Roman Reigns posted the following on Twitter, making his first public comments since vacating the WWE Universal Championship on RAW last night. Reigns (Joe Anoa’i) announced he has leukemia and was stepping away from the ring to focus on his health:
Thank you to everyone who’s reached out…I can’t put into words what it means to me. Your energy and positivity motivate me to get better quickly to get back in the ring, but for now I’m going to spend time with my family and focus on health. Thank you – Joe/Roman
WWE Issues Official Statement On Roman Reigns Cancer Announcement
With Reigns stepping away from the ring, it was also announced that Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar will now compete in a singles match for the vacated WWE Universal Championship. That match is still scheduled to take place at WWE Crown Jewel on Friday, November 2nd.
Reigns started off last night’s episode of RAW by making the announcement; he said he had been dealing with leukemia since 2008 and that it had resurfaced now. It was also noted in a WWE press release following the announcement that Reigns chose to take his battle with the disease public in an effort to raise awareness and funds for research in curing the disease.
Thank you to everyone who’s reached out…I can’t put into words what it means to me.
Your energy and positivity motivate me to get better quickly to get back in the ring, but for now I’m going to spend time with my family and focus on health.
Thank you – Joe/Roman
— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) October 23, 2018
