Roman Reigns Is Earmarked To Be The Next "Guy" In WWE

Leati Joseph "Joe" AnoaÊ»i

(born May 25, 1985) is an American professional wrestler, former professional Canadian football player, and a member of the AnoaÊ»i family. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Roman Reigns.

After playing collegiate football for Georgia Tech

AnoaÊ»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 Edmonton Eskimos in 2008 before his release and retirement from football.

AnoaÊ»i then pursued a career in professional wrestling and was signed by WWE in 2010

Using the ring name Roman Reigns, he made his main roster debut in November 2012 alongside Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose as the Shield. Reigns is a two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion (with Rollins), and was 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.

2012 Survivor Series

In the heat of a Triple Threat Match between WWE Champion CM Punk, John Cena and Ryback, Reigns hit the ring alongside fellow WWE NXT competitors Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins and unleashed a merciless attack on the mighty Ryback. Tearing at the beast like a pack of hungry jackals, the young competitors ruined Ryback's opportunity to win the WWE Title and drove him through a ringside table.

The Shield

Reigns, Rollins and Ambrose branded themselves "The Shield," the band of upstarts in black tactical gear claimed that they weren't in WWE to aid Punk, but to halt injustice. From then on, the group targeted anyone and everyone they saw as an example of said injustice, with Reigns slowly emerging as the trio's juggernaut. At Extreme Rules 2013, Rollins & Reigns bested Team Hell No to win the WWE Tag Team Titles, later targeting Daniel Bryan on multiple occasions on the orders of WWE COO Triple H and his corporate Authority.

Reigns didn’t even suffer his first pinfall until nearly a year after The Shield debuted

when he was eliminated by The Usos in the first-ever 11-on-3 Handicap Elimination Tag Team Match that pitted The Hounds against Bryan and his locker-room supporters. As tensions began to rise between The Shield and The Authority in 2014, The Authority was revealed to view The Shield as "expendable" and The Hounds turned on their handlers, causing Triple H to re-form Evolution in retaliation. When that plan failed, he recruited Rollins to his own ranks, causing The Shield to implode.

Following the breakup of The Shield

Reigns began an explosive pursuit of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and, eventually, he seemed to have the prize within his grasp when he overcome 29 other Superstars in the 2015 Royal Rumble Match. With The Rock stepping through the ropes to raise his hand in victory, the powerful Superstar was headed to WrestleMania. However, some among the WWE Universe felt Daniel Bryan was more deserving of the match. So, at WWE Fastlane, Reigns and Bryan battled to decide who would face Lesnar on The Grandest Stage of Them All. Bryan pushed Reigns to the limit and pulled out all the stops. However, a last-second Spear allowed Reigns to secure the victory and retain his place in the main event at WrestleMania.