It’s said that professional wrestling is a young man’s game. There are exceptions of course, with Japanese legend Minoru Suzuki still going at it in his 50s and wrestling icon Sting doing crossbody splashes in his early 60s, but for the most part, you have older guys being phased out, especially when opportunity knocks elsewhere.
Roman Reigns, real name Joe Anoa’i, has been WWE’s largest draw and tentpole star for seven years. Having started in the company during their days using FCW as their developmental pool 12 years ago, it looks like his era of him as a full-time star could be sunsetting in the near future.
At a recent WWE house show in Trenton, N.J., Reigns cut a sincere promo after the show and addressed the crowd about a “new phase” in his life.
“I’ve been here a couple of times in the past 10 years,” said Reigns. “I’m starting to work into a new phase in my career, and I honestly don’t know if I’ll be back here again. If that’s the case, I just wanna say thank you for all these years of support.”
It was reported that Reigns signed a new deal, but with fewer appearance dates inked into the details. So he’s far from leaving the company entirely, but it’s unsure for how long the Hollywood calls will go unanswered. His cousin, Dwayne Johnson, became one of Hollywood’s top stars and has now positioned himself as one of the top people in entertainment across the world. That all happened because WWE at the time couldn’t come up with a proper offer for him to stay.
If Reigns decides to head to the movies, he’s more than ready for the challenge. Talking to Michael Kay back in November, when the time does come, he’s going to give it his all.
“At the end of the day, it’s about being thrown in that fire and seeing how you do,” said Reigns. “I have a pretty good track record of being thrown in the deep end. If that’s what happens in Hollywood, I’m looking to swim.”
