Early Life And Football Career
Leati Joseph Anoa’i was born on May 25, 1985, in Pensacola, Florida. He is the son of professional wrestler Sika Anoa’i, one half of the Wild Samoans alongside his brother Afa. Several of Leati’s other family members have been successful pro wrestlers as well, including his cousins Yokozuna, Umaga, and Rikishi. His cousins Jey and Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa currently work for WWE as well.
Before he became a pro wrestler, Leati played professional football. He had brief stints with the Minnesota Vikings and the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL. He played a season in Canada before deciding to try his hand at the family business.
The Shield Is Born
Leati was signed by WWE in 2010 and sent to their developmental territory, FCW. He made his debut for the brand on August 19, 2010, under the ring name Roman Leakee. When FCW rebranded into NXT in 2012, Leati’s ring name was changed to Roman Reigns.
At Survivor Series 2012, Roman Reigns made his WWE main roster debut alongside Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. The three of them introduced themselves to the WWE universe as The Shield, a trio of mercenaries who fought against “injustice” in the company. Despite being heels, The Shield became incredibly popular.
On June 2, 2014, Seth Rollins betrayed his Shield brethren and joined the Authority. Reigns and Ambrose would go their separate ways soon after.
World Championship Reigns
Now a singles competitor in WWE, Reigns quickly found himself at the top of the mountain. However, not all of the WWE universe was on board with this push. Reigns was often booed during his matches, especially after his victories, despite portraying a babyface.
Despite fans’ protests, Reigns continued to collect accolades in WWE. He won the 2015 Royal Rumble and was met with a chorus of boos from the crowd. At Survivor Series 2015, Roman won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career. He would go on to capture the United States Championship the following year, and the Intercontinental Championship in 2017.
Leukemia Diagnosis
At SummerSlam 2018, Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar to become the WWE Universal Champion for the first time in his career. Unfortunately, he had to relinquish the title on October 22 and announced to the WWE universe that he had been diagnosed with leukemia.
Reigns first battled leukemia in 2007 during his stint with the Minnesota Vikings. After 11 years of being in remission, the illness had returned. As a result, Reigns was forced to take an indefinite hiatus from WWE to receive treatment.
On February 25, 2019, Roman made his long-awaited return to the company and announced that his leukemia was once again in remission. He was met with a loud, loving ovation from the audience.
Shortly after his return, Roman reunited with his Shield teammates, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose.
The Tribal Chief
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, Reigns took a hiatus from WWE due to his immunocompromised status. He made his return to the company at SummerSlam 2020, where he attacked the Universal Champion Bray Wyatt and turned heel for the first time since 2014.
The next week, Roman defeated Wyatt and Braun Strowman in a triple-threat match to become Universal Champion. This title win would be the start of Reigns’ strongest run in the WWE, and one of the most dominant title reigns that pro wrestling has ever seen. He went on to defeat numerous opponents, including his cousins Jimmy and Jey Uso, Daniel Bryan, Edge, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, and John Cena.
At WrestleMania 38, Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar in a Winner Takes All match for his Universal Championship and Lesnar’s WWE Championship. Reigns was then announced as the new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
Roman Reigns' 2023 Broke The Hearts Of Many
At WrestleMania 39, fans were prepared for Cody Rhodes to take his spot as the next WWE Undisputed Universal Champion. However in a heartbreaking loss, Rhodes fell victim to Solo Sikoa's Samoan Spike and Reigns retained his championship. Throughout the rest of 2023, Reigns would take on less matches than ever before in his career, but still managed to retain his belt in matches against LA Knight and Jey Uso. He would also though suffer his first pair of losses since 2019 with a tag team loss to Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens at Night Of Champions 2023 and to Jey & Jimmy Uso at Money In The Bank 2023. The Money In The Bank loss in particular was rough for Reigns as he actually got pinned cleanly by Jey Uso.
