Roman Reigns takes wrestling action to video games. WWE 2K25 cover star is still fighting leukemia
Associated Press
Roman Reigns has shared the WWE ring with his family in a storyline for years — he called his faction The Bloodline — so it seemed right to him they were his tag team partners on a cover for WWE 2K25.
Reigns was named as this year's cover star on the standard version of the 2K25 game while the former WWE champion was joined by current and former stablemates Jey Uso and Jacob Fatu, among others, for The Bloodline Edition.
'We're always trying to represent our family, I'm always trying to represent the elders of my family and the ones that laid down the groundwork and the foundation that we stand on,' Reigns said. 'To be able to take it to this level and this platform, and to have the interaction with the video game, and for people and our fans to continue to make moments with The Bloodline, with the Roman Reigns character, and really just dive in and take control themselves, it's a cool chapter for what we're doing.'
The game will be available on March 14, plenty of time for gamers to lay the smack down with their controllers ahead of the April 19 and 20 WrestleMania weekend in Las Vegas.
Reigns joined some of WWE's greats to earn a cover shot, along with previous stars Cody Rhodes, Brock Lesnar, Steve Austin, Rey Mysterio and John Cena. Bret 'Hitman' Hart, Chyna, Batista, The Rock, 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper, CM Punk and Becky Lynch are among the 300 WWE superstars available as part of the largest roster in the game's history.
The Undertaker is on the Deadman Edition cover, while The Bloodline Edition cover features members of both Reigns' and Solo Sikoa's Bloodline factions, including Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso and Paul Heyman interwoven into the roots and branches of the iconic Bloodline family tree.
WWE 2K25 Deadman Edition and The Bloodline Edition are scheduled for a March 7 release.
'We earned it,' Reigns said of the cover. 'We set out to be very special.'
Reigns shared the cover in 2020 with Lynch.
The 39-year-old Reigns continues to perform at the highest level in professional wrestling and competed in the main event of both nights of WrestleMania last year in Philadelphia. Reigns, who played college football at Georgia Tech, has been a staple in WrestleMania events and should be a major player again in this year's card at Allegiant Stadium.
He last missed a WrestleMania during the pandemic 2020 card when the show was held inside an empty arena because of the coronavirus. Reigns pulled out of the company's version of the Super Bowl, in large part because of his health.
While Roman Reigns — billed at 6-foot-3, 265 pounds — the WWE character has largely been unbeatable, the real-life Leati Joseph Anoa'i has battled leukemia since 2007 and had to step away from the company in 2018. His leukemia diagnosis left him immunocompromised, and he told The Associated Press it's a never-ending fight that will be part of him for the rest of his life.
'I look at health in a couple of different layers because when you look at someone it's, oh, they look healthy,' Reigns said. 'But, what's your bloodwork look like? How are you feeling? What's your energy look like? I'm very blessed to be able to say it's all good for me right now. My bloodwork, everything that involved the leukemia, all that is in a great range, and at bay. We're still working on that zeroed-out molecular remission, but it's under a level that's sustainable to where we're in a very good place.'
Reigns said he feels great physically and mentally and will compete in WWE's next signature event, the Royal Rumble on Saturday in Indianapolis.
This time, as a 2K25 cover star.
'Right now," Reigns said, "I'm in a good place.'
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports
recommended
in this topic
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
12 minutes ago
- Fox News
WWE Comeback for Brie Bella?!
