Brock Lesnar’s title reign is nothing compared to mine: Before Crown Jewel, Roman Reigns lays down the gauntlet
At WWE Crown Jewel, Roman Reigns will face Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. With Paul Heyman in the middle, the tale of Reigns and Lesnar has been one of the most popular in WWE television. But where is this going? The Universal Champion talked to wwe.com ahead of the pay-per-view to discuss what fans can anticipate from the newest chapter in his rivalry with Brock Lesnar.
“I believe the most evident issue is how the roles have moved one-eighty and how the entire dynamic has shifted one-eighty.” Everything has altered with me and Brock in terms of where each personality has been and where it is heading, all the way up to Paul Heyman’s partnership.
“Brock was arguably the most renowned Universal Champion we’ve had in the past, certainly in terms of Title reign – but it pales in contrast to what I’ve accomplished in the previous year and a half.” Being a full-time performer and being able to showcase weekly on Smackdown, then every month, if not more, defending that Title on every major pay-per-view from the Big-Four down, has made a huge impact in where we are both at. For me and Brock, a lot has changed, but one thing that hasn’t is our physicality in the ring. Years ago, Brock did well against me, but I believe I have recently had the upper hand — and that upper hand.
“Paul Heyman has a really vast skillset, and there are a lot of fantastic behind-the-scenes elements he can keep in control,” Reigns remarked of his relationship with Paul Heyman. Many people don’t see the tiny things he does as a performer, so it is something that is now in place for me, and it is something Brock lacks.”
“There are so many duties and chores that I don’t have to think about right now; all I have to worry about now is the battle plan – what will happen when I step out of the curtain and defend the WWE Universal Championship – Paul will take care of the rest.” All I have to do now is come there and make sure that at the end of the match, the ring announcer says ‘and still.’ But Brock isn’t the same now; he’s responsible for everything.”
Reigns also talked about the jaw-dropping moment at the Greatest Royal Rumble when he went through hell with the Beast and slashed the cage with a spear.
“I feel like I was cheated out of the win that night.” The goal was to get out of the steel cage, and I believe I did everything I could to get both of us out — not to mention that if we had reviewed the video and I had a Special Counsel, Paul Heyman, on my side, we could have gone back to the replays and had a closer look at it. This is another example of why I need to work with someone like Paul Heyman to ensure that some of these thefts never happen to me again in my career.”
“Creating a scene like spearing Brock Lesnar through a steel cage in Saudi Arabia and not being the Universal Champion the next day is one of the biggest screw jobs in WWE history.” Regardless, it was an electrifying finish that the live audience ate up, but that is just one of many moments that myself and Brock Lesnar can create, and it is what gets people excited when they see two alphas going at it – the level of destruction, physicality, intensity, and energy we bring to the table,” he added.
