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The reigning WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, has surprisingly put on cricket whites in a recent video and taken off his wrestling boots. He has been shown playing with a cricket bat and a rugby ball gently in the video which is mostly made to promote an upcoming WWE event in Australia and bring out a different side of the terrifying champion.
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The video with Reigns, whose real name is Leati Joseph Anoa’i, starts with him holding a cricket bat and having a very serious look on his face that is usually reserved for his opponents in the ring. He is taking a few swings then he is practicing by letting the bat down first and then a rugby ball is thrown to Paul Heyman his manager. The voiceover says, ‘I have never seen Heyman run that fast,’ as the baffled manager is trying to escape. Then Roman gets into the position of the batsman and takes a big swing that appears to send the unseen cricket ball into the sky. The mix of athletics was really light-hearted and it made people from all over the world watching the video totally spellbound! Almost, the two worlds of professional wrestling and international cricket were united in this unanticipated way.
Someone watching the video could not stop comparing Reigns’ batting style to that of other cricket greats, commenting, ‘Steve Smith or Ricky Ponting,’ referring to the two most celebrated Australian batsmen. Another viewer even suggested, ‘Virat Kohli ❌ Roman Reigns ✅,’ humorously asserting that the Indian cricket captain had been outclassed by the WWE star. The cricket-themed fun continued on social media with a post stating, ‘Bro scored more runs than Saim Ayub in the Asia cup,’ a very specific reference to a not-so-good-performing Pakistani batsman in a recent tournament that delighted all cricket lovers.
Reigns’ ball throw at Heyman was one of the funniest moments in the film. One observer commented: ‘Throwing the football at Heyman,’ meaning that the person understood which sport was being played during the scene while using the American name for it and happily accepting the fact. The panic and the scrambling to get out of the line of fire display from the usually composed Heyman was so hilarious that another spectator was moved to remark, ‘The OTC is having fun,’ making use of Reigns’ ‘One True Champion’ moniker.
There were a few comments that only talked about Reigns’ sports style. A cricket fan complimented him, ‘Lovely straight drive mate,’ using the right batting terminology to depict the swing. Somebody else rejecting the term of championship said, ‘That is the shot of an emperor,’ an instance of cross-over between wrestling and cricket. The most enthusiastic response came from a person who screamed, ‘Roman goes down the ground, Roman goes out of the ground,’ striking the classic cricket commentary style with Reigns’ signature eagle gesture.
Many would not have guessed that the crossover of wrestling and cricket would be comic at all, however, the entertainment value turned out to be far stronger. One person asked, ‘We want a wrestling match between Travis Head and Roman Reigns,’ which conjures up the scenario of WWE starring vs. Australia’s World Cup-winning batsman. Another one just declared, ‘Roman Reigns – wrestler ❌ Cricketer ✅,’ fully accepting the switch between the two sports. The hard-hitting persona of Reigns plus the strange cricket gear created the phenomenon that one of the commentators called, ‘100 century in Roman style celebration,’ merging the landmark of scoring 100 runs in cricket with Reigns’ triumphant character.
It was the air of invincibility that Reigns carried with him that made the cricket pitch very much akin to his own court. The commentator who made the passing remark, ‘The call has done his homework,’ while Reigns was taking care of the cricket gear like a pro, was referring to the player being so experienced that he would take the right gear. This commentator was overheard by a person who said, ‘It was an Aussie rules ball,’ thus accurately identifying the exact type of ball used in the segment and suggesting that both WWE and their audience were sharing and appreciating the authentic Australian sporting touches.
Reigns accepting the local sports culture thus opening up the whole world for him captivated by the small video. His shift to cricket and rugby melodrama coincides really well with WWE’s global distribution expansion as shown by the likes of the Crown Jewel event which attracts cricket-loving countries like India, Australia, England, and Pakistan, etc., along with their growing viewership. Sports humor served as a common language that made the video break through the typical wrestling storylines and reached a larger audience. In other WWE news, Drew McIntyre has been making headlines with his recent declarations.
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The Royan Reigns’ unusual cricket innings brought a whole lot of hilarity and cultural bond-making-up around them, thus confirming that the most reigning champion can occasionally turn to the other side. The crowd reaction was nothing but excessively positive and it seems that these cross-sport collaborations have a strong bond with the audience that appreciates seeing their heroes in different characters. The comment that could not have been more spot-on simply summed it up perfectly when it said, ‘The OTC is having fun’ – and of course, so does everyone else who is watching. Meanwhile, Charlotte Flair continues to spread positivity among the WWE universe, and Cody Rhodes has recently been featured with an exclusive new figure pack.