Roman Reigns’ “Acknowledge Your Daddy” Shirt Appears on ESPN First Take

WWE Shop recently dropped a new Roman Reigns shirt with the words “Acknowledge Your Daddy” written across the front. The line is a reference to a promo Reigns delivered on Austin Theory shortly after Vince McMahon’s departure from the company, saying he was now Theory’s “daddy.” Former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky appeared on Monday’s edition of First Take and announced he’d be wearing that shirt every time he appears on the show during the ongoing NFL season. 

But while Stephen A. Smith took an immediate shot at Orlovsky for the shirt, Reigns actually responded on Twitter by writing, “Gotta believe it to achieve it.” You can see the clip from the episode below:

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Reigns was recently a guest on the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast and went into further detail about his new part-time contract. After successfully retaining his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Clash at the Castle, Reigns isn’t expected to defend his title again until Crown Jewel in November.

“The main thing is, no, we’re not going to be on every single pay-per-view, but anything that I am on, which will be all the major ones and a couple of the other ones that fall in-between the big four and the Saudis. I’ll always support those with TV to build the story and rivalry going forward. Compared to what I did, technically, compared to a full-time, on everything, you only get a day and a half a week, yeah, it’s part-time compared to what I usually run. I’m an annual character on WWE television. It’s done well so far. The reactions, it makes everything feel more special if you’re not as attainable or available. It puts a little mystique around you. Pretty much all of the houses have done well. The actual reaction, the decibel level is still very high. I couldn’t have planned for it to go any better. Hopefully, we’ll continue to build that. I’ve done it to where, I could do it every single week, that’s no problem. At the same time, if the quality is high, the quantity doesn’t have to be crazy,” he explained.

Reigns went on to say— “These are things that I felt, even with this new contract and the past few months, almost that micromanaging complex of, ‘I need to be in control and I should be doing more.’ You feel like you can’t help from the sideline. That’s not the case. That’s a mental type of thing that any performer would go through. ‘I’m not there, I’m being forgotten, I’m not helping.’ You feel like you’re not carrying the same weight that you used to. At the end of the day, there is no offseason. I am just a human and we have to take all of these things into account. You want to stay in superman mode and be on everything and help the product and merchandising as much as you can and satisfy the consumer, but if you spread yourself too thin, it goes both ways. it’s about finding that mental safe, that safe space to where you’re not blowing your brain up and being anxious or having anxiety about it, and at the same time just trusting it and going with the flow.”