Roman Reigns has addressed the criticism he faces over his limited WWE schedule.
Speaking with Shannon Sharpe on Club Shay Shay, Reigns explained that WWE’s lucrative media rights deals have made it impractical for him to work house shows on a regular basis. He noted that he worked 150 to 200 shows a year from 2012 to 2018, a stretch in which he developed much of his ability in the ring.
Reigns said many fans overlook that track record when they question how little he appears now.
“Now with my schedule, people will pick on it, but they don’t remember from 2012 to 2018 when I was doing 150, 200 shows a year, every single year, just working my ass off.”
Reigns also pointed to the risk of injury, saying it is not worth getting hurt at a house show given the money tied to Raw, SmackDown and premium live events. He added that he can no longer take that chance in front of crowds of 4,000 or 5,000 when higher-profile shows are counting on him.
“There’s so much money that’s riding on Mondays and Fridays and our PLEs now that I can’t just go out there and wrestle for 4,000, 5,000 only, just for those eyes only. Now, I got to conserve it.”
Even so, Reigns argued that house shows play an important role in developing WWE talent. He said the company is trying to run more of them because working in front of different crowds allows wrestlers to refine their performances.
The comments come as Reigns has been appearing more often on WWE programming, with 2026 expected to be his busiest year in WWE compared with previous years. Behind the scenes, TKO is believed to have asked for the extra appearances.
Reigns, who recently beat LA Knight to retain the World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank, has been announced for Monday’s Raw in San Diego.
At Crown Jewel on Nov. 7, Reigns is set to face Sami Zayn in his next major match.