Roman Reigns Bio

Basic Information

Name: Roman Reigns

Real Name: Leati Joseph Anoa’i

Birthday: May 25, 1985 (Age 32)

Signed With: WWE on the ‘Raw’ brand

Height: 6ft 3in or 1.91m

Weight: 265lb or 120kg

Training: Afa Anoa’i, FCW & Sika Anoa’i.

Debut: August 19, 2010

Quote

“This is my yard.”

Signature Moves

• Drive By
• Leaping Clothesline
• Multiple Corner Clotheslines
• Niagara Bomb
• Palm Strike
• Roll-Up into Sitout Powerbomb
• Samoan Drop
• Superman Punch
• Tilt-a-Whirl Slam
• Moment of Silence

Finishing Moves

• Spear

Nicknames

• The Big Dog
• The Guy
• The Juggernaut
• The Powerhouse

Entrance Theme

The Truth Reigns by Jim Johnston

Roman Reigns Entrance Video

Accomplishments/Championships

• FCW Florida Tag Team Championship (with Mike Dalton (now Tyler Breeze))
• Ranked 1 of 500 singles wrestlers in PWI 500 (2016)
• WWE Tag Team Championship (with Seth Rollins)
• WWE United States Championship
• WWE World Heavyweight Championship x3
• Royal Rumble (2015)
• Slammy Awards x7

Training

In July of 2010, Anoa’i first entered the wrestling industry when he signed a developmental contract with WWE. He would soon be assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) which was at the time the developmental territory for the company.

He made his debut on September 9, 2010 using Roman Leakee (sometimes shortened to Leakee) where he was defeated by Richie Steamboat. His first win was over Fahd Rakman on September 21. He competed mainly in tag team matches for the remainder of the year. On January 16 of 2011, Leakee competed in a 30 man Grand Royal but was eliminated. He would form a tag team late in 2011 with Donny Marlow where the duo unsuccessfully challenged Calvin Raines and Big E Langston for the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship on July 8.

Leakee would start 2012 with an immediate impact with a win over FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion Leo Kruger (Adam Rose) during a tag team match on January 8. Not even a month later, he defeated Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose in a triple threat match to compete against Kruger for the title. However, he failed to capture it during his match the week after. He would later win the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship with Mike Dalton (Tyler Breeze) in late June. They would soon drop the titles to CJ Parker and Jason Jordan.

In August of 2012, FCW was rebranded by WWE into NXT. Anoa’i, under the new ring name of Roman Reigns would debut as a heel on the October 31 episode of NXT. There he defeated Parker. His final match in NXT was on December 5 of the same year when he defeated Gavin Reids.

Early Career

Reigns would make his debut on the main roster alongside Ambrose and Rollins in 2012 at ‘Survivor Series’ on November 18. They assaulted Ryback during a triple threat main event match for the WWE Championship. Their interference would cause CM Punk to retain. They declared themselves as The Shield with a mission to rally against what they believed to be “injustice.”

The Shield had their first pay-per-view match against Ryback and Team Hell No (Kane & Daniel Bryan) at ‘Tables, Ladders & Chairs’ on December 16. They were victorious, all the while still helping Punk, despite claiming they didn’t collude with him. As part of their onslaught, Reigns attacked real-life cousin and movie star The Rock. It was revealed on the 28 January 2013 episode of ‘Raw’ that Paul Heyman and Punk had been paying both The Shield and Brad Maddox to work for them.

Moving forward, The Shield feuded with John Cena, Ryback and Sheamus going into ‘Elimination Chamber’ on February 17 and competed in their first ‘Raw’ match the following night, defeating Ryback, Sheamus and Chris Jericho. After The Shield’s various victories, Sheamus formed an alliance with The Big Show and Randy Orton to face the faction at ‘WrestleMania 29’ on April 7. As had been expected, The Shield walked out victorious.

After attacking The Undertaker the night after ‘WrestleMania,’ The Shield defeated The Undertaker and Team Hell No in a match on ‘Raw.’ Their undefeated streak would come to an end soon after though, as they lost a match against Cena and Team Hell No by disqualification on the May 13 episode of ‘Raw.’ ‘Extreme Rules’ on May 19 saw Reigns & Rollins of The Shield defeat Team Hell No in a tornado tag team match to win the WWE Tag Team Championship.

