Roman Reigns Profile: Bio, News, Videos, Socials & More

Sid Pullar III | Sep 16, 2024

WWE.com

INTRO

1. Bio
2. Top News & Stories
3. Early Life
4. Professional Career
5. Championships
6. Roman Reigns Family
7. Theme Song
8. Social Media
9. Videos

Bio

Real Name	Leati Joseph Anoa'i
Nicknames	The Tribal Chief, The Head of the Table, The Big Dog, Leakee
Date of Birth (DOB)	May 25, 1985
Nationality	Samoan
Spouse	Galina Becker
Relatives	Sika Anoa'i (Father), Afa Anoa'i (Uncle), Rosey (Brother), The Rock (Cousin), Rikishi (Cousin), Yokozuna (Cousin), The Tonga Kid (Cousin), Umaga (Cousin), Jey Uso (Cousin), Jimmy Uso (Cousin), Solo Sikoa (Cousin), Jacob Fatu (Cousin)
Debut	August 19, 2010
Theme Song	I Am Greatness by Def Rebel
Training	Afa Anoa'i, Sika Anoa'i, Dusty Rhodes, Steve Keirn
Billed Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Billed Weight	265lb (120kg)

Top News & Stories

Roman Reigns And Cody Rhodes To Face Solo Sikoa And Jacob Fatu At WWE Bad Blood

Jey Uso on Roman Reigns: ‘There Is No One Better’

Paul Heyman on Roman Reigns, Nick Bockwinkel, and Striving to Set The Standard

Early Life

Joseph Anoa'i was born in Pensacola, Florida on May 25th, 1985. He is the son of former professional wrestler Sika Anoa'i and nephew of former professional wrestler Afa Anoa'i. Together, Sika and Afa were known as The Wild Samoans during their in-ring careers. His brother Rosey as well as cousins The Rock, Rikishi, Umaga, Yokozuna and The Tonga Kid are all former professional wrestlers as well. Anoa'i played football for three years at Pensacola Catholic High School and one year at Escambia High School. He eventually moved on to play for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team in college and after going undrafted in the 2007 NFL Draft, joined the offseason team for the Minnesota Vikings as well as playing one season for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Professional Career

Early Days (2010-2014)

Roman Reigns' professional career started in 2010 when he signed his contract with the WWE after training with his father and uncle. He was later assigned to their developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) where he started training with Dusty Rhodes and Steve Keirn. Reigns made his televised debut on August 19, 2010, under the ring name of Roman Leakee and later was known as Leakee.

In 2012, he made his WWE TV debut at Survivor Series as a member of the faction called The Shield, alongside Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, now known as Roman Reigns. His first match was a six-man tag team Tables, Ladders and Chairs match against Daniel Bryan, Kane and Ryback at TLC, winning via pinfall. This kickstarted an undefeated streak for The Shield with Ambrose winning the United States Championship, while Rollins and Reigns won the WWE Tag Team Championship along the way.

The Shield went on a dominant run, picking up wins against the likes of John Cena, Team Hell No, Sheamus, Randy Orton, Big Show and more. Despite losing their gold, the trio also got into memorable rivalries with The Wyatt Family and Evolution. After dispatching of Triple H, Randy Orton and Batista at Payback 2014, Seth Rollins betrayed The Shield with a steel chair shot to Reigns, turning heel in one of the most shocking turns in WWE history.

2014-2018

After the end of The Shield, Roman Reigns ventured on his own as a singles competitor, leading to a controversial rise through the ranks. With wins over Randy Orton, Kane and Big Show, fans started to reject Reigns as the future top star of the promotion despite their best efforts. After brief absence, Roman went on to win the 2015 Royal Rumble to a negative reaction despite receiving help from his cousin The Rock. Reigns would go on to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31.

Following a physical encounter, Roman's former Shield stablemate Seth Rollins cashed in his Money In The Bank contract to pin Reigns and win the WWE Championship. After victories over Big Show and Bray Wyatt, Reigns eventually won his first WWE Championship by winning a tournament at Survivor Series 2015. However, his first reign was short lived as Sheamus cashed in his Money In The Bank contract to end Roman's run. The man known as "The Big Dog" would go on to regain the WWE Championship by beating Sheamus one month later.

Roman's second reign as WWE Champion was once again short lived when Triple H won the 2016 Royal Rumble Match to win the title. This led to Reigns facing "The Game" at WrestleMania 32, which he won to start his third run with the top prize. After an injury absence, Seth Rollins returned to defeat Reigns for the title at Money In The Bank 2016, only for Dean Ambrose to cash in his Money In The Bank contract to beat Rollins. This marked the night all three members of The Shield held the WWE Title.

After a wellness suspension, Battleground 2016 saw Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose face in a triple threat match, with Ambrose retaining the WWE Championship. From there, Roman Reigns went on to win the United States Championship from Rusev, but lost the title to Chris Jericho.

