Watch: Triple H Comments on Roman Reigns Not Competing at WrestleMania 36

Connor Casey

03/30/2020 03:06 pm EDT

News broke last week that, due to his bout with leukemia last year leaving him immunocompromised, Roman Reigns has opted out of competing against Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship at this year's WrestleMania 36. WWE never officially commented on the move and continued to promote the match on this past Friday's SmackDown (along with a couple of other matches that have been since been altered), but Triple H did comment on the matter while speaking with ESPN's John Anderson on Sunday.

"All of our talent are in this in a voluntary capacity. So right at the get go, if they don't want to be a part of this, if they feel there's a risk for whatever reason, be it themselves or somebody around them, they don't have to be here and there will... nothing is held against them for that," Hunter said. "Same with our crew and everybody else. But we don't want to take chances on that, and with Roman having a pre-existing condition that would make him more susceptible to something, it's understandable."

No wrestlers have officially been diagnosed with coronavirus, though Rey Mysterio and Dana Brooke have been reportedly placed in quarantine.

"We've had very few talent that have had issues or chosen to not be here... I can tell you that, you know for us - at least for me - an amazing process to be able to go to these events, everybody's under immense pressure, obviously there's a ton of work going into these and trying to do them. Even the talent," Triple H continued. "Performing in front of no one is not the easiest thing in the world. And yet everybody is here, they feel like - I think they just feel a sense of purpose. They're all laughing, they're smiling, they're having a blast. These have been some of the most fun days of television, of everybody just staying within the rules and trying to do it, but happily going out there and trying to perform a service. And I don't think people should look at it as anything more than that. We're trying to put a smile on your face. If you enjoy it, hopefully you do, and that's great."

Here's the official WrestleMania 36 card as of now. Matches have been changed based on the numerous reports that have come out since the show was taped. According to new reports on Monday, WrestleMania's total run time (including pre-shows) will add up to more than eight hours.

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