Roman Reigns Biography

Leati Joseph Anoa?i (born May 25, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. A member of the Anoa?i family and former professional Gridiron football player he is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Roman Reigns.

After playing collegiate football for Georgia Tech, Anoa?i 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.

Anoa?i then pursued a career in professional wrestling and was signed by WWE in 2010, reporting to their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). As Roman Reigns, he made his main roster debut in November 2012 alongside Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins as The Shield. The trio teamed together until June 2014, after which Reigns entered singles competition. Reigns is a three-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time United States Champion, a one-time Intercontinental Champion, 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 and set the record for most eliminations in a Royal Rumble match with 12 in the 2014 event. Upon winning the Intercontinental Championship, he became the twenty-eighth Triple Crown Champion and the seventeenth Grand Slam Champion.

Since 2014, WWE has attempted to establish Reigns as their next "face of the company". Reigns has headlined multiple major WWE pay-per-view events, including the last three WrestleManias (31, 32 and 33) - scoring wins over Triple H and The Undertaker. However, Reigns' ascendancy as a world title-chasing/holding heroic underdog has been marked by critics' disapproval and overwhelmingly negative crowd reactions. He was consequently named 2016's "Most Hated Wrestler of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, becoming the first babyface wrestler (heroic character) to have been recognized as such, as well as the "Most Overrated" by Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Football career

Anoa?i 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. 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). Anoa'i was a three-year starter beginning in his sophomore year and was also one of the team captains as a senior. 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.

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. 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.

In 2008, Anoa?i was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Wearing the number 99, Anoa?i played for one season with the Eskimos, featuring in five games, of which he started three. Anoa?i'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. Anoa'i was released by the Eskimos on November 10, and proceeded to retire from professional football.

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). 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. Further losses to Idol Stevens and Wes Brisco ensued, before he gained his first win on September 21 over Fahd Rakman. He continued competing in FCW throughout the remainder of the year, wrestling mainly in tag team matches. On the January 16, 2011 episode of FCW television, Leakee was a competitor in a 30-man Grand Royal, but was eliminated. 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.

In 2012, Leakee pinned FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion Leo Kruger during a tag team match on the January 8 episode of FCW television. 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. He failed to win the championship when he lost to then champion Kruger the following week. Leakee later won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship with Mike Dalton and would drop the titles to CJ Parker and Jason Jordan shortly after.

After WWE rebranded FCW to NXT in August 2012, Anoa?i, with the new ring name of Roman Reigns and a villain character, made his debut on the October 31 episode of NXT by defeating CJ Parker. After defeating Chase Donovan two weeks later, Reigns wrestled his last match on the December 5 episode of NXT by defeating Gavin Reids.

The Shield (2012-2014)

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Reigns made his main roster television debut as on November 18 at Survivor Series 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. The trio declared themselves The Shield and vowed to rally against "injustice", while also denying working for Punk, even though they would routinely emerge from the crowd to attack Punk's adversaries, including Ryback and WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No (Daniel Bryan and Kane). This led to a six-man tag team Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 16, in which Reigns, Ambrose and Rollins defeated Team Hell No and Ryback in their debut match. The Shield continued to aid Punk in January 2013, attacking both Ryback and Reign's real-life cousin The Rock. 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.

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. The Shield had their first Raw match the following night, where they gained success against Ryback, Sheamus and Chris Jericho. Sheamus then formed an alliance with Randy Orton and Big Show to face the trio on April 7 at WrestleMania 29, where The Shield emerged victorious in their first WrestleMania match. The following night on Raw, The Shield attempted to attack The Undertaker, but they were stopped by Team Hell No. This set up a six-man tag team match on the April 22 episode of Raw, which The Shield won. 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.

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. They made their first televised title defense on the May 27 episode of Raw, defeating Team Hell No in a rematch. 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. Reigns and Rollins defeated Bryan and Orton at Payback to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship. 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) on September 15 at Night of Champions. 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.

In August, The Shield began working for chief operating officer Triple H and The Authority. 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. At Hell in a Cell on October 27, Reigns and Rollins failed to regain the tag team title in a triple threat tag team match. 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. At Survivor Series on November 24, Reigns was the sole survivor for his team in the traditional five-on-five elimination tag team match after eliminating four opponents. After losing to Punk in a handicap match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on December 15, 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. On January 26, 2014, 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. 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. The Shield wanted revenge and a six-man tag team match for The Shield against The Wyatt Family on February 24 at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view was arranged, in which The Shield lost. Despite more dispute, The Shield recounciled in March.

