American professional wrestler and a four-time world champion, Roman Reigns, has announced that he will be giving up his Universal Championship title because he has leukemia, a disease he was diagnosed with 11 years ago but was in remission.
Roman Reigns a former American football player, made the announcement in the ring at Monday Night Raw, and according to him the leukemia has returned which means he can no longer “be that fighting champion”.
Addressing WWE fans, the 33-year-old said:
“Y’all have made my dreams come true.
“It didn’t matter if you cheered me or you booed me, you’ve always reacted to me and that’s the most important thing and for that I have to say thank you so much.”
He also made it clear that that his announcement wasn’t a “retirement speech”, as he will returning home once he recovers from the leukemia.
“When I do it’s not going to be just about titles or being on top. It’s about a purpose.”
He added: “I will beat this and I will be back so you will see me very, very soon.”
.@WWERomanReigns has to relinquish the Universal Championship due to a battle with leukemia. #Raw pic.twitter.com/EhomllNwjK
— WWE (@WWE) October 23, 2018
The announcement earned him a hug from Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, his partners from The Shield wrestling group.
