Believe That: Roman Reigns Biography

In recent times, Roman Reigns has been climbing to the top of WWE. Now, it’s time to look at how the Powerhouse got there.

Football Career (2003-2008)

Leati Joseph “Joe” Anoa’i (Reigns’ birth name) was a star football player. He was prominent throughout high school and college, and he had a short tenure in professional football.

He played Pensacola Catholic High School and Escambia High School.

Later on, Anoa’i would play for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team.

Due to his stellar work on the field, Anoa’i racked up a number of accomplishments:

Pensacola News Journal Defensive Player of the Year
First-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC)
2007 NFL Draft pick

WWE’s Developmental Territory (2010-2012)

Under the new ring name Roman Leakee, he signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Shortly after, Leakee was assigned to their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).

FCW rebranded to NXT in 2012, which is when Leakee changed his ring name to Roman Reigns.

The Shield (2012-2014)

Reigns was known as “The Muscle of The Shield” because of his strength and power. He would demonstrate this with his signature Spear and Superman Punch.

At Survivor Series 2012, he made his main roster debut, alongside Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. The trio would dub themselves “The Shield”

Six-man tag matches became their forte, having won at TLC 2012, Elimination Chamber 2013, and most notably, WrestleMania 29.

The Shield had a five-month undefeated streak in televised six-man tag matches.

At Extreme Rules 2013, Reigns and Rollins won the WWE Tag Team Championship, which they would hold for five months.

During their championship reign, The Shield was working for the Authority.

After a feud with The Wyatt Family, Reigns and his crew would turn on The Authority. This would lead to a match against Kane and The New Age Outlaws at WrestleMania XXX.

Shortly later, The Shield would feud with Evolution. Reigns, Ambrose, and Rollins won two stellar matches against Evolution.

It wasn’t long before Rollins would turn on his brothers, putting an end to The Shield.

Main Event Status and World Title Runs (2014-present)

Starting in June of 2014, Roman Reigns entered the World Title picture. Many fans were eager to see which Shield member would win the title first.

Arguably the most popular star from the trio, Reigns won a Slammy Award for Superstar of the Year in 2014.

Also, Reigns was known for always putting in effort, but not always being able to capitalize on it.

He had several championship opportunities/matches:

WWE World Heavyweight Championship ladder match at Money in the Bank 2014 (won by John Cena)
Royal Rumble 2015 (won by Reigns)
WWE World Heavyweight Championship match vs. Brock Lesnar (Seth Rollins cashed in to win the title)
WWE World Heavyweight Championship match vs. Dean Ambrose (won by Reigns. However, Sheamus cashed in to gain the title).
WWE World Heavyweight Championship match (won by Reigns)

Roman Reigns would hold the title for over the month. The title was defended in the Royal Rumble match, for the first time in history.

Unfortunately for Reigns, long-time enemy Triple H won the match, thus winning the title.

Currently, Reigns still has a shot at the gold. He will take part in a Triple Threat match against Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar, where the winner will get a title shot versus Triple H at WrestleMania 32.