Who is Roman Reigns?

Roman Reigns is the stage name of one of the biggest current stars signed to the WWE promotion. Born Leati Joseph Anoa’i in Florida in 1985, the youngster who would go on to become most commonly known as Roman Reigns comes from a family with a proud wrestling heritage.

Within his Samoan ancestry, Reigns has some exemplary wrestling genes. His father and brother were professional wrestlers, and he is cousins with other stars of the wrestling arena, The Tonga Kid, Rikishi, Umaga and Yokozuna.

Before he committed full-time to wrestling, Reigns attended Georgia Tech, where he played as a defensive tackle in American Football. After his college days, Reigns attempted to go pro in the NFL and CFL but eventually decided to pursue a full-time career in wrestling instead. Since 2007, when it was first diagnosed, Reigns has been battling leukemia.

College American Football And Brief Professional Play

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 An outstanding high school football player, Reigns continued playing as he attended Georgia Tech to study management for his college degree. He was a three-year starter for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and was named a team captain in his final year.

Despite receiving numerous accolades for his play at the College level, Reigns went undrafted in the 2007 NFL draft. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Minnesota Vikings but was released after his physical exam revealed he may have leukemia. Reigns signed on with the Jacksonville Jaguars as the 2007 NFL season approached but was released before the season began.

In 2008, Reigns was signed by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL), where he played for the season, starting in three games. After the season ended, his contract wasn’t renewed, and Reigns retired from professional football.

Professional Wrestling And Ongoing Leukemia Battle

With his NFL and CFL journey at an end, Reigns signed a developmental contract with the WWE in 2010. Things went well, and he debuted as a main roster wrestler in 2012. Listed as 6 feet 3 inches tall and 265 pounds by WWE statistics, Reigns’ initial years in WWE televised shows was as part of a three-man crew called The Shield. The Shield were villains until they turned ‘face’ in 2014, shortly before they disbanded.

After The Shield, Reigns wrestled individually and was quickly in the hunt for titles. Positioned as a heroic character from 2014-2020, Reigns was repackaged as a villain in 2020. Since 2014, Reigns has picked up many titles. He has won the WWE Championship four times, the WWE Universal Championship twice, along with the Intercontinental and United States Championships.

All this success has led to Reigns being regarded as one of the best active professional wrestlers in the world today. While Reigns has enjoyed plenty of success in the ring, his leukemia returned aggressively in 2018, forcing him to take some time off from the WWE.

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In October 2018, Reigns announced to a stunned arena full of fans that he had been diagnosed with leukemia a decade prior and that he would require some time off as it had returned and needed treatment. After four months away, Reigns returned and announced he was in remission.

Although he had another short time away from wrestling around the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, at the time of writing, Reigns hasn’t made any further statements regarding his health. With a run of well over 1,000 days as the WWE Universal Champion, Reigns holds the fifth longest championship run in WWE history.

From not quite making the grade in professional American Football, Reigns tapped into his family genes and continues to enjoy a career as one of the world’s most recognizable and successful wrestlers.

Colin Morrison

A boxing fan since his teenage years, Morrison began writing about the sport in July 2016. He appreciates all styles of boxing and has nothing but respect for those who get in the ring for our entertainment. Morrison is from Scotland and can be found on Twitter @Morrie1981.

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