It’s been a week and we’re still digesting Roman Reigns’ leukemia diagnosis. However, one thing the wrestling world won’t be doing is forgetting about The Big Dog, and Rousey Rousey had her own way of keeping Reigns on the WWE Universe’s mind.
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Moments after her Evolution victory over Nikki Bella, Rousey climbed the ropes and hit Reigns’ signature pose then said “Keep fighting, Roman! All the women are behind you! You got this! Beat leukemia again! We love you!”
An incredible tribute to @WWERomanReigns from @RondaRousey. โค๏ธ๐๐ป
“Keep fighting, Roman! All the women are behind you! You got this! Beat leukemia again! We love you!”#wweevolution pic.twitter.com/i2nNfCVWeO
โ โคRoman Reigns Girlโค๏ธ #ThankyouRoman (@Reigns_Queen) October 29, 2018
Her tribute went unnoticed in the final frames of the Evolution broadcast, so we’re happy to underline it a day later. Monday marks an exact week since Reigns shared the heartbreaking news of the return of his leukemia. The specifics of his prognosis are still unknown, but it’s believed he’ll be out of WWE for at least a year.
For Rousey, her raising the double fists is somewhat symbolic. With Reigns gone, WWE needs a new face of the companyโand it may be Rousey’s for the taking. In less than a year, Rousey has gone from what some people thought was just another PR stunt, to the hottest attraction in the entire sport. The 31-year old seemed to be improving by the day, but her natural ability to be a professional wrestler is uncanny.
While names like Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch are certain pillars of the women’s division Rousey is that locker room’s top star. And at this rate, she could indeed fill Reigns shoes by WrestleMania 35.
Given her rapid success, it’s a wonder Rousey didn’t join WWE sooner. Rumors of her joining the company began to swirl in the summer of 2017. Her fall time spat with the Four Horsewomen of WWE appeared to make her arrival imminent, and in January of 2018, Rousey was officially a WWE Superstar.
In a recent interview with ESPN, Triple H discussed the reason why Rousey wanted to become a part of WWE.
“Ronda said [to him], ‘I feel the WWE is the biggest platform in the world for me to affect change.’ It’s one of the first things she said to me. She wants to inspire young girls and young people and show them that you can do anything, and she said there is no bigger platform in the world for me to do that with than with you guys,” she said.
“[She said] with UFC, I got so far, but the bigger platform is this because I can go on talk shows, I can do entertainment stuff with WWE, I can do every single entertainment and sports aspect of it and reach the world on a global basis. We go everywhere. That’s a game changer,” said Triple H.