Roman Reigns has been off of WWE television for three months now, as the former Universal Champion continues to deal with his fight against Leukemia.
There has been no timeline established as to when Reigns could return. But on Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News), Dave Meltzer explained that the Big Dog could be back sooner than we might have expected.
“From talking to doctors and again, WWE did not release any information on what form of leukemia he has or a diagnosis, but I did talk to doctors like something if you had it years ago. The nature of him coming back to play football afterward and wrestle at a high level, you know competing at a high level and coming back there is a form that is not a deadly form so hopefully, that is what he has.”
“I mean if it was the worst form (of leukemia)he couldn’t do the movie so it’s… I guess I expected with that form he would be wrestling soon, but I guess this confirms it so I think that’s wonderful news.”
The "movie" Meltzer is referencing is "Hobbs and Shaw," which is set to star Reigns and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. There's obviously still no timetable on Reigns' return, but as Meltzer notes, it doesn't appear to be a severe enough case that would keep him out for too long.
When Reigns announced that he had Leukemia on the Oct. 22 episode of Raw, he promised to come back to wrestling in the near future, immediately shutting down the possibility of retirement.
Reigns had dealt with the illness 11 years earlier, prior to starting his wrestling career. The announcement came as a major surprise to the WWE Universe, as Reigns had kept quiet about it and began treatment three days before revealing the diagnosis.
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Prior to having to step away to deal with the illness, Reigns had held the Universal Championship for two months - having finally defeated Brock Lesnar at the SummerSlam pay-per-view.
That ended Lesnar's controversial and record-breaking 504-day reign as champion, and it brought Reigns plenty of momentum as he continued to try and get over with the fans. When he comes back, there should be no doubting that Reigns will be more over than ever before.
What This Means
WWE hasn't found its new star babyface to build around on Raw since Reigns had to step away, so his return can't come soon enough for the company. But when the Big Dog finally comes back, it promises to be a huge game-changer, as Reigns prepares to make one of the greatest and most emotional returns to the ring.