What disease did Roman Reigns have?
Roman Reigns is currently enjoying the run of his career. It has only been ups for The Tribal Chief for a long time now. Indeed, whatever he touches is turning into gold, making him the undisputed Midas of WWE.
Reigns will be the first to tell you that his success came after a string of lows. His rise to the status of Tribal Chief and Head of the Table was not built on an already-stable foundation. Before his heel turn, The Big Dog was being booed out of buildings every single week and couldn't seem to connect with the WWE Universe as the next top babyface.
The current Undisputed WWE Universal Champion also had to deal with personal issues during that time, with the most serious of them being a life-threatening illness. If you don't remember what disease he had a couple of years ago, read on to refresh your memory.
Roman Reigns had been battling leukemia for more than a decade. It was serious enough for him to step away from his duties as Universal Champion for a brief period of time. He was forced to relinquish the title as everyone cheered the man behind the character and wished him well.
Roman Reigns and his fight with his illness
On the October 22, 2018 episode of RAW, Roman Reigns emerged to address the WWE Universe. However, instead of talking about his run as champion or running down potential challengers, he spoke about his personal issues and revealed the state of his battle with leukemia.
"For months, maybe even a whole year, I've come out here as Roman Reigns and said I'd come out here every week, that I'd be a fighting champion, that I was going to be consistent, that I was going to be a workhorse - but that's all lies. It's a lie because the reality is, my real name is Joe and I've been living with leukemia for 11 years and unfortunately it's back. And because the leukaemia is back i cannot fulfil my role, I can't be that fighting champion and I'm going to have to relinquish my Universal Championship."
Reigns went on to thank the WWE Universe for their support as they rained on him with cheers. He then stated that he was not going to retire and that he would be back very soon. The Big Dog kept his word and made a heroic comeback four months later to announce that he was in remission, and all was well with the world.