Roman Reigns told Shannon Sharpe on Wednesday’s episode of Club Shay Shay that Conrad Thompson is using the champion’s name to draw views. Since August, Thompson has called the World Heavyweight Champion “probably the most overrated main eventer in WWE history” and an “industry plant.” Reigns did not name anyone in the response but pointed to who Thompson is connected to.
Sharpe asked whether Thompson’s repeated comments bothered Reigns. “The truth is, are there a lot of people watching that guy’s show? So you’re gonna say stuff,” the champion said. “You already know I’m a metric mover.” The Tribal Chief added that “it is what it is.”
Reigns then told Sharpe to look at Thompson’s background. “You see who he’s a fan of and stuff like that, and who he’s connected to,” the champion said. “But no, if they want to use my name to get views, that’s the industry right now.”
Thompson co-hosts What Happened When with AEW commentator Tony Schiavone and Grilling JR with Jim Ross, who has also called AEW events. The Starrcast fan convention, which Thompson promotes, has held events alongside AEW pay-per-views. Megan Fliehr, the daughter of Ric Flair, is Thompson’s wife.
Thompson first made the remarks in early August on 83 Weeks, a podcast co-hosted with Eric Bischoff. The episode followed SummerSlam, where Reigns retained the World Heavyweight Championship against Seth Rollins in the Night 2 main event. “I think Roman Reigns is probably the most overrated main eventer in WWE history,” Thompson said, before describing the champion as what the music industry would call an “industry plant.”
Bischoff responded with two words: “I agree.” Later in the episode, Thompson tied Reigns’ success to Paul Heyman, saying, “No one gave a —- about Roman Reigns until he shared the screen with Paul Heyman.” Heyman served as the champion’s special counsel during The Bloodline storyline.
John Bradshaw Layfield argued the other side days later on Something to Wrestle, filling in for Bruce Prichard as Thompson’s co-host. “He’s main evented more WrestleManias than anybody in history. How is he not the top guy?” the WWE Hall of Famer said. By the end of the discussion, JBL told Thompson, “I didn’t realize you’re such a freaking Roman Reigns hater.”
Thompson returned to the subject on the Sept. 25 episode of Something to Wrestle. “No, I don’t hate Roman. I think Roman’s terrific,” the podcast host said. Thompson then added, “It’s also true that never have I ever seen a Roman Reigns T-shirt out in the wild. Not once.”
Thompson also compared Reigns to WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H. “I don’t hate him. He’s done fabulous. But I’m saying he is Triple H. He’s Triple H of 2026,” the podcast host said.
On the Oct. 7 episode of The Ariel Helwani Show, Thompson explained the reasoning behind calling Reigns an industry plant. The 83 Weeks co-host also compared the two biggest companies in wrestling. “AEW is making wrestling for fans, and I think WWE is making wrestling for investors,” Thompson said.
Reigns retained the World Heavyweight Championship against LA Knight at Money in the Bank on Oct. 10 in New Orleans. The 2026 Royal Rumble winner took the title from CM Punk at WrestleMania 42 in April. Street Fighter, in which Reigns plays Akuma, opens in theaters on Oct. 16.
Reigns handled this exactly the way a top star should. Thompson has spent two months taking shots on three different shows, and the champion answered once, calmly, without naming anybody. Reigns calling himself a metric mover is not bragging when podcasts keep using the champion’s name to get attention. The response was short, direct, and done.
The overrated argument does not hold up against the record. Reigns has headlined more WrestleManias than anyone, held the Universal Championship for 1,316 days, and won the Royal Rumble this year. Even Thompson admitted to loving all six of the champion’s matches in 2026. A T-shirt count does not erase a résumé like that.
Thompson can keep talking, and Reigns can keep cashing in on the attention. The Tribal Chief walked out of New Orleans with the title, has a movie opening Oct. 16, and is booked through Survivor Series. Overrated wrestlers do not get that kind of schedule.
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