The Barclays Center is a special place for WWE Superstar Roman Reigns.
The venue marked the debut match for his three-man tag team/gang The Shield, which featured Reigns, Dean Ambrose and the current WWE World Champion Seth Rollins, at the “Tables, Ladders & Chairs” pay-per-view event on Dec. 12, 2012.
“That was our first match,” Reigns says. “At that point, we had a bunch of run-ins, but the world was waiting to see us wrestle a full match and everything. That’s a moment in time that I’ll never forget. It will always stay with me. It was hectic, it was crazy, but it was Brooklyn, so it made sense. So I’m looking forward to coming back.”
Reigns will be reuniting with Ambrose to take on the enigmatic Wyatt Family — Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper — in a tag-team match at “SummerSlam” this Sunday, in what will surely be a slobberknocker. Beyond that, all of the WWE championship titles will be on the line.
amNewYork spoke with Reigns.
How does it feel to partner with Ambrose again?
It feels good to have small talk and inside jokes out there. And to be able to laugh and watch Ambrose do something crazy, watch him freak out and start destroying stuff. It’s such a good dynamic, I think it’s going to be a great matchup. Anytime you put some Shield boys in the ring with some Wyatt boys, it turns into some magic and some hectic craziness, so hopefully we don’t burn the whole building down in one night.
What matches are you excited to watch?
To be honest, I’ve been so immersed in my feud, and my beef with Bray and Luke, and as you know, any time it becomes a family thing, all attention span is thrown out the window. I’m like an unleashed dog. I can’t focus. I just want to fight. I want to wrestle the Wyatts. I’ve got to be completely honest. Just right off the top of my head, I can say Brock [Lesnar] and [The Undertaker] is going to be the matchup of a lifetime. … I’ve been in the ring with both, even more so with Brock. I’d be extremely shocked if we didn’t see an epic match and one for the books.
Besides wrestling, what other events do you have planned around the city?
I’m doing a lot of work with DoSomething.com and Answer the Call and just for all our service people, the fire department, the police department up there in New York, we’re just looking forward to giving back and connecting and meeting new people.
Busy Barclays
The Barclays Center is going to be very busy this weekend:
Friday & Saturday
Superstar Meet and Greets
Here’s your chance to meet some of the WWE Superstars, Divas and Legends for photos and autographs, including current champ Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Charlotte, Paige, Becky Lynch, Sting and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels. Tickets available at WWE.com
Saturday
‘NXT Takeover Brooklyn’
NXT is the WWE’s development division, where some of the young up-and-coming grapplers get their chance to shine. It’s always an amazing show, and this is where you’ll see the future stars, with excellent wrestlers such as Finn Balor — the current NXT Champion — Kevin Owens and local grapplers including Colin Cassady (Queens), Enzo Amore (Hackensack) and Bull Dempsey (Brooklyn). Tickets are sold out, but it will air on the WWE Network at 9 p.m.
Sunday
‘SummerSlam’
One of the biggest WWE events of the year, this monster show will feature matches for all the WWE title belts, not to mention a rematch between The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar, who ended The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania XXX in 2014. Jon Stewart is hosting. Tickets are sold out, but this will air on the WWE Network at 7 p.m.
Monday
‘Monday Night Raw’
See the fallout from “SummerSlam” at this Monday night institution. Tickets are sold out, but this will air on USA at 8 p.m.
