Roman Reigns knows a thing or two about working with a live crowd. He has been booed and cheered during his time in WWE and continues to roll with the punches. He recently spoke to Complex while promoting the film Hobbs & Shaw which is the same movie that he almost killed a cameraman while shooting.
The Big Dog was handed a script on the Hobbs & Shaw set and given lines to read. He didn’t have to work an exhausting match beforehand. Therefore, that is also a very interesting dynamic which adds to the stress of performing in front of a live audience which is something he didn’t have to worry about on set.
“I think the live performance and just dealing with that simultaneous reaction can be different.”
“Being able to limbo through a live reaction, a live promo, and then on top of that the physicality behind it or flowing through it, it’s a hell of a job,” Reigns said. “A promo, a match, and then another promo and you’re over here (he proceeds to start making panting noises and tries to cut a promo).
“For me, I think the realer the better. You already know, if you get into a fight, you’re going to blow up. Check out the Internet right now. Two men right now are dying, they’re breathing hard. We wrestle for 15, 20, 30 minutes and then you still have to talk and be presentable at that point. It comes with a lot of practice and conditioning to be able to get to that point and a bit of grooming as well.”
It really is remarkable that WWE Superstars are able to work so hard in the ring and then cut a promo afterward. There is certainly a lot of breathing control that one much learn to be able to do that.
Some people might not even notice it, but the fact they make it look so easy might be why they are in the spots they have. This is something that Roman Reigns obviously noticed when it came to dealing with this change in environment.
Thanks to Wrestling Inc for the quote