Roman Reigns Says He 'Carried the WWE for Well over a Year' in ThunderDome

The WWE ThunderDome era is over Friday as the promotion embarks on a 25-city tour beginning in Houston's Toyota Center for SmackDown.

WWE Universal champion Roman Reigns was undoubtedly the company's biggest star during that time frame as the organization was forced off the road and instead performed in numerous Florida arenas.

The champ spoke with CBS Sports' Brent Brookhouse about his ThunderDome legacy as he sets to work in front of fans once again. He notably said that he "carried the WWE for well over a year now and there's no denying it":

"The live crowd has always enhanced my presentation. My reactions have always been, if not the very best, certainly up there with the very best. I've now showcased the layers as a performer to be able to do it without a live audience. I've had a strong hold on SmackDown and SmackDown being the very best portion of WWE. It's shown me as the No. 1 guy."

"That's my legacy coming out of the ThunderDome. Hands down, without question, it can be debated for great content on social media and WWE.com to put these polls and try to make an argument. But there's no argument. There's been nobody to ever carry the WWE product like I have over the past year and I stand on that. You can throw anybody out. We can try and be nice and say, 'Oh, Bayley! She just got hurt. She was the best.' Come on, let's not lie to ourselves. The Tribal Chief has carried the WWE for well over a year now and there's no denying it."

Friday will be the first time the promotion has worked in front of crowds on a consistent basis since March 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to WWE staying put in Florida and eventually implementing the WWE ThunderDome, the bio-secure bubble that cloaked the arena with images of fans virtually attending the events.

Now live fans are back in arenas as Reigns continues his near year-long tenure as the Universal champion. He won the title off Bray Wyatt at Payback last August.