CraveOnline: Growing up within the business as a wrestling fan, was there any particular match that stands out as a favorite?
Roman Reigns: I’d have to say Steve [Austin] and Bret Hart, ya know when he got all bloody and passed out [Wrestlemania 13]. That one was pretty badass. That kind of sparked the whole Attitude era and shifted the fan favorites. I was really into [Ricky] Steamboat vs Macho at Wrestlemania 3. That was a revolutionary match as far as all of the false finishes. I think it had like 20 or 30 false finishes down the stretch. Even the Hogan slammed Giant match was memorable. Those were the things I remember.
CraveOnline: You’re from the famous Anoa’i wrestling family. What were family get togethers like? Do you guys just talk wrestling all the time or is business just business and family time is just family time?
Roman Reigns: It’s a little bit of both. It just depends on who’s there. If I’m with my dad, yeah, he’s going to talk a good bit about the business. He just kind of mentors me and tells me what he’s thinking about my stuff. But growing up and all that, family barbecues, it was all family, man, ya know? You have to picture it. We always had so many kids in our family, running around the yard, sweaty little kids jumping in and out of the pool, the front door and back doors swinging open and shut, all of the parents getting pissed off telling us to stay outside. Always coolers and coolers of beers and soda and chicken being barbecued, burgers being barbecued, it was a good time. It brings me back, actually.
CraveOnline: I’m a dad and you’re a dad. So I’m curious, how is life on the road when you have a little one?
Roman Reigns: That’s the toughest thing. That’s the absolute toughest part of my job is just not being there every single day. Back when my dad was on the road in the 80s it was different but fortunately, we have smart phones that can pretty much do anything under the sun. But at the same time, there’s nothing like being there holding your child, loving on your child, eating meals with them, that’s the toughest thing about not being home. What you have to do, is maximize your time, any time you can be a great father.
CraveOnline: What is your dream match? If you could face any wrestler from any era, whom is Roman Reigns taking on?
Roman Reigns: Oh, that’s an easy one. I’d have to go with Taker, man. It’s such an easy choice. I imagine just about everybody would say that. If you hear all the stories of him, man, he’s like a godfather or something. You know what I mean? You hear all of these really cool things about him out in the ring, in the back, and just with the boys and stuff. He legitimately doesn’t get enough credit for being a cornerstone of this business. That would be a dream come true to be in the ring with him.
CraveOnline: Did you enjoy your time with The Shield or were you just ready to go out on your own and be top dog?
Roman Reigns: Even in The Shield, I was always trying to be top dog. I just happened to be running with some brothers. But no, I don’t regret anything. For me, The Shield is everything. For me, without The Shield, you would have three performers with a great possibility still being in a warehouse training right now. Instead of talking about competing with Randy Orton at Summer Slam, if The Shield never happened, there just may have never been an opportunity to break though this. For me, The Shield is life. The Shield kind of created what I have now. I’ll never take that for granted. Its one of the things I’m most grateful for.
CraveOnline: Any desire to have a triple threat match with your former Shield members, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins?
Roman Reigns: Right now, I’m biding my time. I promised Dean that he would have first crack at Seth. He told me he’d leave a little for me. The main part for me is Randy Orton has just been a pain in my ass. Even from when, that night we [The Shield] broke up, that piece of crap, Seth, handed him the chair and he wore me out with it. So I’m gonna take out Randy just by principle. I’m going to clean up the outside of the house first. I’m going to do some yard work and then I’m going to Seth and clean up the house. It’s an ‘in house’ situation.
CraveOnline: What can we expect from your match with Randy Orton at Summer Slam?
Roman Reigns: A lot of heavy hitting. The plan is to hit hard and more often and just to tear the house down. You can say a lot about Randy Orton but he’s a multi-time champion and one hell of a performer. When he’s on; he’s on. When The Viper is in the ring, you got to be careful cause he can strike. But let him strike first, I’ll be the one to strike last.
CraveOnline: Having played college football at Georgia Tech, do you still follow college football on a regular basis?
Roman Reigns: A little bit; not in great detail. I couldn’t name off the schedule for Tech right now. But any time football is on the TV, you got to believe I’m watching it, especially if I have enough time to watch a Tech game. That’s a game I could sit down and watch a full length of a game even though they’re running the option [laughs].
CraveOnline: Speaking of football, what is the difference between the camaraderie in the back with the guys compared to a football locker room?