The Shield would suffer their first loss in televised six-man tag team matches when Orton and Team No defeated them. Reigns himself was pinned for the first time by The Usos when The Shield were involved in an eleven-on-three handicap elimination match.

From August onwards, The Shield began to work with chief operating officer Triple H and The Authority. It was on October 14 episode of ‘Raw,’ Reigns & Rollins lost the WWE Tag Team Championship to Cody Rhodes & Goldust after interference from The Big Show in a No Disqualification match.

The first seeds of dissension were shown when Ambrose began to brag about retaining his United States Championship whilst Reigns & Rollins had lost theirs. At ‘Survivor Series’ on November 24, Reigns became the sole survivor after eliminating four opponents.

The next year started off with a bang. Reigns entered the 2014 ‘Royal Rumble’ match on January 26 where he set the record for most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble match at 12. During the match he eliminated both his Shield teammates and was the runner-up after being eliminated by Batista, who won.

The following night on ‘Raw,’ The Shield competed against Bryan, Sheamus & Cena where the winning team would enter an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The Wyatt Family interfered to attack the opposing team, which caused The Shield to lose their opportunities. The Shield would feud with The Wyatt Family through the ‘Elimination Chamber’ PPV but came up short. After some immediate problems following the match, The Shield reconciled in March.

In March, The Shield would turn face after coming out to seemingly attack Jerry “The King” Lawler but turned on Kane instead. At ‘WrestleMania XXX,’ The Shield defeated Kane & The New Age Outlaws. The feud caused The Shield to sever their ties with Triple H, who would reform Evolution to counter them. The Shield were victorious at ‘Extreme Rules’ and ‘Payback’ against Evolution. However the following night on ‘Raw,’ Batista “quit” leading to Triple H initiating his “plan B” whereby Rollins turned on The Shield, turning heel and aligning himself with Triple H and The Authority.

After The Shield split, Reigns would quickly find himself in contention for the world title, headlining the following two PPVs. The first of which was competing at ‘Money in the Bank’ on June 17 and at ‘Battleground’ on July 20. The following night on ‘Raw,’ Reigns began a feud with Orton that lasted till ‘SummerSlam’ on August 17 where Reigns was victorious.

Due to the ongoing feud between his former partners at the time, Reigns was brought in to fight ‘Night of Champions’ on September 21, despite cleanly defeating Rollins in a match on ‘Raw’ not even a week prior. However, just prior to the PPV it was discovered that Reigns suffered a legitimate incarcerated hernia which would require surgery. This meant Rollins was declared the victor by forfeit, whilst Reigns was ruled out of action indefinitely.

Reigns would make his return on the December 8 edition of ‘Raw’ where he accepted the “Superstar of the Year” 2014 Slammy Award. Reigns helped Cena win in a match at ‘TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs’ after The Big Show interfered while Cena took on Rollins. This would start a feud between the two. Reigns won most their matches by countout and disqualification.

On January 25, 2015, Reigns entered as entrant 19 in the Royal Rumble match, emerging victorious. During ‘Raw’ the following night, Reigns acknowledged being part of the Anoa’i family for the first time on WWE television. It wasn’t long after on February 2 that Reigns would suffer his first pinfall loss in a singles match on the main roster when Show defeated him after an interference from Rollins on ‘Raw.’ After being forced to defend his ‘WrestleMania’ title shot against Bryan at Fastlane on February 22, he entered ‘WrestleMania 31’ on March 29 and took on Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. As Reigns looked to win, Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to turn the match into a triple threat, where he hit the Curb Stomp on Reigns, leading to him being pinned.

Following ‘WrestleMania,’ Reigns re-ignited his feud with Show, culminating in a Last Man Standing match on April 26 at ‘Extreme Rules.’ At ‘Payback’ on May 17, Reigns was unable to win the world title in a fatal-four way match also involving Orton and former Shield partner Ambrose. Reigns would compete in the Money in the Bank ladder match on June 14, where he failed to win after Bray Wyatt attacked him, beginning a feud between the two.

Reigns competed against Wyatt at ‘Battleground’ on July 17, where he ultimately lost following the interference of former Wyatt Family member Luke Harper. Wyatt accepted an offer from Reigns on the August 6 episode of ‘Smackdown,’ when Reigns challenged him to a tag team match at ‘SummerSlam,’ where Reigns would pair with former ally Ambrose against Harper & Wyatt. They were victorious, also winning the night after by disqualification on ‘Raw’ when Braun Strowman debuted. September 20 at ‘Night of Champions’ saw Reigns & Ambrose team with Jericho against Wyatt, Harper & Strowman which they lost. To end the feud, Reigns and Wyatt met at ‘Hell in a Cell’ in the match of the same name on October 25, where Reigns was victorious.

