In a recent interview with Jimmy Traina of the Sports Illustrated Media podcast, Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns confirmed that he signed a new contract with the WWE earlier this year.

“Yeah, I don’t really like to give specifics, especially, there are timelines, and different ways to play with these things. The main thing is, when you’ve been on the road for almost 10 years straight and someone who has been at the highest level, the main event level, I’ve ran a full schedule for a long time, even before we went to FOX, it changed to where it was SmackDown on Friday, two live events on Saturday and Sunday, and the occasional Monday Night RAW.

That’s a four-night schedule, which isn’t as bad as it used to be, we used to do Friday, Saturday, Sunday live events, Monday Night RAW and tape SmackDown on Tuesday, we were only getting a day and a half and this is before private travel, buses and all that, we’d fly out Wednesday morning, get half of Wednesday, you get home and you’re tired, half of Wednesday and then you have Thursday and you are trying to handle personal life and family and everything that comes with that. Then, you’re back out on Friday and for me, it was trying to balance everything.

As someone who has 5 children, we’re in a critical portion of their lives where they are so young and this is where we build these relationships and bonds and that they can get to know who their Dad is. For me, it was extremely important that I can build my fatherhood as the priority and the number one hat that I wear. In WWE, Vince and everybody was very good about accommodating that and making sure to keep me in the WWE family. The main thing is, no we’re not going to be on every single pay-per-view, but anything that I am on, which will be all the major ones and a couple of the other ones that fall in between the big four and the Saudi’s, I’ll always support those with TV to build the story and rivalry going forward.

Compared to what I did, technically compared to a full-time, on everything, you only get a day and a half a week, so yeah it’s part-time compared to what I usually run. I’m an annual character on WWE television and it’s done well so far, the reactions, it makes everything feel more special if you’re not as attainable or available, it puts a little mystique around you. Pretty much all of the houses have done well, the actual reaction, the decibel level is still very high. I couldn’t have planned for it to go any better and hopefully, we’ll continue to build that. I’ve done it to where, I could do it every single week, that’s no problem, but at the same time, if the quality is high, the quantity doesn’t have to be crazy.

These are things that I felt, even with this new contract and the past few months, almost that micromanaging complex of, I need to be in control and I should be doing more, you feel like you can’t help from the sideline. That’s not the case, that’s a mental type of thing that any performer would go through. I’m not there, I’m being forgotten, I’m not helping, you feel like you’re not carrying the same weight that you used to. At the end of the day, there is no off-season, I am just a human and we have to take all of these things into account, you want to stay in Superman mode and be on everything and help the product and merchandising as much as you can and satisfy the consumer, but if you spread yourself too thin, it goes both ways. It’s about finding that mental safe, that safe space to where you’re not blowing your brain up and being anxious or having anxiety about it and at the same time, just trusting it and going with the flow.

The strategy for the first few months after WrestleMania was to be on Money in the Bank, but once the show was changed and it was moved from the Allegiant Stadium into the arena, we re-strategized and we stayed on the path of hitting the huge ones going into the Winter. Once Money in the Bank was moved, I was pulled from that and we knew we were going to hit SummerSlam and Cardiff, being a huge stadium show, an international show, I knew I was going to be part of that. For me, it wasn’t a surprise, once I knew things were up with Money in the Bank, I figured there would be an adjustment there.”

The interview is available in full at this link.