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Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns in April 2014
Birth nameLeati Joseph Anoaʻi[1]
Born (1985-05-25) May 25, 1985 (age 39)[1]
Pensacola, Florida, United States[2]
Alma materGeorgia Institute of Technology[1]
Spouse(s)
Galina Becker
​
(m. 2014)​
[3]
Children1[4]
FamilyAnoaʻi[5]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Joe Anoaʻi[2]
Leakee[2]
Roman Leakee[2]
Roman Reigns[2]
Billed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[6]
Billed weight265 lb (120 kg)[6]
Billed fromPensacola, Florida[6]
Trained byAfa Anoaʻi[5]
FCW[2]
Sika Anoaʻi[5]
DebutSeptember 9, 2010[2]

Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoaʻi (born May 25, 1985) is an American professional wrestler, former professional Canadian football player, and a member of the Anoaʻi family. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Roman Reigns on the Raw brand.

After playing collegiate football for Georgia Tech,[1] Anoaʻi started his professional football career with brief off-season stints with the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) in 2007.[7] He then played a full season for the Canadian Football League's (CFL) Edmonton Eskimos in 2008 before his release and retirement from football.[8]

Anoaʻi then pursued a career in professional wrestling and was signed by WWE in 2010, reporting to their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).[2] As Roman Reigns, he made his main roster debut in November 2012 alongside Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose as The Shield.[9] The trio teamed together until June 2014,[10] after which Reigns entered singles competition.[11] Reigns is a three-time WWE Champion,[12] a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion (with Rollins), the 2015 Royal Rumble winner and the 2014 Superstar of the Year. He also tied the WWE record for most eliminations in a Survivor Series elimination match with four in the 2013 event,[13] and set the record for most eliminations in a Royal Rumble match with 12 in the 2014 event.[14]

Reigns has headlined numerous WWE pay-per-views, including WrestleManias 31 and 32, with mulltiple world title matches which has been met with a relatively high amount of negative feedback from fans and critics.

Football career

Joe Anoaʻi
No. 99
Career information
CFL statusInternational
Position(s)Defensive tackle[1]
Height6 ft 3[1] in (191 cm)
Weight280[1] lb (130 kg)
US collegeGeorgia Tech[1]
Career history
As player
2007Minnesota Vikings*[7]
2007Jacksonville Jaguars*[7]
2008Edmonton Eskimos[8]
*Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career stats
Tackles9[8]
Knockdowns0[8]
Sacks0[8]
* CFL statistics only

Anoaʻi played football for three years at Pensacola Catholic High School and one year at Escambia High School. In his senior year, he was named Defensive Player of the Year by the Pensacola News Journal.[1] He then attended Georgia Institute of Technology, where he was a member of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team along with Calvin Johnson, who later became a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL).[1] Anoa'i was a three-year starter beginning in his sophomore year and was also one of the team captains as a senior.[1] Anoa'i was named to the first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) after recording twenty-nine tackles for loss and twelve sacks in 2006.[15]

After going undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft, Anoa'i was signed by the Minnesota Vikings in May 2007, but was released later that month.[7][16] The Jacksonville Jaguars signed him in August 2007, only to release Anoa'i less than a week later before the start of the 2007 NFL season.[7]

In 2008, Anoaʻi was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL).[8] Wearing the number 99, Anoaʻi played for one season with the Eskimos, featuring in five games, of which he started three.[8][17] Anoaʻi's most notable game came against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in September, where he tied for the team lead with five tackles and had a forced fumble.[18] Anoa'i was released by the Eskimos on November 10, 2008, and proceeded to retire from football.[8]

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE

Developmental territories (2010–2012)

Anoa'i made his first venture into wrestling in July 2010, when he signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and was later assigned to their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).[2] He debuted on September 9, 2010, using the ring name Roman Leakee (often shortened to Leakee), in a loss to Richie Steamboat in a singles match.[19] Further losses to Idol Stevens and Wes Brisco ensued,[19] before he gained his first win on September 21 over Fahd Rakman.[19] He continued competing in FCW throughout the remainder of the year, wrestling mainly in tag team matches.[19] On the January 16, 2011, episode of FCW television, Leakee was a competitor in a 30-man Grand Royal, but was eliminated.[20] Later in 2011, Leakee formed a tag team with Donny Marlow and the pair unsuccessfully challenged Calvin Raines and Big E Langston for the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship on July 8.[21]

