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WWE boss Vince McMahon and Roman Reigns clashed over Universal Champion’s theme song
Reigns has opened up about changing his music (Picture: WWE)
Roman Reigns has hinted he and Vince McMahon didn’t see eye to eye on his new entrance theme.
The Tribal Chief, who is poised to defend the Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar at WWE Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia this week, has opened up on the anthemic song and explained why he took his time introducing the walkout music.
He told Bleacher Report: ‘It wasn’t ready. Me and the big man weren’t agreeing on a couple of things, so I was like, “Screw it, I’m not going out to it now.” I have to feel it because nobody outside of my cousins and Paul is walking out to that.
‘To me, these are the types of things I have to 100 percent be connected to, and that’s why our audience can trust me and the presentation and the character and everything I’m doing.
‘If it doesn’t feel right, I’m not going to do that s**t… It’s got to be on point with how I feel, and I have to be able to commit and connect to it. Otherwise it’s going to be see-through.
‘I’m not the type that can memorise and recite. I have to feel. I have to have instincts. And for me to be able to do that, I have to be comfortable and committed and believe in what’s presented to me so I can present it to our audience.’
The theme was eventually debuted on the April 30 edition of SmackDown as Reigns ditched The Shield theme for his match with Daniel Bryan – now Bryan Danielson in AEW.
Reflecting on the change, he said: ‘A lot of it was just trying to create that iconic feel to where immediately you know, “Oh, he’s here. He’s coming out.”
‘That’s where we went with the two different beats, the two different melodies: to have that 20, 25-second opening that’s preparing them.
‘I wanted it to transition from there into something more I could vibe to. The old Shield Roman Reigns theme was cool, and it grew on me.’
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The Head of the Table noted there is something about the track which gives him ‘that ultimate swag’, and he thinks that’s a key element in the perfect entrance song.
He added: ‘And if you do something over and over for a long time, you figure out how to vibe to it, but this is a track that makes my head nod, and you’ll see it and my cousins are doing the same thing in the back.
‘It gives you that ultimate swag when you’re walking out. And especially for an entrance, that’s the most important thing: people seeing and feeling that swagger and energy and confidence coming off of you.’
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