“That Makes A Big Star”- Former Champion Shockingly Supports Roman Reigns’ $5,000,000 Annual Contract’s Fringe Benefit

Roman Reigns, the current WWE Undisputed Universal Champion, is the biggest name in the WWE. Needless to say, as the top star, you get a ton of benefits. His annual contract is worth $5,000,000, and till SummerSlam, he’s wrestled in only 9 matches in 2023. One former champion shed light on the Tribal Chief’s popularity in the company recently.

After years of working as a babyface, in 2020, Reigns returned to the company as a heel. This was his Tribal Chief persona, and it got over with the fans immediately, turning Reigns into an overnight sensation. But what does the man who beat him in 2015 think about this rise? 

Sheamus talks about what makes Roman Reigns a top WWE star

Sheamus joined the WWE in 2009 and has been the World Heavyweight Champion four times. He is also WWE’s first Irish champion. After Edge, he is the only wrestler to have won King of the Ring, Royal Rumble, and Money in the Bank. Despite his accomplishments in the ring, he never achieved the success of Reigns. 

While speaking to the Daily Mail, Sheamus touched upon Reigns’ meteoric rise in the WWE. “He has the luxury of wrestling five times a year. You know what I mean? That makes a big star.” Superstars like Reigns don’t have to wrestle as much as mid-carders like Sheamus. Since they are a big draw involved in massive storylines, they are asked to cut promos and have interferences rather than matches to forward the storyline. 

The Celtic Warrior also mentioned that no one cared about Reigns when he was the babyface facing Goldberg. It was only after his return to the WWE post covid that made people interested in him. Similarly, people cared about Sheamus only when he returned and wrestled in the empty Thunderdome area. People finally got to see how physical Sheamus could be. 

Sheamus also talked about Reign’s heel turn. He noted that Reigns was at a point where he was forced down the fan’s throats. But after he returned with a new character of the Tribal Chief, not only was he having more fun, but the fans loved it.  

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Reigns is still the WWE Undisputed Universal Champion. He successfully defended his title against his cousin Jey Uso at SummerSlam with the help of Solo Sikoa and Jimmy Uso. This continues the Bloodline storyline as now Jimmy has rejoined the Tribal Chief betraying his own brother. The Irish WWE superstar also highlighted the privilege Reigns is privy to that other stars aren’t.

Sheamus believes other wrestlers on the roster need more time to showcase their stories

While supporting what the WWE did with Reigns, Sheamus did touch upon a fact where the WWE could have improved. During the same interview, he talked about the Bloodline storyline. Last month at the historic Madison Square Garden where SmackDown was held, the Bloodline segment was half the show’s runtime. This resulted in other segments and storylines being cut short. 

Sheamus said that while Reigns was making the most of this opportunity, there were other wrestlers on the roster who were begging for a bit more time to showcase their storylines. While Sheamus has no issues with Reigns and the massive push he is getting from the WWE, he did point out some rather interesting points on what it’s like being a ‘Big star’ for the company.

What do you make of Sheamus’ claims? Let us know in the comments section below.

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