Unlike years past, Roman Reigns has not been a constant presence on WWE shows in the first half of this season. The former world champion – who is still a staple both backstage and in the dressing room – has taken several breaks in recent months, having realized that he needs to preserve his body if he wants to stretch his career as much as possible.
The former member of 'The Shield' has however participated in the most prestigious shows on the WWE calendar, having been one of the protagonists of the main event of WrestleMania 41 (Night 1) along with two other veterans such as CM Punk and Seth Rollins.
Reigns disappeared from TV for a fairly long time after the 'Showcase of the Immortals', making his return when fans weren't expecting it and electrifying the crowd. The 'Tribal Chief' also took part in SummerSlam – the most important PLE of the summer – before being brutally attacked by Bronson Reed on the next episode of Monday Night Raw.
Roman missed Hulk Hogan’s tribute
The most attentive fans certainly did not miss Roman's absence on the occasion of the tribute that WWE organized in honor of Hulk Hogan. The WWE Hall of Famer died at 71 in his Florida lawsuit due to a cardiac arrest late last month.
According to Billi Bhaitti on the latest episode of the 'Wrestling Informer' podcast, there was no friction between Reigns and Hogan.
“There is no problem with Roman Reigns and Hulk Hogan. They are two people that know each other from the Tampa area. But Roman Reigns was not standing out there for Hulk Hogan on Raw because it was actually Triple H who felt that it wouldn’t suit Roman Reigns’ character for him to be out there.
I think that’s completely the wrong thing to do — I don’t think what your character is matters or anything like that when it comes to standing there for a 10-bell salute. But it was agreed upon by all parties that Roman Reigns’ character wouldn’t be out there to acknowledge Hogan’s death" - Bhaitti stated.