Roman Reigns has announced plans to quit WWE should concerns over coronavirus pose a threat to the health of his family.
'The Big Dog’ was set to take on champion and rival Goldberg at WrestleMania 36 in April, but after his wife gave birth to twin boys before the pandemic break, he pulled out of the event for self-isolation purposes.
The three-time WWE champion, who has twice survived leukaemia scares, is once again the current title holder after defeating ‘The Fiend’ Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman at Payback back in in August.
His next title defence will come this Sunday against his cousin Jey Uso at Clash of Champions, where the former Shield member is set to unveil a new look.
Reigns first broke the news of the possibility of leaving WWE on Corey Graves’ After The Bell podcast last night, whilst also explaining his decision to take time off.
He said, as per The Sun: “The most defined thought I had was that I made a lot of sacrifices on behalf of my family and this is one area where I'm not going to make that sacrifice.
I will sacrifice my career, sacrifice a performance, I'll sacrifice the audience if I have to. To protect my family, I will quit. I'll hang up my boots.
“I've done everything that I needed to do in this business within sports entertainment/professional wrestling. There isn't a moment or accolade that I haven't had.
“Whether it was a WrestleMania moment all the way to a house show. I've experienced everything I could possibly experience.
“For me, it was about putting my family first and right there if I had to retire and that was what was going to be asked of me, I would do it. For one of the first times in a long time, I put my family first. They were 1A.”
Reigns also admitted it took a lot of convincing for him to return to WWE, as the 35-year-old sought assurances from company owner Vince McMahon that it was safe to return to work.
He added: “There was nothing that was going to change my mind that I needed to go away and wait until we're in a place where we have a better understanding, knowing what this virus has done and how it has affected everybody.
“I just felt far more comfortable with the way he has taken care of me to make me feel like my family is safe, make my wife feel safe that I can go out and come back in.
“That's been critical in getting me back in the ring.”