Roman Reigns has finally weighed in on one of wrestling’s most debated topics: who belongs on the Mount Rushmore of professional wrestling. While fans usually argue over match quality or championships, the Tribal Chief says he looks at it much differently.
Speaking on Club Shay Shay, Reigns explained that, to him, wrestling has always been a business first. That’s why he doesn’t separate great wrestlers from great draws. As far as he’s concerned, the people who made the most money and changed the industry are the ones who deserve to be remembered.
“Everybody always divides it up, like money drawers and ringers. To me, the only one thing—only one metric matters. The money. You know what I mean? And it’s show business. The first day I went around the ring, my dad told me, ‘Don’t ever be confused. This ring is only about money. It’s a business. Don’t treat it any other way.’”
With that in mind, Reigns didn’t hesitate when it came time to make his picks. He named Hulk Hogan, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, The Rock and John Cena as the four biggest figures in wrestling history, while acknowledging there are plenty of other legends worthy of recognition.
“So I would probably have to say Hulk, Steve, Dwayne and John. Those are my—I mean, yeah, you could definitely throw some other guys in there for sure, but we only got so many slots.”
Reigns said each of those four completely changed the wrestling business in their own way. Whether it was drawing massive crowds, bringing in record-breaking money or changing how people viewed professional wrestling, he believes they all left an impact that still shapes WWE today.
“And those guys, I mean, when it came to the money and shifting the business and completely, you know what I mean, just changing the view of it, the optics of it, they all had their own way of doing that. And they were all critical. We wouldn’t be here today without those four, for sure. Many other men go into that category, and women for that matter, but those are kind of, to me, those are the big ones.”
One thing that stood out is that Reigns didn’t include himself, despite putting together one of the greatest championship runs in WWE history. Instead, he focused entirely on the names he believes built the industry into what it is today, making it clear that, for him, business will always be the biggest measuring stick.
Who’s on your wrestling Mount Rushmore? Let us know in the comments below.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
