WWE superstar Roman Reigns stunned the wrestling world on Monday night by announcing on live television that he was battling leukemia and stepping away from the business.

The shocking revelation came during the opening segment of “Monday Night Raw.”

“My real name is Joe and I’ve been living with leukemia for 11 years — and unfortunately it’s back,” Reigns said. “And because the leukemia is back I cannot fulfill my role, I cannot be that fighting champion and I’m going to have to relinquish the Universal Championship.”

Reigns, 33, was scheduled to take part in WWE’s upcoming pay-per-view “Crown Jewel” in Saudi Arabia, where he would be defending his Universal title against former UFC champion Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman. But those plans are now off.

“I’m not going to lie, I’ll take every prayer you can send my way,” Romans said. “But I’m not looking for sympathy. I’m not looking for you to feel bad for me because I have faith.”

Reigns, whose real name is Joe Anoa’i, said he was first diagnosed when he was 22, and “very quickly” he was able to put it into remission.

“But I’m not gonna lie, that was the hardest time of my life,” Reigns explained. “I didn’t have a job, I didn’t have any money, I didn’t have a home — and I had a baby on the way, and football was done with me. But you wanna know who gave me a chance? The team that gave me a chance was the WWE.”

Reigns has been the company’s top star for several years now and has main evented the last four WrestleManias.

“Sometimes life throws you a curveball and the best thing for me to do is to go home and focus on my health,” he said. “But I want to make one thing clear: By no means is this a retirement speech, because after I’m done whupping leukemia’s ass, I’m coming back home. And when I do, it’s not going to be about titles and being on top, it’s about a purpose. I am coming back because I want to show all of you — the whole world. I want to show my family, my friends, my children and my wife that when life throws a curveball at me, I am the type of man that will stand in that batters box, I will crowd the plate, I will choke up and I will swing for the fences every, single, time. Because I will beat this, I will be back and you will see me very, very soon.””

Reigns had been pulled from multiple WWE house shows over the weekend, with some speculating that he was seriously injured. The company sent out a statement following his announcement, confirming the news.

“Tonight on Monday Night Raw, Roman Reigns (aka Joe Anoa’i) announced that he is relinquishing the WWE Universal Championship and taking a leave of absence from WWE as he once again fights leukemia, which had been in remission since late 2008,” the company said. “Reigns is taking his battle with leukemia public in an effort to raise awareness and funds for research in order to advance cures for the disease.”

The Monday night announcement left fans floored and prompted countless messages of support from other wrestlers.

“Uce, you are a tough bastard and a true fighter, and you will beat this,” tweeted WWE superstar Sami Zayn.

“He’s our locker room leader. He IS the business. He’ll be back,” wrote the Singh Brothers. “You got this, champ.”