Roman Reigns on fans bullying him on the Internet: It's shocking, hurtful but we'll get past it

Oh boy, it's this again.

During an interview with Sporting News, Roman Reigns was asked what it was like for him earlier this year when fans were responding so negatively to his big babyface push, one that saw him win the Royal Rumble, defeat fan favorite Daniel Bryan at Fastlane, and main event WrestleMania 31. Social media has changed the game, especially within WWE, giving fans a direct line to constantly reach out to the wrestlers in whatever way they choose to engage them.

His response to how they did so:

"It was kind of rough to be honest. Someone my age, we didn't go through the Internet like how it is now. When I was a kid, I was outside sweating and running around. Me and the Uso's were tearing up the yard or doing yard work for that matter. We didn't have all these video games and these social media outlets. There weren't cameras on every single device that you could think of. So it's a little bit different. As an adult, I've always tried to be a good person my whole life so I've made good friends and I've always built great relationships and been friendly with people. I always think what you do to others will come to you so that's how I treat people. When you deal with an Internet situation where all these people are attacking you for no real reason at all. You're just going out there trying to entertain them, trying to give them something to get outside of their life, to get outside their reality and suspend belief for them. And then for them to attack you for no real reason. It's not like I was trying to hurt anybody. I was just trying to do my thing, make my art the way I want it and have a good time and hopefully it reflects that. It's just one of those things that once it's opened up it's eye-opening. It's shocking, it's hurtful but it's just a part of the world. Just like anything else, any other form of bullying that the world's dealt with, we're going to get past it. Strong people are strong for a reason — they can hold that weight. God gave me broad shoulders because I can carry that load. It was a shock and awe factor at first but it's a lot easier now for sure."

Some of the awful people spew on social media is absolutely shocking and hurtful, and while it would be easy to dismiss his "bullying" claims, he's not necessarily wrong. It's almost surely why he all but disappeared from Twitter this year, because why deal with haters who hate because they hate their lives?

But, as he mentioned, it's getting much easier these days, and he can probably thank the sweet love he shares with Dean Ambrose for playing at least some part in that.