In March, The Shield came out to seemingly attack Jerry Lawler, only to attack Kane instead, turning all three men into fan favorites in the process. Over the next few weeks, The Shield continued exchanging assaults with Kane, who was joined by The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn and Road Dogg), leading to a match between the two teams on April 6 at WrestleMania XXX, which The Shield won. The feud with Kane also prompted The Shield to sever ties with Triple H, who reformed Evolution to counter them. In May, The Shield defeated Evolution at both Extreme Rules and Payback. 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.

Controversial rise to main event status (2014-2015)

After the dissolution of The Shield in June 2014, Reigns (now a singles wrestler) was quickly inserted into world title contention that month and he headlined the next two pay-per-view events. The first when, two weeks after Rollins' betrayal, Reigns won a battle royal on the June 16 episode of Raw to gain a spot in the vacant WWE World Heavyweight Championship ladder match on June 17 at Money in the Bank, but failed to win the title during the main event match. The second 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). 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. Meanwhile, Reigns' former teammates Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins had been feuding over Rollins' betrayal, with Rollins beating Ambrose in five matches 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 on September 21, even though six days before the pay-per-view event he cleanly defeated Rollins in a singles match on Raw. 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.

</ref>|align=right|width=30%}} Reigns returned to WWE television on the December 8 episode of Raw, accepting the 2014 "Superstar of the Year" Slammy Award. On December 14 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, when Big Show interfered in John Cena's match against Seth Rollins, Reigns attacked both Big Show and Rollins, helping Cena win. This started a feud between Reigns and Big Show, in which Reigns defeated him multiple times by countout and disqualification. 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. The following night on Raw, Reigns acknowledged being part of the Anoa?i family for the first time on WWE television. Former WWE writer Kevin Eck said that WWE executives Vince McMahon and Triple H initially (when Reigns was still part of The Shield) refused to acknowledge Reigns' Samoan heritage as they thought it would damage Reigns' mystique. 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. Reigns was then forced to defend his WrestleMania title shot against Daniel Bryan in the main event of Fastlane on February 22 and succeeded in doing so after beating Bryan via pinfall. Post-Fastlane, Bryan and Paul Heyman endorsed Reigns with "two shockingly transparent promos... attempting to illustrate Reigns' greatness". 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.

In April, Reigns re-ignited his feud with Big Show, which culminated on April 26 in a Last Man Standing match at Extreme Rules, where Reigns defeated Show. On May 17 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. 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. On July 17 at Battleground, Wyatt defeated Reigns after former Wyatt Family member Luke Harper attacked Reigns. 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. Reigns pinned Wyatt at the event on August 23 and the following night on Raw in a rematch, which ended via disqualification after Reigns and Ambrose were attacked by Wyatt's new ally, the debuting Braun Strowman. On September 20 at Night of Champions, Reigns and Ambrose teamed with Chris Jericho, but were defeated by Wyatt, Harper and Strowman. The feud between Reigns and Wyatt ended after their Hell in a Cell match at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event on October 25, in which Reigns was victorious.

WWE World Heavyweight Champion (2015-2016)

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. However, then champion Seth Rollins legitimately injured his knee on November 4 and vacated the title the following day, which led to a tournament to crown a new champion. Following this, Triple H attempted to persuade Reigns into joining The Authority by offering him a bye into the tournament finals which he declined. Reigns then defeated Big Show in the first round, Cesaro in the quarterfinals, Alberto Del Rio in the semifinals and Dean Ambrose in the finals at Survivor Series on November 22 to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship for the first time. 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. On December 13, Reigns failed to regain the title from Sheamus in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs following interference on Sheamus's behalf by fellow League of Nations members Alberto Del Rio and Rusev, but subsequently Reigns would attack the trio and also Triple H, who came out to stop him.

The next night on Raw, Mr. McMahon granted Reigns a title rematch against Sheamus (with Reigns' career on the line), which Reigns won after overcoming McMahon, Del Rio and Rusev's interferences to regain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. On the January 4, 2016 episode of Raw, Reigns successfully defended his title against Sheamus, despite McMahon acting as the special guest referee. Reigns was then slated to defend his title in the Royal Rumble match on January 24, 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 and lasting nearly an hour (the longest out of everyone in the match). At Fastlane on February 22, 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 on April 3, where he defeated Triple H in the main event to become the WWE World Heavyweight Champion for a third time. 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. For this third world title reign, Reigns had two successful televised title defenses in May against AJ Styles, first at Payback and then Extreme Rules. Right after the Extreme Rules match against Styles on May 22, Reigns was attacked by a returning Seth Rollins.

