The Rock’s cousin vows to succeed where he and John Cena failed with bold Hollywood claim
Roman Reigns has never been one for small goals.
As The Tribal Chief, he’s turned WWE into his empire. Now he’s eyeing Hollywood but, unlike many wrestling greats, Reigns is adamant: he isn’t about to give up his grappling glories to get there.
The Rock, considered a cousin to Reigns, wasn’t the first to blaze that trail – Hulk Hogan having notably taken a stab at it years prior – but the real-life Dwayne Johnson is unquestionably wrestling’s biggest export into the film world.
At the turn of the millennium, Johnson swapped packed arenas for film sets, gradually shifting from cameos in The Mummy Returns to leading roles in action juggernauts and family blockbusters.
Today he’s the highest-paid actor in the world. But the cost was clear - his full-time WWE career ended in 2004, and though he has returned for electrifying cameos, the grind of weekly shows was gone, and he wrestled just eight times between 2004 and 2024.
John Cena followed almost exactly a decade later. From the Doctor of Thuganomics to the face of the PG era, Cena carried WWE through its transition years before stepping back in 2017 to focus on Hollywood.
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He’s since carved out success in comedies like Trainwreck and Blockers and in superhero fare like Peacemaker. But again, the trade-off was his weekly presence. Even now, Cena’s appearances are special attractions, not the norm – the perfect example being the year-long send-off he’s been given as a retirement tour.
That is the cycle Reigns is determined to break. He wants the lights of Los Angeles without losing the spotlight of WrestleMania. He wants to carry movie posters and championship belts at the same time.
“I wanted to be the first guy who could do both,” he told the What’s Your Story? podcast, “As opposed to - I know John did, and he did it his way.
“But to really be able to do both and like damn near lead a movie and then also still main event a pay-per-view and to have that type of responsibility, because there's a lot riding on that.”
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There will be obstacles along the way. Johnson was famously forced to halt production on one movie after a catastrophic injury during a cameo WWE battle, no doubt leaving Hollywood bosses furious.
“I do understand there's insurances and all different things behind it,” Reigns admitted.
“But to be able to hold that type of responsibility and to be able to juggle both, I think that's something that this generation - and hopefully I’m one of the first - to be able to do it.
“So, I don't want to stop being a WWE Superstar in order to wear other hats. I'm always going to be a WWE Superstar. I'm always going to be Roman Reigns, and I don't want to ever have to choose.”
Reigns, to achieve his aim, will need to surpass Cena and succeed even where ‘family’ failed. Reigns is often billed as The Rock’s cousin, and while they aren’t blood relatives, the link is genuine.
Reigns descends from the Anoa’i line, while The Rock’s grandfather Peter Maivia was made a ‘blood brother’ to Amituana’i Anoa’i, binding the families in Samoan tradition. It’s not biological, but the cousin label reflects a cultural bond that carries real weight.
That makes Roman’s ambition all the bolder, especially when the evidence says otherwise. The Rock’s initial Hollywood rise meant disappearing from weekly TV altogether.
Cena’s was the same - cameos and part-time returns aside, both effectively traded one stage for another. Insurance issues, production clashes and sheer hours on the road made it impossible to balance the two.
Reigns, though, is already walking the tightrope. His run as Head of the Table has stretched into one of the most dominant WWE has seen, while still dipping a toe into Hollywood.
He’s no longer putting himself through the rigors of the full-time WWE schedule but crucially, he hasn’t taken the exit ramp, and features at the upcoming Clash in Paris show in a heavy-hitting clash with Bronson Reed.
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It appears Reigns isn’t chasing the silver screen to escape wrestling - he wants to fuse the two together. A new mould, rather than a repeat of what came before.
Edging past Cena and Rock in any manner isn’t a mean feat, but as one of the most dominant and decorated stars in WWE’s recent history, the lengthy-reigning Undisputed Champion might just be the one to manage it.