WWE Rumors - Additional backstage details on Roman Reigns pulling out from WrestleMania 36
As reported previously, WWE Superstar Roman Reigns has pulled out from the scheduled Universal title match against Goldberg at WrestleMania 36. The latest report from Pro Wrestling Sheet states that Goldberg will no longer be defending his Universal title against The Big Dog at The Show of Shows, and a different Superstar is going to be announced as Reigns' replacement soon.
Fightful Select is now reporting that they've been given some additional backstage details on this development. According to the sources, much of the crew involved found out on Wednesday that Reigns wouldn't be participating in the highly-anticipated match. Additionally, the crew has finished filming the planned segments for WrestleMania.
Apparently, Roman Reigns personally requested WWE to let him pull out of the bout, the reason being that he didn't want to be at the WWE Performance Center amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. It was also stated that Reigns, who has taken time off in the past to battle leukemia, wasn't feeling comfortable during WWE tapings at the Performance Center, in Orlando, Florida.
Fans must be aware that Reigns left WWE for an undetermined period of time back in 2018, after announcing that he was diagnosed with leukemia. He relinquished the Universal title as the live audience watched silently. Reigns came back on the road to WrestleMania 35, and reunited with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. He went on to take on Drew McIntyre in a marquee match at WrestleMania 35, which he ultimately won.
Reigns has been a mainstay on SmackDown ever since. The reports also mentioned that Reigns didn't want to risk his health, with him already battling leukemia. Now that The Big Dog is seemingly out of The Grandest Stage Of Them All, it would be interesting to see who will be announced as his replacement for the Universal title match against Goldberg.