In 2012, Leakee pinned FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion Leo Kruger during a tag team match on the January 8 episode of FCW television.[22] On the February 5 episode of FCW television, he defeated Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match to become the number one contender to the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship.[23] He failed to win the championship when he lost to then champion Kruger the following week.[24] Leakee later won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship with Mike Dalton[25][26] and would drop the titles to CJ Parker and Jason Jordan shortly after.[27]

After WWE rebranded FCW to NXT,[28] Anoaʻi, with the new ring name of Roman Reigns, made his debut on the October 31, 2012 episode of NXT by defeating CJ Parker.[29] After defeating Chase Donovan two weeks later,[30] Reigns wrestled his last match on the December 5 episode of NXT by defeating Gavin Reids.[31]

The Shield (2012–2014)

Main article: The Shield
The Shield made their entrance by the arena steps

Reigns made his main roster television debut on November 18, 2012, at the Survivor Series pay-per-view alongside Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, assaulting Ryback during the triple threat main event for the WWE Championship, allowing CM Punk to retain the title.[9] The trio declared themselves "The Shield" and vowed to rally against "injustice". They denied working for Punk, but routinely emerged from the crowd to attack Punk's adversaries, including Ryback and WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No (Kane and Daniel Bryan).[32][33][34][35] This led to a six-man tag team Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at the TLC pay-per-view, in which Reigns, Ambrose, and Rollins defeated Team Hell No and Ryback in their debut match.[36] The Shield continued to aid Punk in January 2013, attacking both Ryback and The Rock.[37][38] On the January 28 episode of Raw, it was revealed that Punk and his manager Paul Heyman had been paying The Shield and Brad Maddox to work for them.[39]

The Shield then indistinctly ended their association with Punk while beginning a feud with John Cena, Ryback, and Sheamus that directed to a six-man tag match on February 17 at Elimination Chamber, which The Shield won.[40][41][42] The Shield had their first Raw match the following night, where they gained success against Ryback, Sheamus, and Chris Jericho.[43] Sheamus then formed an alliance with Randy Orton and Big Show to face the trio at WrestleMania 29, where The Shield emerged victorious in their first WrestleMania match.[44][45] The following night on Raw, The Shield attempted to attack The Undertaker, but were stopped by Team Hell No.[46] This set up a six-man tag team match on the April 22 episode of Raw, which The Shield won.[47] On the May 13 episode of Raw, The Shield's undefeated streak in televised six-man tag team matches ended in a disqualification loss in an elimination tag team match against Cena, Kane and Bryan.[48]

On May 19 at Extreme Rules, Reigns and Rollins defeated Team Hell No in a tornado tag team match to win the WWE Tag Team Championship.[49] They made their first televised title defense on the May 27 episode of Raw, defeating Team Hell No in a rematch.[50] On the June 14 episode of SmackDown, The Shield's unpinned/unsubmitted streak in televised six-man tag team matches came to an end at the hands of Team Hell No and Randy Orton, when Bryan submitted Rollins.[51][52] Reigns and Rollins defeated Bryan and Orton at Payback to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship.[53] Further successful title defenses followed against The Usos on July 14 during the Money in the Bank pre-show and The Prime Time Players (Darren Young and Titus O'Neil) at Night of Champions.[54][55] On the September 23 episode of Raw, Reigns was pinned for the first time while on the main roster courtesy of The Usos when The Shield participated in and lost an eleven-on-three handicap elimination match.[56]

Reigns in November 2013

In August, The Shield began working for chief operating officer Triple H and The Authority.[57][58] On the October 14 episode of Raw, Reigns and Rollins lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Cody Rhodes and Goldust in a no disqualification match, following interference from Big Show.[59] At Hell in a Cell, Reigns and Rollins failed to regain the tag team title in a triple threat tag team match.[60] The first seeds of dissension were sown in The Shield (especially between Ambrose and Reigns) with Ambrose's boasting of being the only member left with a championship.[61] At Survivor Series, Reigns was the sole survivor for his team in the traditional five-on-five elimination tag team match after eliminating four opponents.[13] After losing to Punk in a handicap match at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, Reigns defeated Punk in a singles match following a distraction from Ambrose on the January 6, 2014 special episode of Raw Old School, making him the only member of The Shield to have beaten Punk.[62] At the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, Reigns entered the Royal Rumble match at number 15, and set the record for most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble with 12, as he eliminated both his Shield teammates, and was the runner-up in the match after being eliminated by Batista.[14][63] The next night on Raw, The Shield competed in a six-man tag team match against Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, and John Cena, with all three members of the winning team qualifying for the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, which The Shield lost via disqualification after The Wyatt Family interfered and attacked Cena, Bryan, and Sheamus.[64] The Shield wanted revenge and a six-man tag team match for The Shield against The Wyatt Family at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view was arranged, in which The Shield lost.[65] Despite more dispute,[66] The Shield reconciled in March.[67]

