Roman Reigns has confirmed that he will miss WWE’s Day 1 pay-per-view event after testing positive for COVID-19.
WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns has announced that he will not be appearing at Day 1 in Atlanta. Reigns had been scheduled to defend his championship against Brock Lesnar at WWE’s first-ever New Year’s Day spectacular.
Posting on social media, Reigns said that he was looking to return to action as soon as possible.
I yearn to perform tonight at #WWEDay1 to defend my Universal Championship. However, unfortunately, earlier today I tested positive for COVID-19. Due to the proper protocols I am unable to compete as originally scheduled. I look forward to returning to action as soon as possible.
— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) January 1, 2022
Following the news that Reigns will no longer be performing at the event, WWE have announced that Brock Lesnar has now been added to the Fatal-Four-Way match for the WWE Championship.
On December 27th, it was reported that WWE had reduced the amount of testing they would be doing going forwards.
According to Fightful Select, “Performance Center talent” were informed that they will no longer need to partake in twice-weekly COVID testing. This had previously been mandatory.
Furthermore, an email was sent to the main roster informing them that weekly testing isn’t required. It remains unclear as to whether a vaccination qualifier was added to the ruling.
This report came after WWE pulled a number of high-profile Superstars from it’s recent Boxing Day show at Madison Square Garden, while numerous stars have missed other live events in order to minimise any potential impact on upcoming events.
More recently it was noted that WWE were reportedly handing out fines to those not wearing a mask backstage.