Roman Reigns
Pro-Wrestling Superstar: Roman Reigns
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| Roman Reigns |
Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoaʻi ( born May 25, 1985), better known by the ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former American football player. He is currently signed to WWE on the SmackDown brand, where he is the current and longest-reigning WWE Universal Champion in his second reign and the current WWE Champion in his fourth reign. Considered one of the best wrestlers in the world, his current championship reigns make him WWE's undisputed world champion, referred to within the company as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. He is the leader of The Bloodline stable and is a member of wrestling's renowned Anoaʻi family.
After playing college football for Georgia Tech, 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. He then played a full season for the Canadian Football League's (CFL) Edmonton Eskimos in 2008 before his release and retirement from football. He then pursued a career in professional wrestling and was signed by WWE in 2010, reporting to their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). Under the ring name Roman Reigns, he made his main roster debut in 2012 as a member of The Shield alongside Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. They teamed together until disbanding in 2014, after which Reigns entered singles competition, though the trio would occasionally reunite until Ambrose left WWE in 2019.
Reigns is a six-time world champion in WWE, having held the WWE Championship four times and the WWE Universal Championship twice. In 2022, he became the longest reigning Universal Champion with his ongoing reign at 961+ days, which is recognized as the sixth-longest world championship reign in the promotion's history, and the longest reign of any WWE championship since 1988. He is also a one-time WWE United States Champion, a one-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion (with Rollins), the 2015 Royal Rumble winner, and the 2014 Superstar of the Year. He tied the WWE record for most eliminations in a Survivor Series match with four in the 2013 event and also previously held the record for most eliminations in a Royal Rumble match with 12 in the 2014 event. Upon winning the Intercontinental Championship, he became the 28th Triple Crown Champion and the 17th Grand Slam Champion. Reigns has headlined numerous pay-per-view events, including WWE's flagship event WrestleMania seven times (31, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38 and 39). Additionally, he was ranked at No. 1 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated's annual PWI 500 list of the top 500 singles wrestlers in 2016 and 2022.
From 2014 onwards, WWE positioned Reigns as a heroic character and attempted to establish him as their next "face of the company", which was met with intense disapproval by audiences and critics. Following his return from a hiatus in August 2020, he was repackaged as a villainous character nicknamed "The Tribal Chief" and "Head of the Table", which was generally met with acclaim.
Early Life:-
Football Career:-
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. While at the Georgia Institute of Technology, 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). Anoaʻi was a three-year starter beginning in his sophomore year and was also one of the team captains as a senior. He was named to the first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 2006 and earned All-ACC first-team honors with 40 tackles, two recovered fumbles and 4.5 sacks.
After going undrafted in the 2007 NFL draft, Anoaʻi was signed by the Minnesota Vikings in May 2007. He was diagnosed with leukemia after his team physical and was released later that month. The Jacksonville Jaguars signed him in August 2007, only to release Anoaʻi less than a week later before the start of the 2007 NFL season. In 2008, he was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Wearing the number 99, Anoaʻi played for one season with the Eskimos, featuring in five games, of which he started three. 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. Anoaʻi was released by the Eskimos on November 10, and proceeded to retire from professional football.
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