‘Pissed off’ admission after Aussie giant’s 20kg weight loss

Australian WWE superstar Bronson Reed admits doubts and reservations crept in after suffering a momentum-killing injury earlier this year.

Reed, who was gaining steam at the most important time of the year leading into WrestleMania, tore his biceps in a freak accident on February 23.

It was expected, which Reed confirmed during an interview with nine.com.au to promote both the NFL’s Melbourne game and the looming WWE Perth tour, that he was going to be in a featured match on pro wrestling’s biggest annual event.

Instead, less than two months out from the blockbuster Las Vegas card, the 38-year-old was dealt another shattering injury blow.

It comes after the giant Adelaide product fractured the talus bone in his foot in late-2024, sidelining him for more than six months at the time – also coinciding with WrestleMania, meaning he had missed out for two-straight years.

“That’s been my golden goose,” Reed told nine.com.au last week.

“I’ve always wanted to be part of WrestleMania and since I’ve been with WWE going back to 2019, something has always happened where I miss it.

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“I was going to have a featured match at the past two WrestleManias, but those injuries sidelined me and I wasn’t able to do it.

“That was the first thing I remember when I tore my bicep. The doctor asked if I was OK and I told him that I was pissed off about missing WrestleMania again.”

The absence was a major setback for Reed – real name Jermaine Haley – who has endured a rollercoaster wrestling career spanning two decades.

But the injury, as untimely as it was, prompted Reed to make an enormous shift, dropping 20kg during his time away from the weekly WWE grind.

“I had naturally lost a little bit of weight since I came back from my foot injury [in 2025], but I was still a very big guy,” he explained.

“I’m always looking to evolve who Bronson Reed is. I hate that I’ve had these setbacks and roadblocks with injuries, but at the same time, I try to use it as something to change myself. This time, I was thinking to myself ‘what can I do differently when I return’ and I thought I’d just change my body.

“I really got stuck into my nutrition, strength and conditioning. Day-to-day life is easier. I was a very big guy, I’ve lost 45 pounds [20kg]. I can fit into more clothes now that I couldn’t fit into before and everyday life is nicer.

“At the same time, it’s definitely benefiting things like my joints, especially with injuries. There’s definitely a lot of upside to what I did.”

Reed believes the physical changes will allow him to become more explosive and dynamic inside the squared circle after his return earlier this month.

However, before he stepped foot through the curtain for the first time in half a year, Reed admitted there were some reservations and nerves.

“Yeah 100 per cent – it’s always a natural thing to have those doubts,” he said.

“If you don’t care about what you do, people can coast through – but I’m very passionate. You can doubt yourself sometimes and that makes you push yourself harder, which people have seen with my transformation over the past six months.

“I made sure to change my body and be proactive in my time away to make sure I was the best version of myself coming back.

Reed also said the “silver lining” of his time away was getting to spend more time with his young daughter Deja, but conceded the “itch” to get back in the ring and on the road with WWE never truly went away over those six months.

Since making his return, Reed has put a target on the back of Oba Femi – one of the fastest-rising stars in WWE, who recently sent Brock Lesnar into retirement.

While the pair are on a collision course, Reed said that watching Femi enjoy a “crazy meteoric rise” made him hungry to get back in the ring as soon as possible.

“I was there when he debuted in the Royal Rumble at the start of this year and not long after that, I got injured and you didn’t see us cross paths,” Reed said.

“I was watching from home every week so I could stay up with the product and in my head, I kept thinking ‘we are the perfect type of match’.

“People will definitely want to see Bronson Reed vs Oba Femi and I knew straight away when I saw people posting on social media about it.

“That’s what people want to see, the two big bulls going at it.”

Reed also deflected when asked about a viral moment between himself and Femi that had many questioning if there was a legitimate, real-life issue between the pair, brushing it off as social media speculation and nothing more.

“A lot of people are reading into things – but I’m out there to be the bad guy, I was standing on business and showing him who’s dominant,” he said.

“It’s funny to me, people will dissect little moments and try to make something out of it, but the main thing is that people are talking. If it made a moment that people are talking about it online – then it worked.”

As he looks to rejuvenate his career after a crushing injury, Reed will have one eye on WWE’s upcoming three-night Perth takeover in December.

Reed is expected to feature prominently and singled out one top-line superstar who he might want to meet in front of the boisterous Aussie fans after the wildly successful 2025 tour that was headlined by John Cena’s farewell.

“The crowd was so electric last time, RAC Arena is the perfect place to host wrestling, so you’re guaranteed to have a fun time,” Reed said.

“At the same time, you have myself and [fellow Australian] Rhea Ripley, who’s out injured but could be back by then, and you have Grayson Waller as well. I love when the Australian people come out and get behind us and rally for us.

“We are representing this country on a global stage and each of us take it very seriously and we want the people to represent us back. I don’t know what I’ll be doing by the time December rolls around, but hopefully it will be something big.

“I feel like me and Roman Reigns were beefing last year, we made some crazy moments together. I’ve got a win over him and he’s got a win over me, so you need that rubber match and I’m hoping it comes sooner rather than later.”