Roman Reigns – The Face & Heart of WWE
Quick Info
Full Name | Leati Joseph “Joe” Anoaʻi |
Ring Names | Roman Reigns |
Nick Name | Joe, The Guy, The Juggernaut, The Big Dog, The Power House |
Birth Place | Pensacola, Florida |
Date of Birth | 25th May, 1985 |
Age | 36 |
Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
Weight | 265 lb (120 kg) |
Eye Color | Hazel |
Hair Color | Black |
Spouse | Galina Becker |
Children | 3 (Twin sons & Daughter) |
Mentor | Jim Ross |
Theme Song | “The Truth Reigns” by Jim Johnston |
Catch Phrase | Believe That! |
Introduction
Roman Reigns is an American professional wrestler and former professional gridiron football player. He is part of the Anoaʻi wrestling family. It includes his father Sika Anoaʻi, brother Rosey, cousins Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Rikishi, The Tonga Kid, and the late Yokozuna and Umaga. He is currently signed to WWE. At WWE, he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Roman Reigns. Reigns is the current WWE Universal Champion in his second reign, the longest reign for the title.
Reigns did not start his career as a wrestler. Instead, he began his career as a football player. In 2007 he started his football career with off-season spells with the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He then moved across the border to join Canadian Football League’s Edmonton Eskimos in 2008. The end of this season was the end of Reigns’ football career.
Early Life & Childhood
Here’s a detailed account of Roman Reigns’ early life and childhood.
Birth
On the 25th of May, 1985, Leati Joseph Anoaʻi was born in Pensacola, Florida. Reigns are half Samoan and half Italian. Both his father Sika and his brother Matthew Anoaʻi (Rosey) were professional wrestlers. His father is a WWE Hall of Fame. He was also very popular for his WWF tag team under The Wild Samoans. Roman Reigns was born in the legendary Samoan family that has a legacy of remarkable wrestlers.
Schools & Early education
Reigns went to Pensacola Catholic High School. He played football for three years at Pensacola Catholic High School. Roman Reigns gathered colossal fame at High School. He was called “Defensive Player” at Pensacola High. After that, he was transferred to Escambia High School. There he pursued his football career for about one more year.
College Accomplishments
After finishing high school, Reigns took management at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In college, he was a Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Football Team member. Moreover, he was the team captain in his senior year of his college. As a result, Minnesota Vikings signed him in 2007. Further, in 2008 he joined the Edmonton Eskimos in the Canadian Football League.
Wrestling Career
After retiring from sports in 2008, he joined his family in wrestling. In about two years, he grasped the essence of wrestling from his family, especially from his brother Rosey. After extensive training, In the year 2010 year, he officially signed a development contract with WWE and joined its Developmental Territory Florida Champion Wrestling. He took on the ring name of ‘Roman Leakee.’ His first official wrestling match was held against Richie Steamboat, which he ultimately lost.
He lost a couple of matches before winning a singles game with Fahd Rama. After that, he participated in the ‘FCW’ tournament the following year, playing mainly tag matches for teams.
He entered the ‘Grand Royal’ competition but was eventually eliminated. Nevertheless, he later beat Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match. He became the number one contender for the ‘FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship.’ However, there was no way to win the title.
He made his TV roster debut on the 18th of November, 2012. Along with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, he gained great fame. Following this event, the trio proclaimed themselves as The Shield.
In a series of tag-team matches, The Shield racked up consecutive wins. Then, Roman Reigns and Rollins defeated “Team Hell No” at the Extreme Rules and were crowned the WWE Tag Team Champions.
Singles Wrestling Competition
Following the split of ‘The Shield’ at the end of 2014, Roman became a wrestler in singles to the ‘World Title Contender. On the 16th of June 2014, he took home the Battle Royal to earn a place in the WWE World Heavyweight Championship ladder match. However, he lost the game and proceeded to get into a fight against Randy Orton.
Rollins’s betrayal caused The Shield to break up. This caused hostility in Ambrose and Reigns. Ambrose was beaten five times by Rollins Reigns. Roman Reigns fought Rollins but lost to him due to an imprisoned hernia.
He returned to his glory and won the title at WrestleMania. First, he took down Daniel Bryan. Then, he decided to face The Big Show and won against him.
He participated in the Money in the Bank ladder match in the next game. Then, an altercation with Bray Wyatt was followed by several losses and disqualifications in tag-team matches. But then Romans won the Hell in a Cell battle against Wyatt.
New WWE World Heavyweight Champion
After winning a four-way match against Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, and Kevin Owens, this victory made him one step closer to becoming the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion.
In the aftermath of backing up the champion Seth Rollins who was injured that year, the title was in the hands of its next winner. In the pursuit of this title, Reigns went on to win the opening match in the first round against Big Show and took on Cesaro in the quarterfinals.
He was victorious in the semi-finals with Alberto Del Rio. Moreover, he ultimately won the championship match against Dean Ambrose. After beating Ambrose, Roman became the “WWE World Heavyweight Champion” for the first time in his career.