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. At Money in the Bank on June 19, Reigns was defeated cleanly by Rollins marking his first clean loss on the main roster, ending his title reign at 77 days. On June 21, Anoa?i was suspended for 30 days for his first violation of WWE's Wellness Program and, in response, he apologized on Twitter. WWE's Wellness Program uses drug testing to detect substance abuse. Pro Wrestling Torch and TheWrap reported that WWE knew of Anoa?i's violation before Money in the Bank, leading to Reigns being scripted to lose his world title at the event.

United States Champion and various feuds (2016-2017)

On July 19 at the 2016 WWE draft, Reigns was drafted to the Raw brand. Despite Reigns' suspension, WWE continued to advertise Reigns as part of the Battleground main event, and went on to acknowledge Reigns' suspension on television. On July 24 at Battleground, Reigns made his televised return, facing Rollins and Dean Ambrose (whom Rollins dropped the title to at Money in the Bank after Ambrose cashed-in his Money in the Bank contract) for the now-renamed WWE Championship, but Ambrose successfully retained the championship when he pinned Reigns in a clean finish. The following night on Raw, Reigns also failed to contend for the newly announced WWE Universal Championship against Rollins at SummerSlam, as he lost to the debuting Finn Blor after earlier winning a fatal four-way match that involved Chris Jericho, Sami Zayn and Sheamus.

On the August 1 episode Raw, Reigns confronted Rusev, then on the August 8 episode of Raw, after interrupting Rusev and Lana's wedding celebration, Reigns challenged him for the United States Championship, at which Rusev initially declined, but Raw General Manager Mick Foley scheduled Rusev to defend the United States Championship against Reigns at SummerSlam. At the event on August 21, Reigns and Rusev brawled before the match began, leading to the match being declared a no contest. After Rusev cost Reigns the opportunity of becoming the number one contender for the WWE Universal Championship, Reigns would defeat Rusev at Clash of Champions on September 25 to win the United States Championship, and after weeks of brawling he successfully retained the title against Rusev in a Hell in a Cell match at the titular event on October 30 to end their feud. Reigns was later announced as a member for Team Raw in the traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match on November 20 alongside Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho, former Shield brother Seth Rollins and Braun Strowman which Team Raw lost after Reigns was the last man to be eliminated by Bray Wyatt. On the November 28 episode of Raw, Reigns challenged WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens to a non-title match which Reigns won and per the pre-match stipulation was awarded a rematch for the title at Roadblock: End of the Line on December 18, but lost via disqualification when Chris Jericho attacked Owens to prevent Reigns from winning the title. On the January 9, 2017 episode of Raw, Reigns lost the United States Championship to Jericho in a handicap match also involving Owens ending his reign at 106 days.

This led to a no disqualification rematch with Owens at the Royal Rumble on January 29 that saw Jericho being suspended above the ring in a shark cage, where Reigns lost after Braun Strowman interfered. Later on the event, Reigns entered at number 30 in the Royal Rumble match, eliminating Bray Wyatt, Chris Jericho and The Undertaker before being last eliminated by Randy Orton. At Fastlane on March 5, Reigns defeated Strowman, becoming the first person to pin Strowman since joining the main roster. The following night on Raw, Reigns was called out to the ring by Strowman, but instead was answered by The Undertaker, who attacked Reigns (who came out to confront Undertaker after Strowman left the ring) with a chokeslam. This led to a No Holds Barred match between Reigns and Undertaker at WrestleMania 33 on April 2, which Reigns won in his third consecutive WrestleMania main event and Undertaker's final match. This win also made Reigns only one of two wrestlers to defeat Undertaker at WrestleMania, the other being Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania XXX. The next night on Raw, Reigns opened the show to ten minutes of severe boos and chants from the crowd, attempting to stop him from speaking, before simply stating "This is my yard now" and leaving the ring. Reigns then resumed his feud with Strowman, who attacked him in front of Michael Cole and"?after medical personnel put him inside an ambulance"?Strowman pushed it over. An "injured" Reigns returned to face Strowman at Payback on April 30, but was defeated and afterwards further assaulted with steel steps by Strowman.