Newly released evidence in Diddy's federal trial includes a recorded conversation with 'Jane' days after Cassie Ventura's lawsuit. Chris Pratt and Anna Faris were seen together in Santa Monica celebrating their son Jack's graduation. Brie Bella is in discussions to come out of retirement and join sister Nikki at WWE's 'Evolution.' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit FOX News Radio
Newsweek
27 minutes ago
- Newsweek
WWE Legend Is Set To Return: Report
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg is set to make his return to WWE programming on this coming Monday's episode of RAW in Green Bay, Wisconsin. According to a new report from Goldberg will be appearing regularly on RAW to build towards his long-awaited retirement match. This return comes just one week after his likely opponent, GUNTHER, won back the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Goldberg's Final Match While not officially announced by WWE, it is heavily rumored that Goldberg's final match will take place at the Saturday Night's Main Event on July 12 in Atlanta, Georgia. His opponent is expected to be GUNTHER, finally paying off an angle that began at WWE Bad Blood in October 2024 when Goldberg hopped the barricade to confront him. Goldberg has been training intensely for his farewell match at the Black Diamond Martial Arts facility in Texas. On his podcast, he has been candid about dealing with several injuries during his training as he works to get into peak condition to deliver the full Goldberg experience one last time. More news: WWE News: Steve Austin Reveals Real-Life Vince McMahon Confrontation Speaking on WWE La Previa last year, GUNTHER spoke about the possibility of Goldberg wrestling again. Roman and Seth celebrate in the ring during the WWE show at Zenith Arena on may 09, 2017 in Lille, France. Roman and Seth celebrate in the ring during the WWE show at Zenith Arena on may 09, 2017 in Lille, France. PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images "I was invited out there to speak about the Crown Jewel Championship, and we had a lot of legends in the house, and I met a lot of them backstage. One of the very few I didn't meet that I just saw was there before was Goldberg. So when our eyes crossed, basically I was like, why not break some balls a little bit? [What] I've done [to] him, he doesn't seem to be able to take things lightly. I tried to lighten up the mood a little bit, but it' push comes to shove, and he thinks he wants to get back into the business and wrestle again, then I'm happy to teach him a lesson," Gunther said. Goldberg's Recent WWE Career Since returning to WWE in 2016, Goldberg has had several high-profile runs, often competing for world championships. He defeated Kevin Owens for the Universal Championship in 2017, leading to a match with Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33. He won the same title for a second time in 2020 by defeating "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt at Super ShowDown. His last match in WWE was at the Elimination Chamber event in February 2022, where he unsuccessfully challenged Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. His return to face the current World Heavyweight Champion, GUNTHER, sets the stage for a massive, cross-generational main event for his final bow. More WWE News: For more on WWE, head to Newsweek Sports.
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
WWE vs. AEW: Who's winning 2025's wrestling war?
If there's one thing that titillates wrestling obsessives, it's when one of the major promotions — WWE or AEW — makes an explicit reference to the other. These days the digs and attacks tend to be much rarer than in the past, but that doesn't stop them from being thrilling when they happen. Witness the social-media flutter this past May when an enterprising journalist used AEW's Double or Nothing press huddle to ask Tony Khan his opinions on WWE's none-too-subtle tactic of booking NXT premium live events against AEW's most important pay-per-view shows — one of the most aggressive competitive moves WWE has made against Khan's company. Advertisement That the AEW founder delivered an impeccably diplomatic answer did little to quell the excitement of those who spend their hours musing on the state of competition between WWE and AEW. Of course, here at Uncrowned, we have much less reason to mince our words on these things. So here's an analysis of the status of the battle between the two big promotions. The valuation gap Before making any kind of comparison between the two promotions, you need to acknowledge the 10-ton elephant that squats over this topic. Whatever you make of the rival products, WWE is objectively a much larger company than AEW in terms of money in the bank (no pun intended). Advertisement Even the most flattering estimates value AEW at around $2 billion, which is still less than a quarter of what TKO paid for WWE two years ago. And that latter number was before WWE finalized its massive Netflix deal, which has helped add some billions to TKO's overall market cap in the past year. None of this means there aren't specific areas where the numbers are closer (television viewing figures, for example), but it would be silly to pretend WWE doesn't have a massive edge due to its size and history. Media rights and viewing