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Leati Joseph "Joe" 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 leader of the babyface iteration of The Bloodline stable and a member of the Anoaʻi family.[4] 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.[a] He is widely regarded as one of the best professional wrestlers currently active in the world, and by some as one of the greatest professional
n 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 XL).[12][13] 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.[14]
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.[15] Following his return from a hiatus in August 2020, he was repackaged as a villainous character portraying a Samoan tribal chief,[16][17]
was later assigned to their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW).[20] He made his televised debut on August 19, 2010, using the ring name Roman Leakee, in a 15-man battle royal, which was won by Alex Riley.[33] On the January 16, 2011 episode of FCW, Leakee was a competitor in a 30-man Grand Royal, but was eliminated.[34] 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.[35]
In January 2012, Leakee pinned FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion Leo Kruger in a non-title match.[36] On the February 5 episode of FCW, he defeated Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins in a triple threat match to become the number one contender to the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship.[37] He failed to win the championship when he lost to Kruger the following week.[38] Leakee later won the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship with Mike Dalton[39][40] and would drop the titles to CJ Parker and Jason Jordan shortly after.[41]
After WWE rebranded FCW to NXT in August 2012,[42] Anoaʻi, with the new ring name Roman Reigns and a villainous character, made his debut on the October 31 episode of NXT by defeating CJ Parker.[43]
The Shield (2012–2014)
Main article: The Shield
Reigns (back) made his WWE debut as a member of The Shield in November 2012
Roman Reigns made his main roster television debut as on November 18, 2012, at the Survivor Series pay-per-view event 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, thus establishing themselves as villains.[44] 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).[45][46][47][48] 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.[49] The Shield continued to aid Punk in January 2013, attacking both Ryback and The Rock.[50][51] 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.[52]
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.[53][54] The Shield then made their WrestleMania debut, where they defeated Sheamus, Randy Orton and Big Show at WrestleMania 29 in April.[55][56] The following night on Raw, The Shield attempted to attack The Undertaker, but they were stopped by Team Hell No.[57] This set up a six-man tag team match on the April 22 episode of Raw, which The Shield won.[58] 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.[59]