In March, The Shield began feuding with Kane, which turned all members of The Shield into fan favorites in the process.[68] Over the next few weeks, The Shield continued exchanging assaults with Kane, who was joined by The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn), leading to a match between the two teams at WrestleMania XXX, which The Shield won.[69] The feud with Kane also prompted The Shield to sever ties with Triple H, who reformed Evolution to counter them.[70] The Shield defeated Evolution at both Extreme Rules and Payback.[71][72] After Batista "quit" WWE the following night on Raw, Triple H initiated his "plan B" which involved Rollins turning on The Shield and aligning himself with Triple H and The Authority.[10]

Controversial rise to high-tier status (2014–2015)

Reigns in April 2014

After the dissolution of The Shield in June 2014, Reigns (now a singles wrestler) was quickly inserted into world title contention that month,[73] and he headlined the next two pay-per-views; the first when, two weeks after Rollins' betrayal, Reigns won a battle royal on the June 16, 2014, episode of Raw to gain a spot in the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship ladder match at Money in the Bank,[74] but failed to win the title during the main event match.[11] The second pay-per-view was July 20's Battleground, where Reigns again unsuccessfully challenged for the world title, this time in a fatal four-way main event match (also involving Kane, Randy Orton and defending champion John Cena).[75] The following night on Raw, Reigns started a feud with Randy Orton, which led to a match between the two, on August 17, at SummerSlam, where Reigns defeated Orton.[76] Meanwhile, Reigns' former team-mates Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins had been feuding over Rollins' betrayal, with Rollins beating Ambrose in five matches[11][75][76][77][78] and ultimately injuring Ambrose in the storyline. This led to a feud between Rollins and Reigns, where a singles match was set up for Night of Champions. However, six days before the pay-per-view, Reigns cleanly defeated Rollins in a singles match on Raw.[79] Then, Reigns developed a legitimate incarcerated hernia which required surgery a day or two prior to Night of Champions, and as a result, Rollins was declared the winner via forfeit, while Reigns was ruled out of action indefinitely.[80][81]

"Reigns was a greener-than-grass wrestler who WWE identified as the Face of the Performance Center Machine – taking raw talent without the "bad habits" from the independents and trying to manufacture a WrestleMania Main-Eventer".

James Caldwell of the Professional Wrestling Torch Newsletter, in February 2015, on Reigns' background compared to that of his Shield teammates[82]

Reigns returned to WWE television on the December 8 episode of Raw, accepting the 2014 "Superstar of the Year" Slammy Award.[83] Six days later at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, when Big Show interfered in John Cena's match against Seth Rollins, Reigns attacked both Big Show and Rollins, helping Cena win.[84] This started a feud between Reigns and Big Show,[85] in which Reigns defeated him multiple times by countout[86] and disqualification.[87] On January 25, 2015, Reigns, entering at number 19, won the 2015 Royal Rumble match by eliminating the other entrants in the final four: Big Show, Kane and lastly Rusev.[88] The following night on Raw, Reigns acknowledged being part of the Anoaʻi family for the first time on WWE television.[89] On the February 2 episode of Raw, Reigns suffered his first pinfall loss in a singles match on the main roster when Big Show defeated him after interference from Rollins.[90][91] Reigns was then forced to defend his WrestleMania title shot against Daniel Bryan in the main event of Fastlane, and succeeded in doing so after beating Bryan via pinfall.[92][93] Post-Fastlane, Bryan and Paul Heyman endorsed Reigns with "two shockingly transparent promos... attempting to illustrate Reigns' greatness".[94] On March 29, at WrestleMania 31, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract while Reigns' main event match with Brock Lesnar was in progress, turning it into a triple threat, which Reigns lost when he was pinned by Rollins.[95]

