Roman Reigns may be one of the biggest names in WWE right now, but MVP doesn’t think the World Heavyweight Champion has reached the same level of fame outside pro wrestling as John Cena, The Rock or Steve Austin.
On episode 71 of his Marking Out podcast, MVP responded to Conrad Thompson’s recent comments calling Reigns “the most overrated main eventer in WWE history” and an “industry plant.” MVP pushed back hard on the second label but admitted he understands part of the argument when it comes to mainstream crossover appeal.
“Mainstream crossover appeal. John Cena. Like, you don’t have to watch wrestling to know John Cena. The Rock, Stone Cold. Those were the guys, man. And their fame transcended beyond professional wrestling. I don’t necessarily see Roman Reigns being the same, having the same level of popularity outside of wrestling. But the numbers say otherwise in terms of his star power, his drawing power within wrestling.”
MVP also made it clear that none of this means Reigns isn’t a draw inside WWE. The former WWE United States Champion pointed to merch and ticket sales, saying Reigns’ presence on a card directly drives ticket demand.
The recent digital numbers back that up. According to data compiled by EliteRockerz, videos from Reigns’ title defense against Penta on the September 14 RAW surpassed 74 million views across WWE’s social media platforms in under 15 hours.
Outside the ring, Reigns has started building a career in Hollywood. He made his film debut in “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” in 2019, appeared in Netflix’s “The Wrong Missy,” and is set to play Akuma in “Street Fighter,” which hits U.S. theaters on October 16.