Roman Reigns spoke with the Los Angeles Times to give his reaction on the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant. The former WWE Champion admitted he was heartbroken over the news, given that he was a lifelong Los Angeles Lakers fan and the father of three kids. Reigns said in his video that he didn’t learn about the news of the helicopter crash until right before the Royal Rumble show began, and that he went home and hugged his daughter as soon as the show ended.
“I actually found out at Minute Maid Park right before the Rumble,” Reigns said. “Triple H received a text and he showed it to me. I just didn’t believe it to be honest. I watched religiously throughout his career and I’ve always been a huge fan, massive respect. But I never really thought losing someone like that, essentially a stranger, … he didn’t know me and I didn’t truly know him, but I didn’t realize it would affect me so much. It really did, on top of being in the Royal Rumble just being an emotional roller coast in its own right, it really just saddened me and it broke my heart.
“Obviously to hear the loss of Kobe and then his daughter as well, Gigi,… my heart just goes out to his wife, the three girls that were left behind, all the families that were involved, the pilot, his family, this is just such an abrupt loss. I feel like it just shook the world. And I legitimately did not think it would affect me as much as it did, and I cried.”
Bryant was one of nine passengers that died in a small helicopter crash near Calabasas, California. One of the other passengers was his 13-year-old daughter Gianna.
AEW Reportedly Offered Edge a Contract Before His Royal Rumble Return
WWE Hall of Famer Edge wrestled inside a WWE ring for the first time in nine years on Sunday night when he arrived in the Men’s Royal Rumble match. But months before the emotional moment, Edge reportedly sat down with All Elite Wrestling to discuss possibly signing with the young promotion. According to WrestleZone, AEW reached out to the Rated-R Superstar in August after he speared Elias at SummerSlam and said on a podcast that he’d possibly be able to wrestle another match.
“It’s unclear if WWE found out about the AEW talks or if he went back to them with the news, but Vince McMahon reportedly told him that he would be returning in a WWE ring if he was coming back at all and had him get cleared by a WWE doctor,” WrestleZone’s Bill Pritchard wrote.
Pro Wrestling Sheet’s Ryan Satin followed up that report by writing Edge was also offered a backstage role as a producer/agent on top of competing in a few matches.
According to PWInsider, Edge signed a three-year contract with WWE recently that will have him working a part-time schedule. On Monday night he returned to Raw, only to get brutally attacked by a chair-swinging Randy Orton.
Fresh off Chris Jericho’s wrestling cruise last week, AEW Dynamite will return to live programming this week with their latest episode of Dynamite. Matches for the show include Jericho, Santana & Ortiz vs. Darby Allin and Private Party, The Young Bucks vs. The Butcher & The Blade and Cody Rhodes vs. Kip Sabian. Jon Moxley will also make an appearance fresh off earning an AEW World Championship match at the Revolution pay-per-view.
Elsewhere in AEW news, NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis discussed the possibility of an AEW-NWA partnership in a recent Sports Illustrated interview.
WWE Releases Official Statement on Andrade’s Suspension
WWE released the following statement regarding Andrade’s suspension — “WWE (NYSE: WWE) has suspended Manuel Oropeza (Andrade) for 30 days effective immediately, for his first violation of the company’s talent wellness policy.” The reigning United States Champion was written off television on this week’s Monday Night Raw when, after retaining his championship against Humberto Carrillo via disqualification, Carrillo hit him with a Hammerlock DDT on exposed concret. Reports of his suspension had already made thier way online by the end of the night, though it’s still not known what he tested positive for. This marks the third WWE star to be suspended for a Wellness Policy Violation in two months, as both Robert Roode and Primo Colon were hit with 30-day suspensions in December.
No word yet on if Andrade will be stripped of his championship as a result of the suspension. The former NXT Champion won his first main roster title back on Dec. 26 at a live event in Madison Square Garden against Rey Mysterio.
Andrade, known as La Sombra in CMLL and New Japan Pro Wrestling, first signed with WWE in late 2015. After a successful heel run as NXT Champion, Andrade and Vega both jumped to the main roster in April 2018.
Raw turned out to be an eventful night in more ways than one. Samoa Joe was pulled midway through the Raw Tag Team Championship match for what’s reportedly a concussion, Drew McIntyre announced he’d use his Royal Rumble victory to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36 and Randy Orton closed out the show by turning heel on Edge and brutally attacking him with a Con-Chair-To.
