me? No one’s ever been like me. This is an uncharted territory. It can be anything I want it to be. So why put myself on one side and why not have the full range, (and) do whatever I want?
We are in a position we can do anything we want as long as they make noise, as long as they’re coming, as long as they’re making noise. And let’s have fun man.
Boo the sh*t out of me. If it’s making you cooler with this dude and that dude next to you and you are having a great night, please say all you want to me. I’m a grown man, you’re not gonna hurt my feelings. My wife is not gonna think any differently of me (Laughing).
