Opinion: Roman Reigns’ Illness Should Be A Reality Check For All Of Us

Last night’s episode of Raw was devastating and heartbreaking for wrestling fans all around the world. Roman Reigns begun the show by sharing the tragic news that the leukemia that had gone into remission 11 years ago has resurfaced, and as a result, he will be forced to vacate the Universal Championship and step away from WWE for the foreseeable future.

For those of you who missed it, here is the announcement from Raw:

Roman Reigns relinquishes the Universal Title to battle his returning leukemia: Raw, Oct. 22, 2018

The response by the WWE Universe has been overwhelming and I think it is safe to say that everyone is behind Joe Anoa’i in his battle with this real-life disease. The news hit me particularly hard for some reason, and I felt compared to share something with everyone who is gracious enough to read this article.

In my opinion, Roman Reigns’ illness should be an opportunity for all of us to undergo a reality check in many areas of our lives.

Whenever a devastating event occurs, whether personal or professional, it usually causes us to reflect and take a personal inventory of our lives. I know that it has for me, and I wanted to share with everyone a few different areas of where a reality check can take place:

1) We have to remember that professional wrestlers are people too. I believe Michael Cole talked about how everyone associated with WWE are entertainers and sometimes live in an alternate reality. While that is true, they can be affected by real life catastrophes as well, as we saw last night.

Furthermore, I’ve heard a lot of chatter about how certain people should feel bad that they had been booing Roman Reigns all these years. They shouldn’t. They weren’t booing the man, they were booing his character and how he was booked, which is fine. That is our right as wrestling fans, to cheer and boo who we want to. It’s what Reigns wants; for the fans to be entertained each and every week and show their support or disdain for the superstars that they want to.

2) Our problems are more than likely not as bad as they seem. I know that I am guilty of this; you come home after a difficult day at work and you think that the world is out to get you and that your life is terrible. Or you get cut off by someone in traffic because they weren’t paying attention and it ruins your day, causing you to be angry at the world.

And then you hear about someone having a life-threatening illness. It changes you. Especially if that person is a friend, family member or athlete that you’ve respected for many years. It reminds us that while we all face challenges every day, a lot of our problems more than likely pale in comparison to what some people are having to go through in their lives.

Superstars show support for Roman Reigns following his emotional announcement: Oct. 22, 2018

3) We never know when a person may really be struggling. A quote came across my desk recently that said “Everyone you know is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind, always.” It’s easy to put on a front and let everyone know that you are doing just fine and that everything is OK. It’s especially easy to do this on social media.

But the reality is that a lot of times, people that we are know are going through some deep, dark and difficult things that are unknown to us. This is why it’s important to show kindness wherever we go and have compassion for the people that have done us wrong. They may need us and our love and support, whether they want to admit it or not.

Thank you all for letting me share some thoughts with you as we process the Roman Reigns news about his upcoming battle with leukemia. If we can all use this as an opportunity to take a look at our own lives and put some perspective on our circumstances, then perhaps some good can come out of this horrific news.

One thing that I know for sure; Roman Reigns is going to Superman Punch Leukemia in its face, whoop its ass and come back better than ever.

What do you think of the news of Roman Reigns and his upcoming battle with leukemia? Leave us a comment below, or post a comment on our Facebook page! Also, be sure to sign up for our newsletter and download our App from your favorite App Store!

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