Roman Reigns Declares Himself The GOAT After Retaining World Heavyweight Title

Roman Reigns remains on top of the WWE world, successfully defending his World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank 2026 and immediately declaring himself the greatest professional wrestler ever.

Reigns Claims GOAT Status After Title Defense

On Saturday night at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Roman Reigns opened the Money in the Bank premium live event with a victory over LA Knight. The challenger pushed him hard, but Reigns ultimately secured the pinfall with a spear to retain his title. After the event, Reigns took to social media with a defiant message. "Maybe I'm delusional," he said. "Maybe I believe my sh*t too much. But can't nobody touch me. I'm the greatest of all time baby. Now go b*tch about that." His bold claim sets the tone for his reign as a new potential challenger, Oba Femi, has already sent a message to the champion.

In a separate interview on Club Shay Shay with Shannon Sharpe, Reigns revealed the four figures he considers the Mount Rushmore of professional wrestling. His metric was purely financial success and industry impact, advice he received from his father. "This ring is only about money. It's a business. Don't treat it any other way," Reigns recalled. His final four were Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and John Cena. He argued these men changed how wrestling was viewed and expanded its reach, stating, "We wouldn't be here today without those four, for sure." He also named Hogan as his personal choice for the greatest of all time.

How Leukemia Forced A Career Pivot From The NFL

Long before he was the Tribal Chief, Reigns was Joe Anoa'i, a standout defensive tackle at Georgia Tech with NFL aspirations. He signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent. That dream was shattered by a leukemia diagnosis in his early twenties. Reigns told Sharpe that lab work revealed he had about 70,000 white blood cells, far above the normal range of 5,000 to 10,000. "That was the day that changed my life," he said. Believing it was a "sports death sentence," he briefly tried with the Jacksonville Jaguars before his path turned toward WWE, a transition for which he is now grateful.

Reigns' Frustration With His Pre-Bloodline WWE Run

Despite his current dominance, Reigns' journey to this point wasn't always smooth. In an interview promoting his new film "Street Fighter," he admitted to significant creative frustration in the 2010s before the iconic Bloodline storyline began. "It didn't click until... Before COVID hit and I left, and I had dog food all over me," Reigns told host Sam Roberts. He specifically referenced a polarizing 2019 feud with Baron Corbin that culminated in the infamous dog food segment. "I just wasn't creatively... I just wasn't in line. I didn't like what I was doing, I didn't like the way I was portrayed," he said. His decision to take complete ownership of his character after that low point led directly to the record-breaking Tribal Chief era.

• Reigns retained the World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank 2026 against LA Knight.
• He named Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and John Cena as his Mount Rushmore of wrestling based on financial impact.
• A leukemia diagnosis featuring 70,000 white blood cells ended his NFL career and redirected him to WWE.
• He was creatively frustrated with his WWE presentation prior to the 2020 launch of the Bloodline storyline.