While retaining the WWE Universal Championship Title, Roman “The Big Dog” Reigns recently attained the astonishing 1000-day milestone. Naturally, many have questioned the motivating factor behind ‘The Tribal Cheif’ taking on wrestling in the first place.
Natalya, the niece of “Hitman” Bret Hart recalled Roman Reigns once discussing that it was none other than Bret Hart, a WWE superstar, who motivated him to pursue a career in wrestling, bringing some answers to this old mystery.
Roman Reigns revealed Bret Hart as his inspiration
Roman Reigns appears to be at no immediate risk of losing his ranks even while The Bloodline seems to be disintegrating from within. His threatening persona is very different from the babyface role he played for years and failed to connect with audiences.
Natalya acknowledged Roman Reigns “The Bloodline” tribe leader has always been “respectful and courteous” to her, in contrast to his bad guy appearance on television. The 41-year-old also remembered Reigns telling her that Bret Hart’s writing was what most motivated him,
Bret Hart’s daughter posts BTS picture of Roman Reigns 💯 pic.twitter.com/H8eqwFQc2d
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“I always acknowledge Roman Reigns. It’s funny. Roman Reigns actually plays the role of a bad guy on screen, but he’s always been so respectful and nice to me. He told me once we were talking about Bret. He said Bret was the reason why he wanted to do this.”
“He said that because Roman and I both grew up in big wrestling families, and he said to me, ‘I was always surrounded by wrestling, but your uncle is why I wanted to do this.’ So I definitely acknowledge Roman,” stated Natalya.
Natalya’s explanation of the relationship between Roman Reigns and Bret Hart highlights the enduring influence that legendary superstars like Hart have on budding wrestlers. It illustrates the strength of motivation and how powerful role models may direct the careers of upcoming generations in the business.
Why was Bret Hart called Hitman?
Bret gets deep into the genesis of his nickname “Hitman” in his autobiography “Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling”. He claims that for many weeks, he and Jimmy Hart struggled to come up with a moniker for his wrestling persona in the book’s 18th chapter.
After reading about Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns’ retirement from boxing in a newspaper on April 27, 1985—just a few weeks after his knockout defeat to “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler—Hart chose to adopt the moniker “Hitman” for his professional wrestling persona.
All in all, Roman Reigns and his admission about Bret Hart’s impact on his professional wrestling career very much emphasize the significant influence Hart had as an inspiration. The importance of Hart’s legacy is strengthened by Reigns’ accomplishments as the WWE Universal Champion and his development into such a dominant persona.
