Last month, ESPN introduced a brand new award for “Best WWE Moment” in order to celebrate the quasi-sport of pro wrestling as part of the Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, aka the ESPYS. The nominees were Kofi Kingston winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35, Becky Lynch winning both women’s titles at WrestleMania 35, Ronda Rousey winning the Raw Women’s Championship, and Roman Reigns returning to Raw after taking time off for cancer treatment. Though Rousey was the most widely-known WWE Superstar on the list, the Big Dog ended up getting the most votes.
According to ESPY voters, “I’m in remission, y’all,” was the Best WWE Moment of the year.
Coming back meant more than just returning to the ring. It meant I was healthy enough to show my gratitude for those who sent their prayers, who continually thought about me, and that I was ready to raise awareness. Thank you for all those who voted, it is an honor. #ESPYS @WWE pic.twitter.com/u2rGTZkVLf
— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) July 11, 2019
As you can see in this video on WWE.com, Seth Rollins was tasked with presenting the award to one of the two finalists – either Lynch or Reigns, his real-life girlfriend or his Shield brother – on the red carpet. The winner, Reigns, accepted the award, saying,
“I’m so flattered, you know? This was all so crazy. It was so unexpected, and it was just real life, you know what I mean? And for me to just be able to be healthy was the only award I needed, and this is just so flattering, for everyone to kind of lift me up and show me that I had that support. I had that support system and that love from everybody.
“So I just gotta say, it was never about awards or anything like that. It was about awareness. I was about sharing my story and hopefully someone could use it for a little bit of hope, and I’m glad that, you know, it seems like every day I get to run into people who are struggling and they’re fighting just like all of us.
“And this [gesturing with the trophy] is just a testament that we are winning. There are victories out there for us, and we’re going to continue to fight. We’re going to continue to create awareness and use these great platforms like EPSN, ABC, WWE, every platform that I have available I will continue to raise awareness on the fight against cancer.”
Later that night, during the ESPYs proper, Reigns presented tbe Best Coach award to Jim Calhoun, the current men’s basketball coach for the University of Saint Joseph and another, “one of the millions of cancer survivors living in this country today.”
