Battles are something we are faced with constantly in everything we do.
Battle in a job, battle in life to earn a decent living, a battle on the field for a sportsman, a battle for a military man albeit on a different kind of field, battle in the ring for a wrestler, battle against a life-threatening illness for a patient, and countless more for people in different walks of life.
Every battle tests our physical as well as mental make, and for people who have the will to succeed at all costs & failure is never an option.
One such man who has fought every battle with an insatiable need to come on top is Leati Joseph “Joe” Anoaʻi aka Roman Reigns, as he is fondly known to wrestling fans around the world.
His will to conquer every opponent in the squared circle be it the likes of Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Triple H, John Cena and his shield buddies Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose is second to none and equally revered.
Having said this, little do people know that Reigns has also surmounted a bigger, deadlier and more life-threatening challenge than any force in the ring.
Well, what I am referring to?
Leukemia, commonly known as blood cancer.
Yes, let that sink in!
On October 22nd 2018, in an in-ring promo on Monday Night Raw, Roman Reigns broke his character while relinquishing the Universal Title and said ‘My real name is Joe and have been living with leukemia for 11 years, and unfortunately it is back.
But make no mistake and this is not a retirement speech because when I am done kicking leukemia’s ass, I will be back.’
Truth be told, being a fellow cancer survivor, I could feel Roman’s pain and knew what it was living with cancer.
Moreover, in Roman’s case cancer was a part of his life for 11 years which is beyond imagination and when it resurfaced, it was even deadlier.
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Having said that, as the world and every WWE fan knows, Roman is no ordinary guy, he is a fighter and a conqueror and his faith made him overcome this deadly disease and he did exactly what he promised, kick cancer’s ass. Again.
In an episode of Monday Night Raw in February, the next year, he came back and said ‘The good news is…I’m in remission, Y’all’ among other things.
He also made a point of helping other people conquer this lethal disease as he knew what it felt to face it and beat it.
As a Roman Reigns fan and a survivor, I was thrilled and if I may add a bit tearful also to see the big dog back and claim his yard.
To conclude, when we are faced with challenges, our true character always comes to the fore and if victory is not ours, it is not the end, not yet.
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When one has the belief and the will to conquer all adversity, everything always falls in place as we have seen with this 4-time WWE Champion, Tag-team Champion, Intercontinental Champion, United States Champion and Royal Rumble winner.
I salute Roman Reigns for being a warrior, conqueror and most important of all an inspiration in the ring and definitely one outside it too.