In April, Reigns re-ignited his feud with Big Show, which culminated in a Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules, where Reigns defeated Show.[96] In May, at Payback, Reigns once again failed to win the world title from Rollins in a fatal four-way main event that also involved Orton and Ambrose.[97] On June 14, at Money in the Bank, Reigns competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match, which he failed to win after Bray Wyatt interfered and attacked him.[98] Around a month later, Wyatt defeated Reigns at Battleground, after former Wyatt Family member Luke Harper attacked Reigns.[99][100] On the August 6 episode of SmackDown, Wyatt accepted Reigns' challenge to a tag team match at SummerSlam, with Reigns and Ambrose facing Wyatt and Harper.[101] Reigns pinned Wyatt at the event,[102] and the following night on Raw, in a rematch, Reigns and Ambrose was attacked by Wyatt's new ally, the debuting Braun Strowman.[103] In September, at Night of Champions, Reigns and Ambrose teamed with Chris Jericho and were defeated by Wyatt, Harper and Strowman.[104] The feud between Reigns and Wyatt ended after their Hell in a Cell match at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view on October 25, in which Reigns was victorious.[105][106]

WWE Championship reigns and pursuits (2015–present)

On the October 26 episode of Raw, Reigns won a fatal four-way match (also involving Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens) to become the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.[107][108] However, on November 4, then champion Seth Rollins legitimately injured his knee and vacated the title, which led to a tournament to crown a new champion.[109] Following this, Triple H attempted to persuade Reigns into joining The Authority by offering him a bye into the tournament finals which Reigns declined.[110] He then defeated Big Show in the first round,[110] Cesaro in the quarterfinals,[111] Alberto Del Rio in the semifinals[112] and Dean Ambrose in the finals at Survivor Series, to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the first time.[113] Triple H attempted to offer congratulations, but Reigns hit him with a spear and Sheamus then cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and pinned Reigns, thus ending Reigns' reign at only 5 minutes.[114][115] Reigns then failed to regain the title from Sheamus in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at TLC, after being helped by his fellow League of Nations members Alberto Del Rio and Rusev; subsequently, Reigns would attack the trio and also Triple H, who came out to stop him.[116]

Reigns as WWE World Heavyweight Champion in April 2016

The next night on the December 14 episode of Raw, Mr. McMahon granted Reigns a title rematch against Sheamus, with Reigns' career on the line, and after overcoming McMahon, Del Rio and Rusev's interferences, Reigns defeated Sheamus and regained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.[117] On the January 4, 2016 episode of Raw, Reigns successfully defended his title against Sheamus, despite McMahon acting as the special guest referee.[118] Reigns was then slated to defend his title in the Royal Rumble match at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, where Reigns scored a total of five eliminations after entering first, heading backstage for much of the match after an attack by the League of Nations, and was eliminated upon his return by eventual winner Triple H, thus losing the world title.[119] At Fastlane, Reigns pinned Dean Ambrose in a triple threat match also involving Brock Lesnar, to receive a WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Triple H at WrestleMania 32,[120] where he defeated Triple H in the main event to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion for a third time.[121] Earlier in March 2016, Reigns changed his ring entrance to the entrance ramp (a default like other wrestlers) instead of coming out through the crowd.[122]

For this third world title reign, Reigns had two successful televised title defenses in May against AJ Styles: at Payback[123] and then Extreme Rules. Right after the Extreme Rules match against Styles, Reigns was attacked by a returning Seth Rollins.[124] Near the end of his reign, the 2.03 TV rating for the June 13 episode of Raw which he appeared in was the lowest since March 3, 1997.[125][126] At Money in the Bank on June 19, Reigns was defeated by Rollins, ending his title reign at 77 days.[127] On June 21, 2016, Anoaʻi was suspended for 30 days for his first violation of WWE's Wellness Program and, in response, he apologized on Twitter.[128] WWE's Wellness Program uses drug testing to detect substance abuse.[129] Pro Wrestling Torch and TheWrap reported that WWE knew of Anoaʻi's violation before Money in the Bank, leading to Reigns being scripted to lose his world title at the event.[130][131] On July 19, at the 2016 WWE draft, Reigns was drafted to Raw.[132]

Persona and reception

While in NXT in 2012, Roman Reigns' character was a "businessman" who was "always dressed to impress" and viewed himself as "the most valuable commodity in WWE".[133] After transferring to WWE's main roster, his character was changed to the "powerhouse" and "heavy hitter" of The Shield, as well as an "exceptional athlete".[134] Noted as the least talkative of The Shield members,[135] in mid-2013, Reigns' character was tweaked from "the quiet muscle" to being an "ultra-confident" source of leadership with "quiet strength".[136] CM Punk revealed that he was constantly reminded to make Reigns look "really, really strong" despite the Shield being scripted to lose to Punk at the December 2013 TLC event.[137] Reigns was voted the 2013 "Most Improved" by Wrestling Observer Newsletter.[138] At the 2014 Royal Rumble match, the live crowd cheered for Reigns over eventual winner Batista, despite Reigns being a heel.[139][140] Anoaʻi later acknowledged the reaction as "a cool situation".[141] In mid-2014, Stone Cold Steve Austin said he saw great potential in Reigns,[142] while David Shoemaker of Grantland wrote that Reigns had "mystery and intensity", as well as "superstar written all over him".[143]