figures For all the focus on live shows, the modern pro-wrestling game is a television business: Both WWE and AEW make most of their money by selling their product to television and streaming networks. Advertisement For a rough comparison, WWE's various deals (Netflix, Peacock, NBCUniversal, etc.) bring in somewhere in the region of $1 billion per year. By contrast, AEW's recent media deal with Warner Bros. Discovery is valued at around $185 million per year — so less than a fifth of what WWE brings in. The big prize here is the Netflix deal, which was rightly hailed as a bit of a game-changer for wrestling when it was confirmed last year. The slight wrinkle on that front is WWE's Netflix viewing figures haven't been as huge as some expected, prompting some whispers about whether the streaming giant paid too much. As for viewership, AEW's U.S. television audience is around half of WWE's. 'AEW Collision' typically draws around 600,000 viewers in the U.S., compared to 1.2 million for 'WWE SmackDown.' That said, AEW's numbers have dipped over the past year or so, but now appear to be stabilizing. (Hat tip to the excellent Wrestlenomics, who publish detailed numbers on this.) The verdict: Advantage WWE John Cena and CM Punk face off during "WWE Raw." (Craig Ambrosio/WWE via Getty Images) (WWE via Getty Images) Live shows and ticket gates As much as we get tired of TKO's obsession with announcing all these record gates at every PLE, there's no denying WWE's audience revenue is seriously impressive at the moment. It just did $3 million for 'WWE Raw' in London, for example. Advertisement On top of that, TKO's current focus is persuading cities to pay hefty 'site fees' for the right to host bigger events — like New Jersey paying $7 million to host this year's WWE SummerSlam double-header. That's almost certainly a big factor in why WrestleMania is heading back to Las Vegas in 2026. On the other hand, AEW's gate revenue is much lower. Double or Nothing made $600,000 last month, for example. That said, their overseas events are still big league: All In at London's Wembley Stadium made $9 million and $6 million in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Gate revenues are one thing, but what about the crowds? On average, AEW's weekly shows draw around one quarter of the WWE audience (around 3,000 compared to 11,000 fans) — a ratio that has gotten steeper in WWE's favor over the past two years. AEW's bigger shows are still drawing decent crowds (in the 10,000 range) that are on par with the smaller WWE PLEs. At the end of the day, though, there's one wrestling promotion that can fill giant American stadiums like Allegiant in Las Vegas or MetLife in New Jersey — and it isn't Khan's. Advertisement The verdict: Advantage WWE The talent Defining a great wrestler is always going to involve subjective judgments. But on a business level, I'd argue that it usually boils down to one particular metric: the strength of the personal brand in terms of drawing viewers. If we're taking stock of the two promotions, there's no question both have some massive talents. But does AEW really have anyone who matches the Hollywood-level star power of The Rock, John Cena and Rhea Ripley? I'd venture not. It's that kind of clout that allows WWE to poach talent from its rival when it wants to. Just look at Mariah May and Jade Cargill, for example. Both had plenty of momentum in AEW and were likely making decent wages, but when the bigger brand came knocking, they were happy to make the jump. Advertisement That said, we shouldn't fully discount AEW's tagline of being 'where the best wrestle.' It's a good insight into how Khan sees his brand — and plenty of wrestling aficionados would agree that he's doing a great job on that front. Just look at the rave reaction to 2025's Double or Nothing show, for example. The verdict: Advantage WWE Kenny Omega's return has bolstered AEW's roster. () (Etsuo Hara via Getty Images) The product In many ways, this is the big question: Is the product any good? Television deals, gate revenue and site fees might bring in the bacon, but, at the end of the day, they're all downstream from the quality of the product. So how do the promotions compare right now? Let's start with WWE. Going into 2025, the company was widely regarded to be on fire — particularly with the Netflix deal incoming and the anticipation of John Cena's retirement tour. But there's a growing sense the product has been losing steam over the past few months. Advertisement Perhaps the success of the Bloodline/Cody Rhodes era gave us unrealistic expectations, or maybe we're all overreacting to the anticlimactic payoff to this year's WrestleMania. But it doesn't change the fact there's been a significant vibe shift from the fan base. And what of AEW? It's had some rough moments, for sure, but the most recent shows have begun to turn a corner. Double or Nothing was an absolute slam dunk and seems to be setting things up nicely for their biggest show of the year with July's All In. On a long-term view, though, the fundamentals haven't changed: WWE is still the granddaddy of pro wrestling. But if we're talking strictly about momentum — i.e. where things are moving right now — then AEW's lines are pointing in the right direction, while WWE's are floundering slightly. The verdict: (Slight) advantage AEW