Following a legitimate Strowman's injury, which was justified in kayfabe by a Reigns' assault with a steel chair during a confrontation in the ring, Reigns set his sights back on newly WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, which led Raw General Manager Kurt Angle to schedule a WWE Universal Championship number one contender's Extreme Rules fatal five-way match for Extreme Rules on June 4 between Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Finn Blor, Samoa Joe and Seth Rollins that Reigns failed to win. On the June 19 episode of Raw, Reigns challenged whoever would be the WWE Universal Champion at SummerSlam, but later that night Strowman returned in an ambulance and cost Reigns his match with Joe, before attacking and challenged him to an ambulance match at Great Balls of Fire on July 9. Reigns lost the match at the event, but subsequently attacked and locked Strowman inside the ambulance before driving it backwards into a production truck. At SummerSlam on August 20, Reigns was pinned by Brock Lesnar in a WWE Universal Championship match also involving Strowman and Joe. After a brief feud with John Cena, Reigns defeated him at No Mercy on September 24 and the next night on Raw described it as the biggest win in his career.

The Shield reunion and Intercontinental Champion (2017-2018)

In October, due to issues with The Miz, The Miztourage (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel) and Cesaro and Sheamus, all three members of The Shield eventually decided to reform, with Reigns being the last member to consider doing so. Reigns was due to team with Rollins and Ambrose at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs on October 22, but over an illness concern Kurt Angle would take his place. At Survivor Series on November 20, The Shield defeated The New Day in a six-man tag team match. The following night on Raw, Reigns defeated The Miz for the Intercontinental Championship, thus becoming the twenty-eighth Triple Crown and seventeenth Grand Slam champion, the second member of The Shield after Ambrose to achieve the Grand Slam. Following his title win, Reigns planned to issue open challenges on a regular basis on Raw and would successfully defend the title against Elias, Jason Jordan, Cesaro and Samoa Joe before losing to The Miz on the 25th Anniversary of Raw on January 22, 2018, ending his reign at 63 days.

WWE Universal Championship Pursuit (2018-present)

Reigns then participated in the annual Royal Rumble match at the namesake pay-per-view on January 28, but failed to win the match after being last eliminated by Shinsuke Nakamura. After failing to regain the Intercontinental Championship from The Miz in a rematch, Reigns defeated Bray Wyatt to qualify for the 2018 Elimination Chamber match on February 25 to determine the number one contender for Brock Lesnar's Universal Championship, which Reigns won. On March 12, 2018, Roman Regins has been (storyline) suspended for the comments he made on Raw.

Other media

Reigns made his video game debut in WWE 2K14 and has since appeared as a playable character in WWE 2K15, WWE 2K16, WWE 2K17 and WWE 2K18.

Reigns has frequently appeared on Xavier Woods' YouTube channel UpUpDownDown as "The Merchandise".

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2016	Countdown	Himself	Uncredited cameo
2017	The Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania!	Himself	Voice over

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2013	Total Divas	Himself	1 episode
2015	Conan	Himself
2015	WWE 24	Himself	Documentary about Reigns, his family and his experience at WrestleMania 31
2016	Unfiltered	Himself	Interview show with Renee Young
2016	WWE 24	Himself	Documentary about the experiences of various performers at WrestleMania 32
2016	Good Morning America	Himself	January 7

Web

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2016-present	UpUpDownDown	Himself/The Merchandise	Regular appearances

Persona and reception

See Persona and reception of Roman Reigns for more information Reigns debuted on the company's main roster in November 2012 (having performed in its developmental system from 2010) as part of stable The Shield and during this time his character was well received by critics. During 2014 Royal Rumble match, the live crowd cheered for Reigns over eventual winner Batista, despite Reigns being a villain character.

Following The Shield's break-up in 2014, Reigns (unlike the other former Shield members) retained much of The Shield's aesthetic and his popularity amongst fans and critics declined. 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. In a reversal from the previous year's Royal Rumble, Reigns was booed heavily after his victory despite portraying a heroic character at the 2015 Royal Rumble. After chasing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship unsuccessfully throughout 2015, critics described WWE presenting Reigns' character as a "hard-luck underdog" chasing the world title, 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".

