Roman Reigns
Leati Joseph Anoaʻi (Samoan pronunciation: [a.noˈaʔ.i] ah-no-AH ee; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former football player.
As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE since 2010, and currently performs on the SmackDown brand. He is the former leader of The Bloodline stable and a member of the Anoaʻi family.
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Roman Reigns
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Roman Reigns in 2023
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| Born |
Leati Joseph Anoaʻi
May 25, 1985 Pensacola, Florida, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Occupations |
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| Spouse |
Galina Becker
(m. 2014) |
| Children | 5 |
| Parent |
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| Family | Anoaʻi |
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Professional wrestling career
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| Ring name(s) | Leakee Roman Leakee Roman Reigns |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
| Billed weight | 265 lb (120 kg) |
| Billed from | Pensacola, Florida |
| Trained by | Afa Anoaʻi Sika Anoaʻi Dusty Rhodes Steve Keirn |
| Debut | August 19, 2010 |
| Football career | |
| No. 99 | |
| Career information | |
| CFL status | American |
| Position(s) | Defensive tackle |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
| Weight | 280 lb (130 kg) |
| College | Georgia Tech |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 2007 | Minnesota Vikings* |
| 2007 | Jacksonville Jaguars* |
| 2008 | Edmonton Eskimos |
| *Offseason member only | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Career stats | |
| Tackles | 9 |
| Knockdowns | 0 |
| Sacks | 0 |
| Forced fumbles | 1 * CFL statistics only |
Reigns’s title reign of 1,316 days as Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion was the fourth-longest world title reign in WWE history and the longest championship reign since 1988.
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;
He won his fourth WWE Championship during his second Universal Championship reign and as such, was recognized as Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
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 a record-setting nine times (31, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38, 39, and both nights of 40).
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 portraying a tribal chief, which was generally met with acclaim.
Reigns is regarded as one of the best professional wrestlers active in the world today.
Early life
Leati Joseph Anoaʻi was born on May 25, 1985, in Pensacola, Florida, to Sika Anoa’i and Patricia Hooker. His father is of Samoan descent and his mother is of Sicilian ancestry.
Both his father and his brother Rosey were professional wrestlers. As a member of the Anoaʻi wrestling family, his cousins include The Tonga Kid, Rikishi, Umaga, and Yokozuna, while his first cousins once removed include The Usos and Solo Sikoa.
Anoaʻi attended Pensacola Catholic High School before transferring to Escambia High School. He majored in management at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He later said that he considers Bret Hart his wrestling idol.
Personal life
In early 2005, while studying at Georgia Institute of Technology, Anoaʻi met and began dating Galina Becker. They were married in December 2014, and reside in Tampa, Florida.
Their first child, a daughter, was born in December 2007 and appeared with Anoaʻi in a PSA in June 2014.
They had twin sons in November 2016, followed by another set of twin sons in March 2020.
In 2018, Anoaʻi shared that he had been living with chronic myeloid leukemia, an incurable but treatable form of blood cancer.
He was diagnosed in 2007 during his American Football career and continues lifelong oral chemotherapy to manage the condition.
Other media
Anoaʻi appeared as Roman Reigns in WWE 2K14, WWE 2K15, WWE 2K16, WWE 2K17, WWE 2K18, WWE 2K19, WWE 2K20 (of which he was the cover star),
WWE 2K Battlegrounds, WWE 2K22, WWE 2K23, WWE 2K24, and Madden NFL 24 (as part of the “Reel Deals” promotion in the game’s Madden Ultimate Team mode).
Reigns also makes regular appearances on fellow wrestler Xavier Woods’ comedic YouTube channel UpUpDownDown under the nickname “The Merchandise”.
On December 31, 2019, Reigns appeared on Fox’s New Year’s Eve with Steve Harvey, where he defeated Dolph Ziggler in a pre-taped match.
Football career
| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | |||||
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| 6 ft 2+5⁄8 in (1.90 m) |
303 lb (137 kg) |
4.91 s | 1.61 s | 2.83 s | 7.29 s | 34.0 in (0.86 m) |
9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) |
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| All values from Pro Day | ||||||||||||
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) and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Anoaʻi was a three-year starter beginning in his sophomore year and was also one of the team captains as a senior.
He earned first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) honors in 2006 after recording 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.