After The Shield disbanded, Reigns (unlike the other former Shield members) retained much of The Shield's aesthetic including ring attire, theme music and ring entrance.[144][145] From July to September 2014, Reigns' positive crowd reactions were diminishing.[146][147] Reigns' win of WWE's 2014 Superstar of the Year Slammy Award garnered surprise to the point of accusations of vote-rigging, but both PWInsider and Dave Meltzer stated that the fan vote was legitimate.[148][149] Reigns then finished in second place for Wrestling Observer Newsletter's "Most Overrated" award in 2014,[150] a feat repeated in 2015.[151] Writers from the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter criticized Reigns in 2014 and 2015, for a "very limited" in-ring moveset,[152] "forced promo delivery"[153] and a "petulant and annoyed" attitude ill-befitting of a top babyface.[154] Fellow pro wrestler Mikey Whipwreck said Reigns was "trying to be like John Cena", who was "very polarizing".[155]

"I don't think I'm headbutting with [hardcore fans], I feel like they are headbutting me. [...] One thing that kind of confuses me is that it is a performance, it is a show, there is a storyline. When people start doing the 'He deserves this, He deserves that', really did Brad Pitt deserved [sic] to be Achilles in [the film] Troy?".

Anoa'i in a 2015 interview promoting WrestleMania 31,[156] which he main-evented despite fans' rejection[157]

"What, y'all can't hear me or something? [...] This isn't boring, baby, this is real life".

Reigns' response to a heckling Chicago crowd during an October 2015 promo on Raw[158]

"Sometimes, as a former football player, we have to go into that away game and silence the crowd... And just let them know I am the man. I'm going to be here for a long time".

Anoa'i, commenting on crowds booing him en route to 2016's WrestleMania 32,[159] where Reigns won its main event[121]

At the 2015 Royal Rumble, Reigns was booed heavily after his victory despite portraying a heroic character.[160][161] By March, Anoaʻi wore blue contact lenses so the Reigns character had blue eyes.[162][163] From late 2014 to early 2015, various critics raised concerns that Reigns, despite being "not fully ready", was "being pushed too hard, too soon" while WWE tried to make him their next "flagship star", "no matter how fans reacted" negatively.[150][153][164][165] Anoaʻi reacted by saying that all his critics "weren't wrestlers", expressing distaste when non-wrestlers who cannot "lock up" try to critique wrestlers.[141] Going into WrestleMania in 2015, Anoaʻi declared that WWE "is my ship now, I'm the captain here",[166] while Dave Meltzer said that Reigns was the least over WrestleMania main-eventer ever.[167] At WrestleMania 31, Pro Wrestling Torch described Reigns as needing security for his entrance while receiving "universal boos" and middle fingers.[157] Despite the fan backlash in early 2015, critics praised Reigns' performances at Fastlane, WrestleMania and Extreme Rules as exceeding expectations,[168][169][170][171] while the negative reactions continued at Money in the Bank and SummerSlam.[172][173]

In late 2015, critics described WWE presenting Reigns' character as a "hard-luck underdog" chasing the world title,[174] with WWE having "spent an overwhelming amount of time" on Reigns, "bending over backwards to create new obstacles for him to overcome", "at the expense of almost everyone else on the roster".[175] Reigns received a mixed reaction upon winning and losing his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship at the 2015 Survivor Series event,[176] and a positive reaction on winning his second world title at the Raw after TLC,[117] although a Wrestleview writer reflected that "it's been downhill ever since" for Reigns from then until March 2016.[177]

In 2015 and 2016, WWE has reportedly taken several measures to hide fans' disapproval of Reigns, this included: confiscating anti-Reigns fan signs,[178][179] editing out anti-Reigns fan signs for photos on their website,[180] muting hostile crowds (including at WrestleMania 32),[181][182] and piping in canned cheers during Reigns' appearances.[181][183]