With WWE unrelenting in their multi-year effort trying to establish Reigns as a mega-star, Reigns was booed at various WWE events, most notably at major pay-per-view events (where he wrestled in the main event in) such as 2015's WrestleMania 31, 2016's Royal Rumble and WrestleMania 32, as well as the 2017's Royal Rumble. As a result, critics observed WWE's repeated attempts to edit out and conceal hostile fan responses in 2015-2017, while Reigns was named as 2016's "Most Hated Wrestler of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, becoming the first babyface wrestler to have been recognized as such. In 2016, WWE Hall of Famers Stone Cold Steve Austin, Rikishi and Hulk Hogan encouraged WWE to turn the Reigns character into a villain and after his suspension Yahoo! TV also urged WWE to "quit pretending he's some kind of lovable underdog" with a villainous turn.

In February 2017, Dave Meltzer wrote that WWE's push of Reigns "will never end. Isn't that obvious by now". A month later, Meltzer reported that WWE's long term plans ("which obviously could change") for 2018's WrestleMania 34 was to "once again build for a year and have the big coronation" for Reigns, who would be a babyface (the heroic character) "between now and then" and beat Brock Lesnar for the WWE Universal title "to fully replace John Cena as the lead babyface of the company". In a 2017 ESPN interview, Anoa'i said he did not view his boos "as a negative", but as "motivation". Anoa'i elaborated, "[...] thousands of people are screaming, booing at the top of their lungs, and I'm the center of attention, so I must be doing something right". In September 2017 on Raw, both (storyline) general manager Kurt Angle and commentator Corey Graves described Reigns as a wrestling "icon".

Personal life

Anoa?i is half Samoan and half Italian. Both his father Sika Anoa?i and his brother Rosey, who died on April 17, 2017, were professional wrestlers. As a member of the Anoa?i 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).

Anoa?i married Galina Joelle Becker in early December 2014. He has a daughter named Joelle, with whom he appeared in a public service announcement in June 2014.

At the Georgia Institute of Technology, Anoa?i majored in management. He is a Catholic and uses the sign of the cross every time he enters the ring.

Anoa?i considers Bret Hart his wrestling idol.

In January 2018, Richard Rodriguez, who was arrested for distributing steroids internationally, gave an interview where he identified Anoa?i as being involved in a steroid ring under Rodriguez's company Wellness Fitness Nutrition. Anoa?i released a statement denying hearing of Rodriguez or Wellness Fitness Nutrition.

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • As Roman Leakee
    • Checkmate (Spinning bulldog)
  • As Roman Reigns
    • Moment of Silence (FCW) (Belly-to-back side slam) (NXT) - used as a signature move in WWE
    • Spear
• Signature moves
  • Drive By (Running front dropkick from the floor to the head of an opponent draped over the bottom rope)
  • Leaping clothesline
  • Multiple corner clotheslines
  • Niagara Bomb (Sitout crucifix powerbomb)
  • Palm strike to an opponent's chin, often used as a diving attack counter
  • Samoan drop
  • Schoolboy lifted into a deadlift sitout powerbomb
  • Superman punch, with theatrics
  • Tilt-a-whirl slam
• Nicknames
  • "The Big Dog"
  • "First Class"
  • "The Guy"
  • "The Juggernaut"
  • "The Powerhouse"
  • "The Thoroughbred"
• Entrance themes
  • "Special Op" by Jim Johnston (November 18, 2012 - June 2, 2014; October 16, 2017 - present; used while a part of The Shield)
  • "The Truth Reigns" by Jim Johnston (June 16, 2014-present)

Championships and accomplishments

Collegiate football

• National Collegiate Athletic Association
  • First-team All-ACC (2006)

Professional wrestling

• Florida Championship Wrestling
  • FCW Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mike Dalton
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (2016)
  • Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2015)
  • Tag Team of the Year (2013)
  • Ranked No. 1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Most Improved (2013)
  • Most Overrated (2016)
  • Tag Team of the Year (2013)
• WWE
  • WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
  • WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Seth Rollins
  • WWE United States Championship (1 time)
  • WWE World Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
  • Twenty-eighth Triple Crown Champion
  • Ninth Grand Slam Champion (under current format; seventeenth overall)
  • Royal Rumble (2015)
  • WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament (2015)
  • Slammy Awards (7 times)
    • Breakout Star of the Year (2013)
    • Extreme Moment of the Year (2015) -
    • Faction of the Year (2013, 2014)
    • Superstar of the Year (2014)
    • Trending Now (Hashtag) of the Year (2013) - #BelieveInTheShield
    • "What a Maneuver" of the Year (2013) - Spear