Roman Reigns withdraws from WWE event at the last second; Paul Heyman announces it

Roman Reigns has withdrawn from a major WWE event at the last second and Paul Heyman was there to announce it on WWE SmackDown. In a huge announcement, Heyman explained the reasoning behind the decision.

Before the WWE Draft officially began, Kayla Braxton caught up backstage with Paul Heyman, asking him about the rumors surrounding The Tribal Chief and his status in the WWE Draft.

In a surprising move, Paul Heyman revealed that Reigns voluntarily withdrew from the WWE Draft and explained why:

​

"Let me clarify that for you. These are not rumors regarding your Tribal Chief Roman Reigns. Ladies and Gentlemen, your Tribal Chief has voluntarily withdrawn from eligibility for the WWE Draft. This is not a negative, this is a positive. Who built SmackDown since the pandemic? Roman Reigns. Who is the biggest star in the entire industry? Why would he hog the Number One draft pick spotlight when he is not returning in the immediate future? Read into my words, Kayla. That is not what a real Tribal Chief would do."

This only leads to further speculation about where he might be going next. Reigns has been a SmackDown Superstar for a whopping 5 years now - which is a significant part of his career.

It's possible that WWE is simply undecided on where to send him. Since the big $500 Million/Year Netflix deal will be kicking off in January 2025, it's also possible that there is a big consideration to put Reigns back on WWE RAW.

It's going to be interesting to see where he lands when he makes his big return.

​