On Oct. 22, Reigns revealed that he had been diagnosed with leukemia and that he would be taking a break from WWE to receive treatment. On February 25, he announced that he was in remission and will be back to action on Raw. Reigns first revealed his diagnosis on Twitter on Oct. 7 after his match at Night of Champions against Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship. He wrote, "Just found out this morning that I have Leukemia. All treatments are going well so far. Pray for me." He returned to WWE programming on Feb. 25 following his one-month absence. During his return interview, Reigns said he is in complete remission and added that he hopes his experience can help others by sharing his story with them. Reigns later explained that his illness and its associated treatments caused his body to produce less than optimal blood cells which in turn led to him being diagnosed with leukemia. He added that his condition has no cure but that it can be treated successfully with medication and intensive chemotherapy. Reigns made his in-ring debut on March 6 during a WWE live event in Providence, Rhode Island where he lost to Daniel Bryan via disqualification when The Authority ordered them off.