Roman Reigns says the first time he looked across the ring from Braun Strowman, the big man didn't know left from right.
On tonight's episode of SmackDown, Roman Reigns will face Braun Strowman for the WWE Universal championship and what may be their final match for quite some time as they will both be on separate brands.
Speaking with CBS, Roman Reigns praised how far Strowman has come in his growth as a performer since their first meeting.
"If it's been 125 times, on Day 1, he didn't know left from right," Reigns said. "It's been amazing to see his growth as a performer. There's times he'll say some stupid stuff and you want to smack him, but he means well. He's a big guy with a lot of charisma and a very lovable guy. There are times where you can see that he's getting it and starting to understand what he's supposed to do and why he's supposed to do it. For me to have been one of the first to take him on and show him the way, I'm just happy that he trusted me. A lot of guys struggle with just listening and understanding that maybe the guy that's done it longer than you can teach you something. He put that trust in me, and I think it has paid dividends. I think it has helped him be able to hold his own and stay at a certain level in where we are, but it's a totally different dynamic now and I have a totally different attitude.
He continued, "For me, this run that I'm on, I'm not taking any prisoners. For me, my personal performance is the most important thing. My connection with the audience, displaying a character, and providing content they're going to buzz about for weeks, and taking them on that roller coaster ride is very important. I've said it a few times, I'm cooking up an elaborate omelet, and Braun Strowman is one of those eggs. Friday, you're going to see me crack another egg. He's a big old egg, but he's going to be part of this omelet I'm cooking up."
Fightful will have live coverage of tonight's SmackDown beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern.
