Roman Reigns Reveals Leukemia Diagnosis And Dean Ambrose Turns Heel As WWE Raw Hits A Hard Reset

WWE fans rode a roller coaster ride of emotions on this week's episode of Monday Night Raw, when the show opened with the company's top star Roman Reigns revealing that he has been diagnosed with leukemia, a disease he has been quietly battling for more than a decade.

Credit: WWE.comCredit: WWE.com

In an emotional segment on Raw that tugged at the heartstrings of wrestling fans across the world, Reigns said that his cancer had returned and that he would have to relinquish the Universal Championship as he headed home to battle the disease for the second time. WWE sent out an official statement providing additional details on Reigns' diagnosis and noted that he will be at the forefront of efforts to "raise awareness and funds" for leukemia research:

Tonight on Monday Night Raw, Roman Reigns (aka Joe Anoa'i) announced that he is relinquishing the WWE Universal Championship and taking a leave of absence from WWE as he once again fights leukemia, which had been in remission since late 2008. Reigns is taking his battle with leukemia public in an effort to raise awareness and funds for research in order to advance cures for the disease.

Reigns' shocking announcement resulted in an outpouring of support from millions of fans, superstars and industry insiders across social media, including John Cena and Reigns' real-life cousins, Jimmy and Jey Uso:

‘Courage - strength in the face of pain or grief.’ You have given us your everything including a courageously vulnerable moment. We, your WWE family, give you all of our love and support. #ThankYouRoman #NeverGiveUp

— John Cena (@JohnCena) October 23, 2018

We been here for u, and will stay here for u. Day one uce. We love you. @WWERomanReigns #ThankYouRoman pic.twitter.com/eszthQWPAC

— The Usos (@WWEUsos) October 23, 2018

Reigns was adamant that "this was not a retirement speech" and that he planned on returning to the ring "very, very soon" before making his way up the entrance ramp and being greeted with a heart-warming and tear-jerking embrace by his stablemates in The Shield, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. WWE would announce later in the show that Reigns' relinquished Universal title would be up for grabs next week at WWE's Crown Jewel event when Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman will go one-on-one to determine the top champion on Raw.

But that wasn't the most newsworthy creative decision made on this week's episode of Raw. Less than three hours after Reigns poured out his soul to the WWE Universe and had one of the most memorable moments in company history when he hugged and shared tears with both Ambrose and Rollins onstage, The Shield's reunion was cut short for the second time in as many years by a serious illness for Reigns after the trio's reunion tour prematurely ended last year when Reigns contracted a viral illness and Ambrose suffered an untimely triceps injury.

On this week's Raw, WWE, blindsided by the pending loss of its top star, executed a series of creative moves that were a direct result of Reigns' unfortunate diagnosis and his presumed lengthy hiatus from the ring. For starters, the company chose to move forward with a full-fledged babyface turn for Strowman less than two months after he turned heel, ironically enough, to feud with Reigns. Strowman had been working as a fan favorite at recent live events, and as one of the company's most popular stars and perhaps one of its biggest draws as well, WWE moved "The Monster Among Men" back to the babyface side of the fence, where fans have wanted him to be all along.

Another shocking booking move occurred late in the show when WWE seemingly ended Elias' fantastic run as a heel and officially established him as a fan favorite. One of the most over acts on Raw, Elias had been generating babyface-like reactions for much of 2018, and as someone with a proven history of being a top merchandise seller, WWE clearly saw enough potential in a babyface Elias to have him whack heel authority figure Baron Corbin with a guitar and firmly cement himself as a babyface in the process, giving Raw its second major babyface turn of the day.

The biggest and boldest creative move, however, came at the conclusion of Monday's Raw, which had already resulted in a whirlwind of emotions for Reigns, WWE as well as visibly shaken fans and WWE superstars. The three-hour show opened and closed with bookend moments that led to the destruction of The Shield. An already devastated live event audience, still reeling from the unforeseen news about Reigns' battle with leukemia, was left dismayed and disappointed when, mere moments after Rollins and Ambrose defeated Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler to win the Raw Tag Team Championship, "The Lunatic Fringe" hit Rollins with the Dirty Deeds DDT and unleashed a hellacious beating on "The Architect."

The Shield had officially imploded, and after long-running reports indicated that Ambrose would be turning heel, WWE finally pulled the trigger on that turn to cap off what was one of the most emotionally draining episodes of Raw ever. Though Ambrose is now in what many believe is his more natural role as a villain, his long expected heel turn stunned the wrestling world due to its timing and the thought that, on the heels of Reigns' gut-wrenching announcement, Raw would end on a high note with Ambrose and Rollins celebrating a memorable tag team title win.

But as they say in show business, the show must go on, and the sudden and sad loss of Reigns didn't prevent WWE from moving forward with a new-look Raw headlined by a fresh No. 1 heel in Ambrose.

Reigns, of course, will be irreplaceable on the red brand. As the heir apparent to Cena, the public face of the company, one of its most popular stars and certainly its most polarizing one, Reigns' hiatus, however long it may last, will leave a gaping hole of star power at the top of the card and WWE needed to do it all it could in its attempts to fill it. It just goes to show you how important Reigns is to WWE, Raw and the entire pro wrestling world that his upcoming absence necessitated two major face turns and one colossal heel turn to reshape the roster while he's away.

Now, Raw will chug along Ambrose as its most despised villain and with a new trio of top babyface stars in Strowman, Rollins and Elias, who will be keeping the seat warm for Reigns' return, whenever that may be, as he assuredly will make his way back to the squared circle and be warmly received with one of the loudest ovations in WWE history.

Blake Oestriecher is an elementary school teacher by day and a sports writer by night. He’s a contributor to @ForbesSports, where he primarily covers WWE. You can follow him on Twitter @BOestriecher.

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