WWE's Reggie Wants Kevin Hart in Royal Rumble, Talks Sasha Banks Rematch, and Reveals Original Superhero Project

The Royal Rumble is one of the most popular events in WWE for several reasons, and one of the bigger ones is that the Rumble allows another superstar to enter the title picture at WrestleMania. There are still several spots in the Men's Rumble Match to be revealed, and one person who seems poised to enter the ring is Reggie. Reggie is looking to kick off 2022 in style with a Rumble victory after an impressive and always entertaining reign as 24/7 Champion last year, but 2022 will also hopefully be the year where his amazing superhero project becomes a reality. ComicBook.com had the chance to talk to Reggie ahead of the Rumble and we covered the Rumble, his new project, a possible rematch with Sasha Banks, Kevin Hart, and more, but first, we had to start with his first match in his hometown of St. Louis.

While Reggie got close to his hometown after winning the 24/7 title in Kansas City, the Rumble will be the first time he's actually in his hometown, and it means the world.

"That's icing on the cake. That's the cherry on top," Reggie said. "That's the bee's knees right there, and I would tell anyone this: to be able to perform in my hometown is one thing; to perform on a show on a caliber such as this one is a whole other thing. To win it... You only dream of things like that. Right?"

So, if Reggie does emerge victorious and get that win, who is he rooting for as his future opponent in today's WWE Championship match? For Reggie, it's about The All Mighty Lashley.

"So I'm going to tell you this. I don't know who's going to win between Bobby and Robert. I want Bobby to win," Reggie said. "I want Bobby to win. I'm a big Bobby fan, also a huge Brock fan. He's on my Mount Rushmore, but what Bobby has done this past year, he's been incredible. Out of the top three guys right now, who I would face between Roman, between Brock and Bobby, there's one obvious choice. And it's bad to say because he is the Head of our Table, but Brock and Bobby are just two guys I do not want to be standing in front of. Our Tribal Chief is like that as well, but it's like fighting Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali. Mike Tyson is good. He can knock you out. But you know for a fact that you will get knocked out when you go in front of Mike Tyson."

Reggie made the 24/7 Championship his own last year and delivered some truly entertaining and dazzling moments during his reign, defending his Championship for a record-setting 112-day run. While Dana Brooke has the title at the moment (who Reggie is a huge fan of,  adding that she is "crushing it"), he is looking to have that title around his waist once more.

"Truth made it his own, and I couldn't come in and do everything that Truth did, and so my whole thing is being different. I am different from most every wrestler because of my background. I have a different skillset, a different look, all of these different things so I have to be different, and why not do something that I'm so used to doing? And it was entertaining. I had fun doing it. I was just testing the water, testing myself to see what can I do and how can I make this very unique, and it was cool. I have a lot more plans for it as well, hopefully when I get it back at some point."

The 24/7 Championship is unlike any other title, as it must be defended at all times and in any environment. That made the rare matches between the ropes for the title the most unique scenario. "I think it's weird to me every time I get called and I have a match for the 24/7 title. I'm like 'What? I'm not running through the city museum. I'm not running through a park or something right now?', Reggie said with a laugh.

Looking back at 2021 and his favorite moments, there are two that stick out in his mind, and both were essential in defining and creating the Reggie fans see in front of them now.

"It has to be when I won the title. It was my very first live show, it was in my home state, and I won the title. First time in front of fans, I win the 24/7 title, and I go for 112 days," Reggie said. "That is the moment where I'm going to say Reggie was born but I think the moment that Reggie was born and became that dude, it was when I had the match with Sasha. It has to be the moment where I won the title or the match with Sasha. Honestly, I can't even pick between those two. I just wish that the match versus Sasha was in front of fans."

That was back in the Thunderdome days with no crowds. Now that fans are back in the building, Reggie is more than up for a rematch.

"I am willing to do whatever I have to. My job as a WWE superstar is to make the company better than it was when I came in. That's what everyone's job is. I'm not selfish. I do what I need to do. I'm a team player, and this is a big company, you know? Whenever my number's called, I'm going to do that thing," Reggie said.

Part of the fun of a Royal Rumble is the surprise entrants, and when asked who his dream surprise entrant would be from any medium, genre, or franchise, he came up with a great one, and now a Reggie vs Kevin Hart match-up needs to absolutely happen.

"I need to see Kevin Hart do it," Reggie said. "I need to see Kevin Hart in it. I need to get in some type of feud with Kevin Hart. That's what I want. That's my guy. Kevin Hart's my guy.

We also had to talk superheroes for a bit, and while Reggie is a big fan of Marvel and DC (and is still hoping for a role in the Black Panther franchise), he is actually hard at work at creating his own superhero. The character is named Loop, and is based on Reggie's own life story and calls Reggie's hometown of St. Louis home. The best part is that he's already recorded it for Audible, and he's got big plans moving forward.

"I love Batman. I love Thor. All of that stuff. I want to be in the Black Panther movie. I want to, but I am in the process of writing my own superhero. Yeah, I have pictures. I have the origin story, all of that stuff," Reggie said. "I'm writing my own superhero, and it's going to be based right here out of St. Louis, and it's going to have my real circus powers, teleportation, through loops, all of these different things. It's incredible. I'm excited. I just finished my book so my book is going to tie into the story. I tell my entire story of Sidney Iking Bateman. Everything that happened in St. Louis and the transition from gang life to circus life, and part two would be about transforming into Reggie. That's part two, many, many, many years from now. But the first part, I just finished recording, 65 minutes long. It's an Audible. That's the origin story of the superhero, which I'm going to call Loop, and he's going to jump through hoops. Basically the circus."

The project doesn't have a release date just yet, but he'll be back to work on it after the Rumble and hopes to release it later this year.

"We don't have a date. I just finished the recording last week, and then I came straight to this week with all that stuff so I have to go back to Orlando at some point to listen to everything and go check for mistakes. And then hopefully in a couple of months," Reggie said. "I haven't posted any of the pictures of the drawings for what the superhero looks like, but I'm very pumped for it. It's exciting, and you're the first person I told that."

The Royal Rumble streams live on Peacock today at 8 PM EST, with the kickoff show starting at 7 PM EST.

What do you want to see Reggie do next, and will he become 24/7 Champion once again in 2022? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things wrestling @MattAguilarCB!