Roman Reigns Makes First Public Appearance Since Cancer Announcement

Even cancer isn’t going to keep the Big Dog away when it comes to supporting his Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during rivalry week.

Roman Reigns made his first public appearance on Saturday since he announced a leave of absence from WWE to seek treatment for leukemia. That announcement shocked the wrestling world, as did the revelation that this is Reigns’ second bout with cancer.

Even so, Reigns made his way to Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia on Saturday for the big game between the University of Georgia Bulldogs and his alma mater, Georgia Tech. Reigns (real name Joseph Anoa’i) famously played for the Yellow Jackets as a defensive lineman during the mid-2000s.

Prior to the game’s start, a camera crew from Georgia Tech caught up with Reigns on the field and posted the clip to their Twitter page. You’ll notice right away that Reigns looks fantastic, which is great to see.

“I’m the real big dog here. To hell with Georgia, baby,” said Reigns.

Georgia and Georgia Tech have a long-lasting rivalry, which is dubbed “Clean, Old Fashioned Hate.” The Yellow Jackets never defeated the Bulldogs while Reigns was on the team, so he was there on Saturday to support his old team and to see if they could knock off the number five team in the country.

Unfortunately for Reigns and his fellow Georgia Tech fans, Georgia ended up winning the game 45-21. The Bulldogs are now 11-1 on the season while Georgia Tech fell to 7-5.

Reigns relinquished the WWE Universal Championship during the opening minutes of the October 22nd edition of Monday Night RAW. It was during that segment that the superstar announced his cancer diagnosis and leave of absence to seek treatment. He also revealed that he went through a battle with cancer 11 years ago and is confident he will once again overcome the condition.

Reigns reportedly began his cancer treatments in early November. While the exact amount of time he will remain out of action remains to be seen, it’s for certain that WWE fans can’t wait for his return to the ring and television screens around the world.