Roman Reigns is about to main event his fourth WrestleMania in a row, and more than likely about to win his third out of those four. Those are big credentials for the “Big Dog” as he prepares to face off against The Beast, Universal Champion Brock Lesnar.
Last year however, was quite possibly the biggest win that Reigns will ever have in his career, as he became only the second man to defeat The Undertaker at WrestleMania. The first? His opponent at this year’s WrestleMania, Brock Lesnar.
Roman Reigns sat down recently with Jack Jorgenson of CBS Sports to discuss his match last year with The Undertaker, which was criticized due to the pacing, some botched spots, and of course how deserving Reigns really was to defeat The Phenom.
On living up to expectations:
“I don’t think it ever could, really. It’s a hard spot for The Undertaker to have such a storied career, to have such a huge list of ridiculously good matches, and to have that respect, and to have that mystique, and to have that reputation as the godfather of the professional wrestling and sports entertainment business. So, everyone’s thought about what it would be like to be in a match with The Undertaker at WrestleMania to where you hype it up so much that it’s almost unfair to him.”
On facing The Undertaker at the end of his career:
“For me, what made it so hard was how heavy it was. You know, if I wrestled The Undertaker 20 years ago at the beginning or the middle of his career, probably not. But the positioning I found myself in, it just felt really heavy and so much more emotional than I was ready for it to be, so I think that was the hardest thing … but, you know, the coolest thing because I think that just shows the gravity of the situation, the responsibility of the placement [on the card]and just who I was sharing the ring with. And that’s just how special he is.
I just feel like maybe I wasn’t good enough or maybe it could have been better on my behalf, but I always hold The Undertaker in so high in that regard that I just feel like maybe I could have done better. But I enjoyed it. I really learned a huge amount in the ring with him; you know, to being in the ring with him for one singles match and to have it be at that level, to be able to pick something up in just 30-40 minutes from another performer — it just goes to show how good he is.”
You can hear the entire interview in the player below.
CBS Sports