Four months ago, Roman Reigns relinquished the WWE Universal Title after announcing that he had leukemia, and it was back. The world basically freaked out. I know I did, so I wrote about on Smark Henry:
What happens to the Universal Championship now? What happens to WWE Crown Jewel now? …Who even cares?
This past week on Monday Night Raw, Roman Reigns announced that he was back, and, more importantly, in “remission, y’all.”
The world basically freaked out again. Many, like me, are just utterly delighted. Some people—some smart people—did it in really dumb ways, spouting off conspiracy theories. As in, maybe the leukemia was a work because he’s not bald and frail and it’s way too soon.
Brandon Stroud, of Best and Worst of, like, all wrestling fame, has the best and most all-encompassing thing to say about this:
…if this is how you process grief, do what you’ve got to do … but remember that on the other end of these dumb stories and wacky characters and horrible, horrible creative decisions are a bunch of human beings who are not the characters they play, and they deserve your common human decency even when they aren’t performing for you. If that’s too much to understand, here’s the quick version; learn to be kind, and if you’re struggling with it, consider shutting the fuck up.
Yeah, you dorks.
If you’re genuinely confused, here’s a thread from Leukaemia Care addressing leukemia, relapse, and perceptions of cancer.
Welcome back, Big Dog. I’m so very happy you’re okay. You are unabashedly my favorite now, but I can’t wait to hate you again.
