Roman Reigns' Opening WWE Raw Speech Hits Major YouTube View Numbers

Roman Reigns' somber revelation of his battle with leukemia has the world's attention.Since [...]

By Jeremy Snodgrass

Roman Reigns' somber revelation of his battle with leukemia has the world's attention.

Since Monday's episode of Raw, Reigns' speech has garnered 7.5 million views on YouTube. On top of his busy video, social media flooded with fans and WWE Superstars alike sending their best wishes to Reigns in his battle against leukemia.

Reigns' news is arguably the biggest story in recent WWE memory. considering there was zero indication of Reigns illness, the purpose of the news was enough to make national headlines. WWE kept things so close, that only a handful of people knew what Reigns was set to reveal just before he grabbed the microphone.

"You know the deal, you know how life is," Reigns said to open Raw. "Life is not fair, it's not all peaches and cream. Sometimes life throws you a curve ball. And right now the best thing for me to do is to go home, to focus on my family and my health," he said.

Reigns told the Raw audience that he battled leukemia in his early 20's and the cancer has been in remission for 11 years. In a dark twist of fate, it's back now, but Reigns was adamant that he would remain tenacious in his second fight with the disease.

"But I want to make one thing clear, by no means is this a retirement speech. Because after I'm done whooping leukemia's ass once again I'm coming back home. And when I do, it's not just going to be about titles and being on top, no it's about a purpose. I am coming back because I want to show all of you, the whole world, I want to show my family, my friends, my children, and my wife, that when life throws a curve ball at me, I am the type of man that will stand in that batter's box, I will crowd the plate, I will choke up and I will swing for the fences every single time. Because I will beat this and I will be back and you will see me very, very soon," he said.

WWE released a statement on Reigns' status shortly after his Raw address. However, the detail remains limited and it looks like we won't be seeing REigns compete for the foreseeable future.

"Tonight on Monday Night Raw, Roman Reigns (aka Joe Anao'i) announced that he is relinquishing the WWE Universal Championship and taking a leave of absence from WWE as he once again fights leukemia, which had been in remission since late 2008," the statement read. "Reigns is taking his battle with leukemia public in an effort to raise awareness and funds for research in order to advance cures for the disease."

0comments
Start the Conversation

of