- WWE
Roman Reigns has the weight of the wrestling world on his shoulders this week. Thankfully, his shoulders are as broad and wide as the back doors of a tractor trailer.
On Sunday, March 29th, in front of a packed house at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, Reigns will square off against his toughest opponent yet — “The Beast Incarnate” and current WWE Champion Brock Lesnar — at WrestleMania 31. Lesnar is a mastodon, but more importantly, a fierce competitor. A former collegiate, Olympic wrestler AND a former UFC champion, Lesnar is one of the most pure athletes in the WWE today.
Reigns’ resume is just as impressive. A three-year starter at Georgia Tech and a former walk-on with the Minnesota Vikings as well as the Jacksonville Jaguars, Reigns’ athleticism and brute strength runs in the family. He’s a member of the Anoa’i family, the same family that bred wrestling superstars such as The Headshrinkers, The Wild Samoans and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
I had the chance to talk to Roman about his upcoming match at WrestleMania 31, his workouts, and his most painful moment in the ring.
So are you nervous excited or excited excited right now?
That’s a good way of asking that question. I’m excited excited right now. I think the nervous-excited won’t kick in until we get closer to Sunday.
How many WrestleManias have you been to so far?
This is my third WrestleMania as a competitor. The last two were in six man tag matches as a member of The Shield. This is my first singles match.
Did you think you’d be headlining a WrestleMania so early in your career?
A lot of people get into wrestling just because they want to wrestle or because they grew up watching as fans and they’re living out a fantasy. I have some of that but I got into wrestling with one goal –to be the top guy.
You’ve trained and competed on many different levels in football. That involves a certain type of training in the gym. How’s that training different than weight training for professional wrestling?
Football involves explosiveness. In football, Olympic lifts were a big part of the workout. We did a ton of leg work. You’d think we concentrated on the moves to build strength like deadlifting, but not really, it was all about the lower half. We did all the other stuff but we really focused on the lower body.
In wrestling you’re trying to build a physique, a look, so it’s a different way of training. It also involves much more cardio.
If you had limited time in the gym and could only fit in a few exercises, which are your favorite?
I like anything with dumbbells. I love the range of motion. I really enjoy bent over rows. If I couldn’t use dumbbells, I’d do some power cleans. I also love the squat clean.
What’s the most you’ve done in squat clean?
My best was 360 in a full squat clean, but I’ll be honest, I damn near got stuck and thought I wasn’t going to get back up.
Since you wrestle almost 365 days a year, what does your average day look like?
My average match is 20-25 minutes. That’s probably the easiest part of my day. There’s a full day of training involved before I even hit the ring. I usually do 30-40 minutes of cardio before I even hit the ring. Eating right is tough. I have to be concerned about my meal, and while I’m eating, I have to think about my next meal. Sometimes you see guys lugging around 3-4 meals just in case. My body just expects it.
And how about rest?
You have to smart and implement your rest days. We don’t get a lot of them, so you’ve got to use them wisely. You need the time to rebuild.
I’m sure you’ve got several but what’s been your most painful experience in the ring? The first one that comes to mind.
The most recent was my match against Daniel Bryan at Fastlane. He kicked my scar from my recent hernia surgery. That was painful. I needed to take a step back from training that next day!
BroBible will be live from WrestleMania 31 this weekend! Be sure to follow @brobiblesports, check out our official Facebook page and check out the website for the latest news, interviews and information.