Roman Reigns has accomplished just about everything there is to accomplish in WWE, but if he could go back and change one thing about his career, he’d have a few conversations with creative.
During his appearance on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay, Reigns was asked whether there was anything he’d do differently looking back on his WWE run. His answer wasn’t about winning more championships or changing opponents—it was about finding the confidence to push back against creative earlier in his career. Reigns admitted that when he first broke into WWE’s main event scene, he didn’t feel like he had enough leverage to reject ideas because he was still trying to prove he belonged.
“I probably would’ve said no a few more times early on. But I just didn’t have the equity within the company. I wasn’t rooted well enough in the main event scene. I was still auditioning. I was still proving myself. I was still earning that equity.”
He then brought up one of the most infamous moments of his career: the “suffering succotash” promo. More than a decade later, Reigns says fans still bring it up despite everything he’s accomplished since.
“This was like 14 years ago, and they’ll still quote me for saying ‘suffering succotash.’ You know what I mean? This was so long ago. It was 12 years ago. I’ve delivered unbelievable work since then, but still, I’ll be tied to that.”
Looking back now, Reigns says there weren’t many moments he’d erase, but there are a handful of promos, segments and even match finishes that he’d handle differently if he had the influence he has today.
“There’s probably, and not many, you know what I mean? There wasn’t that many, but there’s probably two or three promos or scenarios, segments, or finishes of a match or something like that, that I would probably go back and develop the balls to be like, ‘Nah, not today, brother.’”
These days, Reigns is one of WWE’s biggest stars and has far more creative input than he did during his early years on the main roster. But hearing him admit he’d change some of those early decisions shows that even one of the most successful performers of his generation still has a few career moments he’d rather leave in the past.
Are there any Roman Reigns moments you’d erase from WWE history, or do you think every misstep helped shape the Tribal Chief fans see today? Let us know in the comments below.
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