Roman Reigns Surprising Comments About His WWE Future Are Making Rounds, But I Don't Think It Means What People Are Saying

Roman Reigns is in the news promoting WrestleMania 41, and while we were already eager to stream his match against Seth Rollins and CM Punk on Peacock over the weekend, he just put some added importance on tuning in. The wrestler has started openly discussing the end of his run in the WWE, although I think people are interpreting it differently than I have.

The latest chatter came from the OTC's interview with Vanity Fair, where he made some interesting comments about his involvement (or lack thereof) in upcoming WWE events. The former champion turned 40 this year and said the following about how much longer he plans to keep up the grind as a professional wrestler at his current level:

Per the interview, Roman Reigns' contract is set to expire after WrestleMania 42. Does this mean he's walking away from wrestling for good a year or two after that? Some have interpreted his quote that way, but as someone who has followed wrestling for a long time, I have some other takeaways based on what he said.

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Roman Reigns Has No Incentive To Publicly Guarantee He'll Stick Around The WWE

As an avid sports follower, I feel like Roman Reigns essentially said he's in a "contract year." For those outside that world, this essentially means that negotiations will happen at some point regarding how much the WWE wants to offer its top name once his contract expires. Reigns could be intentionally hinting he might walk away to put the pressure on the wrestling organization to offer him more days off, more money, or even both.

Had he said, "Oh yeah, I want to stay in WWE the next decade," then the company would have more bargaining power, knowing that Reigns ultimately wants to make a deal so he can continue to work in the WWE. Even if he wants to stay, it's likely in his best interest to hint he might be walking away to encourage decision-makers holding the purse strings to give him the money he's owed and then some.

Reigns Could Be Going The Route John Cena And The Rock Went Of Going Part Time And Pursuing Other Projects

Not every WWE wrestler becomes a movie star, but there are a good number of acclaimed movies featuring pro wrestlers. Roman Reigns has had aspirations to become a movie star, but has had a slower start than other top superstars like John Cena and his cousin, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. This is mostly because of his full-time commitment to the WWE, which has only allotted him a couple of voice acting roles in recent years and a cameo role in the Fast & Furious spinoff, Hobbs & Shaw.

Should he transition to part-time wrestling, perhaps the door will open for him to commit to other television, movie, and streaming opportunities that he has been offered in Hollywood. With WWE working more closely with Netflix now that it's the home of Monday Night Raw, maybe there will be opportunities for him to appear on something we can stream with a Netflix subscription.

Wrestlers Have Said They're Leaving And Returned Multiple Times

I could rattle off a list of wrestlers who claimed they were retiring only to return later, but wrestling fans are all too familiar with this trope.

Even as John Cena works as a heel in his final year of wrestling, I still have some apprehension about feeling like he will never perform in the WWE again after 2025. Returns just happen far too often, which is why I find it hard to believe Roman Reigns will stay retired even if he steps away in his early 40s. Too many have come back later in life for one more run or a retirement match, and it's hard to imagine one of WWE's biggest superstars wouldn't eventually do the same.

Of course, we don't know anything for sure, so watch WrestleMania 41 to see what could be one of Roman Reigns' final matches in the biggest wrestling event in the world. I can't wait to see him battle with CM Punk and Seth Rollins, and wonder what Paul Heyman has up his sleeve for this wild match.