WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns is a needle mover, don’t believe it? Now he has an official t-shirt to prove it.
Ahead of The Tribal Chief’s return to WWE SmackDown tonight, the company has released a new “Needle Mover” shirt on WWEShop that utilizes the inside wrestling terms jobber, mid-carder, and main eventer.
Jobber and mid-carder usually are terms that are frowned upon by WWE, and you rarely hear these words muttered on an episode of RAW or SmackDown.
The term “needle mover” and Roman Reigns have been attached at the hip since August when he had a sit-down interview with Ariel Helwani before SummerSlam. During the interview, Reigns said that CM Punk, who recently returned to the industry with All Elite Wrestling, was never a needle mover like The Rock.
While Reigns never really got a response to his comments from the AEW side of things, a member of the WWE RAW roster, Riddle was much more vocal about The Tribal Chief’s remarks in an interview with Graham Matthews of Bleacher Report stating:
“No disrespect to Roman, he seems like a swell fella, but at the same time, it’s like when people say they’re a good parent,” Riddle said. “You know what? If you were a good parent, your kids would be telling you you’re a good parent. When he’s saying ‘Acknowledge me’ or ‘I move the needle,’ no, you don’t. You’re related to The Rock. Shut up. Like, I’m not impressed, I can beat you up in a real fight. So, shut your mouth.
“You’re not moving needles. I’m the real stallion, RK-Bro is moving the merch, we’re moving the needle, and that’s it. I don’t want to say too much, I’m not trying to get in trouble. Hey, hats off to him. He’s amazing at what he does. I do like what he does, but at the same time, it’s like, get off your high horse. You’re in that spot for a reason. You’re not a bro. You’re second generation. I’m first generation.”
Riddle’s honest comments reportedly got him some heat backstage within WWE. Hence, he later clarified his original remarks to The International Business Times that you can read about by clicking here.
It will be interesting to see what the viewership for SmackDown looks like tonight as Roman Reigns returns to the show from a week off. We’re sure that will be a hot topic of conversation among the WWE Universe on Monday if the viewership goes down from last week’s show.
READ MORE: Roman Reigns Touts The Success Of SummerSlam As’ Legitimate Needle Moving’
What do you make of Roman Reigns’ new shirt? Do you think of him as a legitimate needle mover for WWE? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
Roman Reigns has a new ‘Needle Mover’ t-shirthttps://t.co/Ebl1BhFZxA pic.twitter.com/Y9kDycC8pT
— WrestleZone (@WRESTLEZONEcom) December 17, 2021