Roman Reigns: Oh, yeah, it’s totally different. Those guys I was really tight with at Tech, we all lived in one area or we shared an apartment. We were out every single night at the same places. What I have now with the boys I travel with, you know we go on tour. We are out on the road. We are family away from our family, you know? I think I would say it’s a closer connection between what I have now in the WWE than what I had at Tech. There’s nothing cooler than traveling the world, making money, tearing up house shows, doing TVs, and pay per views, and doing all of these cool things I’m able to do now.
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CraveOnline: Favorite movie?
Roman Reigns: Recently, maybe Wolf of Wall Street. I thought that was extremely entertaining. Nowhere near PG [laughs] but a pretty fun movie to watch amongst adults and have a drink to.
CraveOnline: All right, Roman, what’s the best era of wrestling?
Roman Reigns: The one we are in now, man! Probably the Attitude Era. But if there weren’t the era before Attitude era, Attitude would have never happened. I think we are kind of in the same situation now. It’s a bit of a changing of guard. As a product, almost searching for a new identity, because the guys you’ve seen the past 10 years, they’re not going to be able to wrestle another 10 years, you know what I mean?
Things have to change. New faces have to pop up, new faces have to step up to the occasion and take over the situation. We’re right on the verge of another change, I think. I think its going to be pretty cool in five to six years when we’re looking back and saying “Yeah, remember when that happened? This was the major play in why things are the way they are now.”
CraveOnline: It’s inevitable that you will one day be the WWE champion, so what’s the dream scenario for where and when that takes place?
Roman Reigns: It would definitely be Wrestlemania. Hell, man, I’d say this Wrestlemania cause we’re in San Francisco, I’m a huge 49ers fan, and a bunch of my family is from California and the San Francisco area. If there were a city to do it in, I’d say that. I’d love to have the title before that but to win it right there in that brand new 49ers stadium, it can’t get any better than that.
CraveOnline: Do you feel like you’re ready to be ‘the guy’ and carry the company on your shoulders?
Roman Reigns: Absolutely, man! You don’t sign up for this job to be on the under card. I’m not trying to open shows. I’m trying to close them. For me, I’m all about trial by fire. The way I learned how to swim, my dad picked me up by my hair, through me in the deep end. I touched the bottom, I started kicking and screaming, scratching, and clawing until I finally found air. If I can do that at 4 years old, I can handle it as a 29 year old.
CraveOnline: How much influence do you have in deciding your wrestling gear?
Roman Reigns: As long as I don’t go crazy, its all me. What I’m wearing for Summer Slam, I’m pretty excited about. Its kind of the same template of vest. It’s just a different set up. Probably by Wrestlemania, I’ll debut a whole different type of vest. It’s really cool to have cool gear.
CraveOnline: Yeah, I’d say you have the coolest gear in the ring. Its not jean shorts… or underwear.
Roman Reigns: No offense to [John] Cena. To be honest, the cool thing about Cena is he’s just in his gear all the time. He doesn’t have to get dressed. He comes off his bus and he’s it. All he has to do is pull up his kneepads. You know who is kind of a new Cena is Ambrose. Ambrose can show up in his gear like he just changes his boots. He puts on a different set of combat boots and he’s ready to go. I always joke with him that he’s the new Cena as far as gear.
CraveOnline: How far in advance are you made aware of a wrestling angle or the direction creative is taking you?
Roman Reigns: It varies. Due to how brutal our jobs are, you just never know. If Daniel Bryan doesn’t go down, I may not have the opportunity that I have now. You just never know when an opportunity is going to change everything and completely derail what the timeline was. Sometimes you know but you can never stick to that. You’re only as good as your last performance so you just have to be on your toes.
CraveOnline: What’s the process you go through before a match to get amped up?
Roman Reigns: My process is walking down to the locker room, laying everything out to how I like it. I’m very particular about setting up my bags and my dressing situation. I love to pull out that portable speaker and blare music even if nobody else likes it. To me, its just keeping everything the same every single night.
CraveOnline: What’s the best thing about being a wrestler?
Roman Reigns: I’d say the energy from the crowd. The interaction from the crowd, there’s nothing like it. Any wrestling superstar that goes on to do movies, I guarantee they’d say the same thing. There’s nothing like going out there and performing in front of a live crowd.
Photo courtesy of WWE
Joshua Caudill is a writer for CraveOnline Sports, a surfing enthusiast, an unhealthy sports fanatic, and an expert on all things Patrick Swayze. You can follow him on Twitter @JoshuaCaudill85 or “like”CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
