Triple H reveals his first impression of Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns was no stranger to pro wrestling when he joined WWE as a member of the legendary Anoa'i Family. Triple H has been with the company for almost 30 years and in the industry for 40. The wrestling executive is now opening up on his first impression of Reigns after seeing many grapplers come and go while witnessing others lead Hall of Fame careers.
The Original Tribal Chief joined WWE in 2010 after a noted football career at Georgia Tech, where he majored in management. Then known as Leakee, the Bloodline leader arrived in the FCW developmental territory and remained until it was re-branded to NXT in 2010, which saw officials repackage the NFL prospect as Roman Reigns. The developmental system was being managed and expanded by Triple H and his team, which included industry legends like Dusty Rhodes.
WWE's Chief Content Officer was impressed after his first meeting with the son of Sika. The Game appeared on The Roommates Show this week and talked about how some wrestlers just have "it" while others simply do not. He revealed how his first encounter with Roman went and what he told The American Dream.
"In our world, it's hard sometimes... there are people that you think, 'This guy's going to be a big star...,' and it doesn't.. he might be a big star but he's not the game-changer of the industry. Then there's people like... the first time I ever met Roman Reigns, I had just taken over and sort of started what would become our developmental system, and he had just transitioned over from football to being in our developmental system, and the first day I met him, I sat down with him for like 20 minutes just to get to know him a little bit," Triple H said. [From 20:00 to 20:34]
The Game continued on about his first meeting with Roman Reigns:
"I walked out of the interview and, at the time, Dusty Rhodes was working developmental with me, and I walked up and said, 'If that kid's not the biggest star we ever have in ten years, I don’t know what we’re doing. Like... holy s**t, he's got everything.' When he walked in the room, you couldn’t help but look and go, 'Who's that?' He has an innate X-factor charisma... sometimes that happens, sometimes it’s the guy you just don't see it in them, and you think, 'He's good, athletic, this and that...' but it's really the character stuff. Sometimes it clicks, sometimes it doesn't. There's no science to it, but it's a feel," Triple H said. [From 20:35 to 21:19]
Triple H and Roman Reigns have shared the ring on six occasions. Reigns won their first-ever singles match to capture the World Heavyweight Championship in the 27-minute main event of WrestleMania 32. Their second and last one-on-one bout saw Roman retain the Intercontinental Championship in December 2017 at a non-televised live event in Abu Dhabi.
Roman Reigns set for major WWE RAW match
Roman Reigns is set to return to the ring on January 6 during the big WWE RAW Netflix premiere from Los Angeles. Unless he wrestles before then, this will mark Reigns' first singles match since losing to Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania XL.
The Original Tribal Chief will make his red brand in-ring return in a Tribal Combat match against Solo Sikoa. The New Tribal Chief is currently in possession of Roman Reigns' Ula Fala, and the piece will be on the line in this match.
The first RAW of 2025 will air live from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. CM Punk vs. Seth Rollins was also confirmed, plus an appearance by John Cena. A major former AEW star is also rumored to debut that night.