Reigns matched up with The Undertaker in the main event of WrestleMania 33 in 2017, with Roman gaining the victory to seemingly end Taker's career. Following a year-long absence from the title picture, Reigns did battle with Brock Lesnar, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman for the WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam, and later defeated John Cena in their first singles meeting at No Mercy.

A rivalry with Braun Strowman led Reigns back to the Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 34. Despite coming up short, Roman would eventually defeat Lesnar for the title at SummerSlam. His run was yet another short reign as the star revealed his leukemia diagnosis had returned after battling 11 years of quietly battling it and being in remission.

2019-2020

After an indefinite absence, Reigns made his return on the February 25, 2019 episode of Monday Night Raw. Revealing he was back in remission, Roman received the biggest ovation from the crowd that he had earned since his rise up the ranks. Scoring a win over Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 35, Reigns would later make the move to the SmackDown brand in the 2019 WWE Draft.

Following feuds with Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre, Reigns later battled King Corbin in another poorly received rivalry that was centered around dog food. Reigns finally defeated Corbin on several occasions to move on to face Goldberg for the WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 36, but the match never occurred.

Following the news of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Reigns pulled himself from the event amid concerns and his being incompromised due to his leukemia. Following WrestleMania, Roman remained absent from WWE programming in the midst of the pandemic. Paul Heyman later claimed that Reigns considered himself retired from professional wrestling during this period.

Tribal Chief & Historic Title Reign (2020-Present)

At WWE SummerSlam 2020, Roman Reigns returned to the company since before WrestleMania 36 by attacking Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt. Reigns adopted a new persona, aligning himself with Paul Heyman and began referring to himself as "The Head of the Table."

Winning the WWE Universal Championship for his fifth world title reign at Payback, Reigns went on to become the fourth longest world champion in the company's history. Reigns successfully defended his title against Jey Uso and Kevin Owens as well as defeating both Edge and Daniel Bryan in a triple threat match at WrestleMania 37. From there, Roman picked up wins over Cesaro, Edge and John Cena in 2021.

Going by the moniker of "The Tribal Chief," Reigns aligned with his real-life cousins Jey and Jimmy Uso to form The Bloodline. This led to The Usos winning both the SmackDown and Raw Tag Team Championships, while Reigns added the WWE Championship to become the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 38.

Along the way, The Bloodline added Roman's other real-life cousin Solo Sikoa and "Honorary Uce" Sami Zayn. The group defeated the team of Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, Butch and Ridge Holland to win the first main roster Men's War Games Match at Survivor Series 2022.

After wins over both Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, Reigns defeated Cody Rhodes to retain his gold at WrestleMania 39. Roman then defeated Jey Uso one more time in a Tribal Combat Match at SummerSlam 2023. With successful defenses against LA Knight, AJ Styles and Randy Orton, Reigns finally met Cody Rhodes again at WrestleMania 40.

The event marked the end of "The Tribal Chief's" historic title reign as he lost to Cody Rhodes after a star-studded lineup of The Rock, The Undertaker and John Cena got involved. Reigns ended after 1,316 days, which is the fourth longest world title reign in WWE history and the longest since 1988.

Roman Reigns eventually made his return to the company after losing the title at SummerSlam 2024, where he speared Solo Sikoa to give Cody Rhodes the win over him after months of Sikoa taking his mantle of "The Tribal Chief."

Championships

Championship	Times Won
WWE Universal Championship	2
WWE Championship	4
WWE Intercontinental Championship	1
WWE United States Championship	1
WWE Tag Team Championship	1
Men's Royal Rumble	1
Sports Illustrated Wrestler of the Year	1

Roman Reigns Family

Roman Reigns is part of the Anoa'i family, which may be the most decorated and legendary family in WWE and pro wrestling history. His father Sika Anoa'i and his uncle Afa Anoa'i are known by fans as The Wild Samoans. The duo are multi-time tag team champions, including 3 reigns as WWE Tag Team Champions. They are also WWE Hall of Famers.

Meanwhile, Reigns is cousins with Hollywood megastar and former multi-time WWE World Champion The Rock. He is also related to WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi, which makes him second cousins with current WWE stars Solo Sikoa, Jey and Jimmy Uso. Roman's cousin Sam Fatu, also known as The Tonga Kid, is the father of current WWE star and Bloodline member Jacob Fatu.

His list of relatives in the wrestling business also includes Umaga, Yokozuna and more. Roman Reigns' family includes several wrestlers outside of the WWE as well, such as Zilla Fatu and Lance Anoa'i.

Theme Song

I Am Greatness - Def Rebel

Social Media

Instagram: @romanreigns

Twitter/X: @WWERomanReigns

Tiktok: @romanreigns

Videos