Universal Champion

The one crushing reality for wrestling fans is that your favorites can’t do it forever, your favorites are painfully(quite literally) aware of their mortality long before you’ve even started cheering them, yet they come back time and time again. Degeneration X, the Brothers of Destruction, they are back to do battle once again. The squared circle is a hell of a drug and few are able to quit it cold turkey if at all. Its an industry where so many are taken from us too early and without warning.

Joe, Joe Anoa’i is his name but he goes by the name Roman Reigns in the WWE Universe. Joe has Leukemia, it has come back to claim his life; now Joe has to fight. He was forced to relinquish the Universal Championship to continue his journey as a survivor.

I haven’t been a fan of Roman Reigns but I did/do plan on being one win he turns heel, I’ve hated WWE booking for years now but the most heinous of their booking has been the booking of Roman Reigns as a face. He is a natural heel, just like Charlotte and just like Miz. Reigns has been complicit in bad scripts, promos, ideas, etc., he is not blameless in that regard.

The unbearable push of Roman is far from the issue, so is the fact that he hasn’t shown much by way of speaking up and out against the awful booking decisions. The issue is that cancer is trying to kill Joe Anoa’i; this is unacceptable. Joe is a pro wrestler, a pro wrestlers who’s ass I said I would kick and I still mean it because I would do what it takes to protect the industry and those in it, including Joe himself. Joe is man that uts his body on the line and risk his health night in and night out; that is not lost on me. You see Joe is family, you don’t always like your family but you can’t pick them, I didn’t pick him but damned if he ain’t in the same family as Eddie Guerrero, Macho Man, Curt Hennig, Roddy Piper, Crash Holly; the list goes from the least to the greatest, from the unknown to the well known.

The list is all family, loved ones that entertained us and brought joy to our lives while paying heavy prices for it. There is family that is still alive that have sacrificed much to put smiles on our faces and we must celebrate them while they are here.

I went to a WWE house show once and there was a young kid sitting next to me and he was a big Roman Reigns fan and he asked me if I was a Reigns fan, I told him no and I told him how much I thought I thought Reigns sucked. There was a brief intermission and the child had come back with a Roman Reigns vest and a gauntlet. I turned to him and fist bumped him and complimented him on his gear. Afterward I let him hold and take pictures with my WWE spinnerbelt; he loved every minute of it as he cheered on his hero. That child was family cheering on his family; Joe Anoa’i.

Let’s not cash in on the compassion Joe showed on Raw and claim victory over Roman’s haters for social justice. Let’s keep it classy and keep that same energy.

When the mantle of Universal Champion is taken up by another-keep that same energy.

When Dean Ambrose turns heel…let’s skip that one.

When Roman Reigns returns keep that same energy.

If he is repackaged as a hell that says the fans turned his back on him-keep that same energy.

If Roman Reigns were to lose his battle-keep that same energy. Because Roman Reigns would want you to; Joe Anoa’i would certainly be grateful that you did. That’s not the scenario anyone wants but it’s one we must be keenly aware of and one that is not as unlikely as we may like to think.

Remember this day, it’s the day fans, detractors, the world and the WWE Universe is firmly behind Joe.

#universalchampionship #WWEcrownjewel #BrockLesnar #RomanReigns #BraunStrowman