Reigns would reinsert himself back in the title picture on the October 26 edition of ‘Raw’ where he won a fatal four-way match involving Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens to become the number one contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Sadly, Rollins who was champion at the time was forced to vacate the Championship on November 4 after he suffered a legitimate knee injury.

A tournament to crown a new champion was announced. Triple H attempted to persuade Reigns into joining The Authority with the idea that he could be placed in the tournament finals. Reigns declined. Reigns defeated Big Show in the first round and then Cesaro in the quarterfinals. At ‘Survivor Series’ on November 22, he defeated Del Rio in the semi-finals and Ambrose in the finals to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. After his victory, Reigns refused to celebrate with Triple H and instead hit him with a Spear. Sheamus would cash in his Money in the Bank contract to pin Reigns. This ended Reigns’ first world title reign at 5 minutes, 15 seconds.

On December 13 at ‘TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs’ Reigns was unable to win back his title in a TLC match after League of Nations members Del Rio & Rusev interfered. The following night, Mr. McMahon granted Reigns one final match against Sheamus, with Reigns’ career on the line. Despite interferences from McMahon, Del Rio and Rusev. Reigns would then retain the Championship on the January 4, 2016 edition of ‘Raw’ by again defeating Sheamus, despite McMahon being the special guest referee. Reigns was forced to defend his Championship in the 2016 Royal Rumble match on January 24. Despite scoring a total of five eliminations during the match, Triple H walked out victorious after last eliminating Reigns. Reigns lasted over an hour, though most this was spent outside the match following interference from The League of Nations.

At ‘Fastlane’ on February 22, Reigns defeated both Ambrose and Lesnar in a triple threat to become the number one contender at ‘WrestleMania 32’ on April 3. There he would be victorious against Triple H, becoming WWE World Heavyweight Champion for a third time. Reigns defended the Championship against AJ Styles at ‘Payback’ and ‘Extreme Rules.’ After his victory at the latter on May 22, a returning Rollins attacked him and laid him out. At ‘Money in the Bank’ on June 19, Rollins gave Reigns his first clean loss to end his title reign at 77 days. He was then suspended on June 21 for 30 days due to a violation of WWE’s Wellness Program.

In the 2016 WWE Draft on July 19, Reigns was drafted to ‘Raw.’ Reigns was advertised for the ‘Battleground’ main event in a triple threat match against Rollins and Ambrose despite still being suspended. He made his return at the PPV on July 24. Then-Champion Ambrose would retain by pinning Reigns. The following night on ‘Raw,’ Reigns was involved in a tournament for the debuting WWE Universal Championship. He won the first round but lost to Finn Balor in the second round.

Moving forward, Reigns would begin to feud with Rusev on the August 1 edition of ‘Raw.’ He interfered in Rusev and Lana’s wedding celebration a week later, challenging him for the United States Championship. While originally scheduled to face at ‘SummerSlam,’ a brawl led to the match being a no contest. He defeated Rusev at ‘Clash of Champions’ on September 25 to win the United States Championship and retained against him on October 30 at ‘Hell in a Cell.’

Reigns was announced as a member for Team Raw in the traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match at ‘Survivor Series’ on November 20. His comrades were Owens, Jericho, Rollins and Braun Strowman. Their team lost, with Reigns being last eliminated by Wyatt from Team Smackdown.

Reigns would begin feuding with WWE Universal Champion Owens, challenging him on the November 28 episode of ‘Raw’ to a non-title match, where if he won he would face Owens at ‘Roadblock: End of the Line’ on December 18. He was victorious that night, but lost at the PPV due to disqualification when Jericho attacked Owens to prevent Reigns from winning. Reigns lost his United States Championship to Jericho in a handicap match also involving Owens on the January 9, 2017 edition of ‘Raw.’ Ultimately, Owens and Reigns met for the Universal Championship at the ‘Royal Rumble’ on January 29 in a no disqualification match with Jericho suspended above the ring. An interference by Strowman caused Reigns to lose.