In a battle that lasted five minutes following the championship, Roman lost his title to Sheamus, who took him down to claim the title.
Mr. McMahon, the WWE’s CEO, allowed Reigns to fight against Sheamus in the following days. Reigns returned to his title in the rematch. As a result, he gained the title of WWE World Heavyweight Champion’s second time in his career.
He was crowned a ‘WWE World Heavyweight Champion’ the third time after winning an event with Triple H. However, the wrestler was suspended after breaking the rules for ‘WWE Wellness and later acknowledged on social media.
On the 21st of August 2016, Reigns took home his first United States Championship title by beating Rusev. Then, following defeats in the Survivor Series, the Royal Rumble, and ‘Extreme Rules, Reigns began a dispute with John Cena.
In October of 2017, “The Shield” met for a brief time because of their differences regarding The Miz. He later defeated The Miz at the ‘Intercontinental Championship. Which made him the 17th ‘Grand Slam champion.
In the aftermath of losing to Lesnar during the Greatest Royal Rumble match, Reigns sparked amid a battle against Bobby Lashley. He later defeated Lashley during an attack at Extreme Rules and became the leading candidate to take Lesnar to win the title.
In ‘Summer Slam,’ the champion beat Lesnar and took home his first ‘Universal Championship’ in his career. The group ‘Shield’ that was reunited beat Strowman, Ziggler, and McIntyre in a tag match.
After a brief absence because of health concerns, Reigns returned together with Ambrose and Rollins to wrestle for the 3rd time. First, he defeated McIntyre, Lashley, and Corbin. Then he defeated McIntyre.
At “WrestleMania 35, he joined forces alongside The Undertaker to defeat McMohan and McIntyre during a match in “Extreme Rules.’
Roman Reigns’ Signature moves
Roman Reigns has been quite popular for many reasons but the most prominent reason for his fame and appreciation are his wrestling signature moves. He has put his fans in a moment of awe and admiration multiple times by showing off his unique moves. Following are the top 5 Roman Reigns’ signature moves.
Running Apron Dropkick
This is an excellent and exciting move by Roman Reigns. It is okay if we say that Running Apron Dropkick is one of Roman Reigns’ most loved and favorite moves. The signature move showcases his creativity and speed. He goes running until a frenzied dropkick, leaving the opponent stunned, lying on the rope’s bottom.
Tilt-a-whirl Slam
This move is a slight twist to his other move, “Silo.” However, the smooth execution of the move is what makes it brilliant. He effortlessly puts up the opponent wrestler regardless of the opponent’s colossal size and slams them down. You can also notice a slight resemblance of this move with Billy Gun’s style.
Samoan Drop
This one is one of his very own personal wrestling moves. The name of the move is named on his family name. You can feel his power over his opponent and the wrestling ring when he’s doing the Samoan Drop, right sitting on your couch.
Superman Punch
This move is one of his trademarks. Superman Punch is not only his fan’s favorite but also his own favorite signature move. There is great hype about his superman pose.
The Spear
The Spear has been the particular move in WWE. Many wrestlers have performed The Spear in their styles. But, following his ancestor-wrestlers like Gore, Goldberg, and Edge, Roman Reigns has perfected this move.
Major Achievements
Following a hernia operation and a television appearance, he was on the episode aired on the 8th of December of “Raw” in 2014. He received the ‘Slammy Award’ for the ‘Superstar of the Year.’
Apart from winning the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at least three times, Roman Reigns challenged Rusev to become the leading candidate for the ‘WWE Universal Championship.’
On the 25th of September 2016, he defeated Rusev in the ‘Clash of Champions. After that, he continued his fight with Rusev, after which he beat Rusev in a “Hell inside a Cell’ fight on the 30th of October.
The year was 2017, and Reigns beat The Miz to claim his first ‘Intercontinental Champion.’ Reigns took on Brock Lesnar the following year and won his first ‘Universal Champion.’
Roman Reigns’ TV Shows & Movies
Roman Reigns has appeared in many movies and TV shows throughout his career. Here is the list of all his most notable screen appearances:
- The Wrong Missy (2020) – Movie
- Fast & Furious Hobs & Shaw (2019) – Movie
- WWE The Great Balls of Fire – Movie
- Rumble (2021) – Movie
- Money in the Bank – Movie
- The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania! – Movie
- WWE Stomping Grounds – Movie
- Cousins for Life (2018) – TV Series
- My Way: The Life and Legacy of Pat Patterson – TV Series
- WWE fastlane (2021) – TV Series
Marriage & Love life
Roman Reigns and Galina Becker have been friends at Georgia Tech, where both were studying for their college degrees. Reigns was a member of the Yellow Jackets Football Team, while Becker was also part of the team that played for Georgia Tech University. They began to date, and they had their first child. The couple welcomed their daughter on the 14th of December 2008. Who they named Joell. Roman got married to Galina in December 2014, and Galina was a flower at their wedding. In 2016 the couple was blessed with twin sons.
