Roman Reigns takes wrestling action to video games. WWE 2K25 cover star is still fighting leukemia

Roman Reigns has shared the WWE ring with his family in a storyline for years — he called his faction The Bloodline — so it seemed right to him they were his tag team partners on a cover for WWE 2K25.

Reigns was named as this year's cover star on the standard version of the 2K25 game while the former WWE champion was joined by current and former stablemates Jey Uso and Jacob Fatu, among others, for The Bloodline Edition.

''We're always trying to represent our family, I'm always trying to represent the elders of my family and the ones that laid down the groundwork and the foundation that we stand on,'' Reigns said. ''To be able to take it to this level and this platform, and to have the interaction with the video game, and for people and our fans to continue to make moments with The Bloodline, with the Roman Reigns character, and really just dive in and take control themselves, it's a cool chapter for what we're doing.''

The game will be available on March 14, plenty of time for gamers to lay the smack down with their controllers ahead of the April 19 and 20 WrestleMania weekend in Las Vegas.

Reigns joined some of WWE's greats to earn a cover shot, along with previous stars Cody Rhodes, Brock Lesnar, Steve Austin, Rey Mysterio and John Cena. Bret ''Hitman'' Hart, Chyna, Batista, The Rock, ''Rowdy'' Roddy Piper, CM Punk and Becky Lynch are among the 300 WWE superstars available as part of the largest roster in the game's history.

The Undertaker is on the Deadman Edition cover, while The Bloodline Edition cover features members of both Reigns' and Solo Sikoa's Bloodline factions, including Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso and Paul Heyman interwoven into the roots and branches of the iconic Bloodline family tree.

WWE 2K25 Deadman Edition and The Bloodline Edition are scheduled for a March 7 release.

''We earned it,'' Reigns said of the cover. ''We set out to be very special.''

Reigns shared the cover in 2020 with Lynch.

The 39-year-old Reigns continues to perform at the highest level in professional wrestling and competed in the main event of both nights of WrestleMania last year in Philadelphia. Reigns, who played college football at Georgia Tech, has been a staple in WrestleMania events and should be a major player again in this year's card at Allegiant Stadium.

He last missed a WrestleMania during the pandemic 2020 card when the show was held inside an empty arena because of the coronavirus. Reigns pulled out of the company's version of the Super Bowl, in large part because of his health.

While Roman Reigns — billed at 6-foot-3, 265 pounds — the WWE character has largely been unbeatable, the real-life Leati Joseph Anoa'i has battled leukemia since 2007 and had to step away from the company in 2018. His leukemia diagnosis left him immunocompromised, and he told The Associated Press it's a never-ending fight that will be part of him for the rest of his life.

''I look at health in a couple of different layers because when you look at someone it's, oh, they look healthy,'' Reigns said. ''But, what's your bloodwork look like? How are you feeling? What's your energy look like? I'm very blessed to be able to say it's all good for me right now. My bloodwork, everything that involved the leukemia, all that is in a great range, and at bay. We're still working on that zeroed-out molecular remission, but it's under a level that's sustainable to where we're in a very good place.''

Reigns said he feels great physically and mentally and will compete in WWE's next signature event, the Royal Rumble on Saturday in Indianapolis.

This time, as a 2K25 cover star.

''Right now," Reigns said, "I'm in a good place.''

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports