Roman Reigns has revealed that he went through a physically difficult stretch between WWE Survivor Series 2025 and the 2026 Royal Rumble, mainly because of accumulated wear and tear on his elbows.
Reigns told Men’s Health in a recent interview that he was very sore heading into December after competing in the Men’s WarGames Match at Survivor Series on November 29. Among the offense he absorbed that night were two F5s from Brock Lesnar, one of them onto a table.
Reigns also explained how he adjusts his training to fit his physical condition.
“It’s a total custom job and I think for each individual it has to be that way depending on where you’re at within your physical life. You know what you’ve done athletically, what your job is and what your demand and what you’re asking your body to do.”
The elbow issue hampered his training for nearly the entire buildup to the Royal Rumble, and Reigns said things only started to return to normal shortly before the event.
“My elbows were really beat up in December coming out of Survivor Series in November. By the time I got to (Royal) Rumble in January, we were just barely getting them back to normal. My training struggled that whole time and I was coming out of a non-diet phase too out of the holidays.”
Despite the setback in his preparation, Reigns won the Men’s Royal Rumble Match on January 31, the second Rumble victory of his career. Gunther was the last man he eliminated, and the win secured his spot at WrestleMania 42.
Reigns went on to win the World Heavyweight Championship months later and has remained at the top of WWE ever since. He most recently defended the title against Penta on the September 14 episode of Raw.
His next challenge will come from LA Knight at Money in the Bank on October 10.