Roman Reigns Reveals Stephanie McMahon 'Shattered' His Eardrum with a Slap on WWE Raw

Roman Reigns said Thursday that former WWE CEO Stephanie McMahon busted his eardrum while slapping him on an episode of Raw nearly a decade ago.

During an appearance on McMahon's What's Your Story? podcast (beginning at the 44:25 mark), Reigns divulged the consequences of the famous slap barrage he took from Stephanie on the Dec. 14, 2015, episode of Raw.

Steph said Reigns used to "talk a lot of s--t" to her in the ring, which prompted Reigns to respond, "Only because I knew if I didn't you'd slap me 15 times in a row. Busted my eardrum too. Shattered that sucker. The doctor was like, 'Oh yeah.' Hey, if you're gonna hit somebody, hit 'em."

During the segment in question, McMahon slapped Reigns due to his feud with her husband, Triple H. Reigns no-sold the first slap by smiling and then did it again after a second slap, which prompted her to slap him over and over again.

While Reigns came out of it worse for wear, he got the last laugh that night when he beat Sheamus for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the main event.

Reigns would lose the title to Triple H the following month when he was forced to put it on the line in the Royal Rumble match, leading to a match between them at WrestleMania 32.

Roman won the title back from Triple H at WrestleMania, and Stephanie got her comeuppance in the form of a spear from Reigns.

While Stephanie's role with WWE has changed significantly over the years to the point where she is now primarily seen on her weekly podcast, she was once among the most dastardly heels in the company.

In addition to her work during the Attitude Era, Stephanie was among the top villains in WWE when The Authority was running rampant, and it became commonplace for her to rock the biggest babyfaces with her stinging slaps.

Reigns learned a painful lesson that night, but he came out of it for the better, and he is now one of the biggest stars the industry has ever seen 10 years later.