Later during the night, Reigns entered at number 30 in the Royal Rumble match. There, he eliminated Wyatt, Jericho and The Undertaker before being eliminated by Orton. At ‘Fastlane’ on March 5, Reigns became the first person to pin Strowman since joining the main roster.

Currently

The night after ‘Fastlane,’ Reigns was confronted by The Undertaker, who attacked him. The two would meet in a No Holds Barred match at ‘WrestleMania 33’ on April 2, where Reigns won his third consecutive ‘WrestleMania’ main event in a row in what was likely The Undertaker’s retirement match. Reigns also became one of only two wrestlers to defeat “The Deadman” at ‘WrestleMania.’ He would have what many consider one of the best promos of the year the following night on ‘Raw,’ led by the reaction of the crowd.

The feud Reigns had begun with Strowman continued, as Strowman attacked Reigns and threw him into an ambulance before pushing it over. Now injured in kayfabe, Reigns returned at ‘Payback’ on April 30 to face Strowman, only to lose and be assaulted by steel steps after the match. Strowman suffered a legitimate shoulder injury soon after, but in kayfabe WWE used Reigns’ assault with a steel chair on “The Monster Among Men” as the reason.

Reigns set his sights on the WWE Universal Championship. He competed at ‘Extreme Rules’ in a fatal five-way match where the winner would face WWE Universal Champion Lesnar at ‘Great Balls of Fire.’ At the event on June 4, Reigns faced Wyatt, Balor, Samoa Joe and Rollins, where Joe would ultimately win.

On the June 19 edition of ‘Raw,’ Reigns challenged the victor of the match at ‘Great Balls of Fire’ to a match at ‘SummerSlam’ for the WWE Universal Championship. Later that same night, Strowman returned in an ambulance and resumed his feud with Reigns. The two met at the PPV on July 9 where Reigns lost, but took his frustrations out on Strowman after the match. This included locking him in the ambulance and driving it backwards into a production truck. At ‘SummerSlam’ on August 20, Reigns was pinned by Lesnar to retain his Championship in a match also involving Strowman and Joe.

Following the PPV, Cena made his return to the ‘Raw’ brand as a free agent and was catapulted into a feud with Reigns based on their ongoing Twitter beef. The two went back and forth for weeks with shoot-sounding promos before meeting at ‘No Mercy’ on September 24 where Reigns was victorious. After the match, Cena said that Reigns has taken the torch from him now and is stepping back.

Other Information

Anoa’i is half Samoan and half Italian. His father Sika Anoa’i and brother Rosey were also wrestlers. He is cousins with Yokozuna, Rikishi, Umaga, The Konga Kid and the first cousin once-removed to The Usos and The Rock.

He is happily married to Galina Joelle Becker as they wed in December 2014. He has a daughter named Joelle. He is also a devoted Catholic and uses the sign of the cross every time he enters the ring. Bret Hart is his wrestling idol.

Before coming to WWE, Anoa’i played football for three years at Pensacola Catholic High School and a year at Escambia High School. He was named Defensive Player of the Year by the Pensacola News Journal in his senior year.

He attended the Georgia Institute of Technology and was a member of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team. He was a three-year starter beginning his sophomore year and was one of the captains as a senior. He was named to the first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) after twenty-nine tackles for loss and twelves sacks in 2006. At Georgia Tech, Anoa’i majored in management.

Anoa’i was signed to the Minnesota Vikings in May 2007 after being undrafted in the 2007 NFL draft. However, he was released later that same month. He then signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars signed him in August, before releasing him under a week later before the 2007 NFL season kicked off.

In 2008, Anoa’i signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played as number 99 for one season, featuring in five games and starting in three. His most notable game was against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in September. He tied for the team lead with five tackles and a forced fumble. He was released soon after on November 10 and proceeded to retire.

As Roman Reigns, he has featured in every WWE video game since WWE 2K14. He also regularly features on fellow WWE superstar Xavier Woods’ gaming channel on YouTube, titled ‘UpUpDownDown.’ He is known as “The Merchandise.”

Reigns appears as himself on the 2016 film ‘Countdown,’ and 2017 film ‘The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania!’ He has also featured as himself on ‘Total Divas’ in 2013, ‘Conan’ in 2015 and ‘Good Morning America’ on January 7, 2016.

Roman Reigns' Nemesis: The Buttcheek Bandit - CONAN on TBS

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