In 2016, Reigns has main-evented every WWE pay-per-view so far and was booed in all of them: Royal Rumble,[184] Fastlane,[120] WrestleMania 32 (which ended with a chorus of boos when Reigns won his third world title),[185] Payback,[186] Extreme Rules,[187] and Money in the Bank.[188] CNET described a "fan rebellion" against WWE "moving heaven and earth" to make Reigns "the face of the company... for the next decade"; while "many fans are aware" that Dean Ambrose "is the true dark horse, both on camera and behind the scenes".[189] ESPN described that "WWE started building Roman Reigns as the next great hero of the company about 18 months ago", but Reigns instead became "the most despised wrestler WWE has had since it turned Sgt. Slaughter into an Iraq-sympathizing traitor in 1990".[182] Leading up to WrestleMania 32, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Rikishi and Hulk Hogan called for Reigns to turn heel.[190][191][192] Meanwhile, during interviews promoting WrestleMania 32, Anoa'i acknowledged the fan backlash but declared that WWE is a "kids show" and that he wasn't wrestling to impress "grown men" who boo him. He defiantly told his critics that he would not believe any of their negative opinions of him. As for his detractors, Anoa'i told them to "continue to be ready to boo. You're going to be mad a long time. I'm not going away".[122][193][194]

On the Raw after WrestleMania, Reigns declared that he was now not a "good guy" nor a "bad guy", but "the guy"; this supposedly indicated a morally ambiguous tweener character turn.[195] As soon as broadcasting for Payback stopped, Reigns reportedly turned on the crowd, yelling angrily at them.[196] Also in April, Pro Wrestling Dot Net reported that WWE "went out of their way to use [the charity] Make A Wish in hopes of getting [Reigns] over as a good guy".[197] In May, Dave Meltzer said WWE wanted Reigns as "the guy who does the charity work, so he has to be positioned as a babyface". Additionally, WWE's "new gimmick" was positioning that people actually "really like" Reigns and only boo because "it's fun to boo him", which Meltzer said was "absolutely not true" in reality.[198] Critics wondered if WWE was "leaving money on the table" by not slotting Rollins as a face and Reigns as a heel,[199][200] as this was the opposite of what fans wanted (fans were cheering Rollins and booing Reigns).[201] Reigns wrestled against Seth Rollins at both Money in the Bank and the next Raw, where Reigns played a heel in the first match and a face in the second, and on the next night on Raw during his promo, Reigns told the fans who were booing him to "shut their mouths".[127][202] Then, Reigns' suspension was said by Yahoo! TV to be another chance for WWE to "quit pretending he's some kind of lovable underdog" with a heel turn for Reigns, which "could (and should) have done at a dozen different points since the boos first reigned" at the 2015 Royal Rumble.[203]

Personal life

Anoaʻi is half Samoan and half Italian.[204] Both his father, Sika Anoaʻi, and his brother, Rosey, were professional wrestlers.[17] As a member of the Anoaʻi family, he is a cousin to former professional wrestlers Yokozuna, Rikishi, Umaga, The Tonga Kid, and first cousin once-removed to The Usos, and The Rock (non-biological).[17][205]

Anoaʻi married Galina Joelle Becker in early December 2014.[3] He has a daughter, with whom he appeared in a public service announcement in June 2014.[4][206]

At the Georgia Institute of Technology, Anoaʻi majored in management.[1] He is a Catholic and uses the sign of the cross every time he enters in the ring.[1]

Anoaʻi considers Bret Hart his wrestling idol.[207]

In wrestling

The Shield prepare to perform their triple powerbomb on Kane
Reigns executing his Superman Punch on Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31

Championships and accomplishments

Collegiate football

Professional wrestling

Reigns is a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion with former Shield stablemate Seth Rollins

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Joe Anoai". Georgia Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Roman Reigns". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Brock Lesnar, Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, John Cena". The Epoch Times. December 8, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "WWE® Superstars Alberto Del Rio, Titus O'Neil and Roman Reigns Take on the Importance of Being a Dad in National Public Service Campaign". Ad Council. June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Van Der Griend, Blaine (December 28, 2011). "Islanders put family first in wrestling business". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
  6. ^ a b c "Roman Reigns". WWE. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d e Byer, Matthew. "Football was Roman Reigns' first love". slam.canoe.ca. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h O'Leary, Chris (May 27, 2013). "Former Eskimo finds new career in professional wrestling". Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved July 6, 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ a b Caldwell, James. "Survivor Series News: NXT stars debut in PPV main event angle, plus other news from annual PPV". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  10. ^ a b Waldman, Jon (June 3, 2014). "Raw: Changing of the Shield". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  11. ^ a b c Howell, Nolan (June 29, 2014). "Cena takes authority of the WWE title at Money in the Bank". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
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