Daily Star

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IT’S fair to say there was precious little to shout about at WWE Fastlane.

Sami and Joe largely kept their powder dry, while Zayn was inexplicab­ly beaten in short order on RAW.

But Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman stole last weekend’s show. Fair play to both men. All of Reigns’s detractors should take a good look at that match, by the way.

On to more resplenden­t matters and quite frankly the most glorious interview of all time on this hallowed page.

Bobby Roode is in the shape of his life, with the opportunit­y of his life, and the gimmick of his life to work with. That song, that entrance.

One of the world’s best for two decades, since the early days in Team Canada, he’s doing what he does best, and we are loving it.

“When I first heard the song, I wasn’t too sure. It differed from what I expected,” admits Roode, speaking exclusivel­y to FT.

“After I listened to it half a dozen times, I thought maybe it could be something. It took off hugely. For me as a performer, I had to live up to the song! I didn’t want to just be a guy with a song. “I wanted to be a guy with a cool song, a cool entrance, to go out there and be the guy who can carry the ball. “The song has been a big advantage for me I guess you could say, and then I could fit the character to that song. It’s still a work in progress, but I think we’re doing well right now.” Roode came to WWE nearly a year ago, famously appearing at ringside at NXT Takeover Dallas and recently toppled the man he watched win the NXT title, Shinsuke Nakamura, to claim his first WWE title. Overtly stating he ended his 15year run with TNA to “rediscover my passion for the business”, Roode says it’s been quite a year, arguably the best of his excellent career. His joy at the title win was evident to see. He explains: “I DON’T miss NXT TakeOver: Orlando live on the WWE Network on Saturday, April 1. For more informatio­n on WWE Network and to sign up for your first month free, visit wwe.com/wwenetwork. Catch the WWE Superstars this May when WWE Live returns! For more regarding all WWE Live Events in the UK visit bookingsdi­rect. com came in a year ago with just an opportunit­y. I didn’t know what was going to happen.

“And 365 days later I’ll be walking into NXT Takeover Orlando at Wrestleman­ia weekend as champion in the main event.

“Winning that match, all the emotions came out at one time. Beating Shinsuke Nakamura – a lot of people might not have thought I was going to beat him and I did.

“Holding a WWE title over my head for the first time was a great feeling.

Tribute

“It was a memorable moment, but I’m sure there will be a lot more memorable moments in the future for me.”

Roode closes by paying tribute to Hall of Fame inductee Kurt Angle, a long-time running mate over in TNA.

He said: “Kurt is without doubt one of the best of all time – there’s no doubt in my mind. Kurt Angle came in and became the top guy within a year in WWE, which is incredible. There isn’t a thing Kurt couldn’t do – he was entertaini­ng, he was funny, he was serious, he was a bad ass, he was a world champion who was in the ring with all the greats.

“I’m very happy that he is going into the Hall of Fame – it is well deserved.”

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