How good was Roman Reigns in NFL? Looking back at WrestleMania 39 champ's football career
Roman Reigns is one of the biggest stars in WWE history, and he solidified that last night (US time) by retaining the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 39.
Ahead of the match, Rhodes was considered the heavy favorite, having won the Royal Rumble in his first match back from a gnarly shoulder injury he sustained last year. After a back-and-forth affair that involved interference from the Usos and Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, Reigns got the win after Paul Heyman, his "Special Counsel", distracted the referee, allowing Solo Sikoa to neutralize "The American Nightmare" with a Samoan Spike.
As "The Tribal Chief" approaches the 1,000th day of his reign, it is time to look back at his origins: how he went from a football prospect to the most dominant champion WWE has seen in recent times.
Roman Reigns teamed with some familiar faces on the gridiron
Born Leati Joseph Anoa'i in 1985, Reigns first established himself in high school football, where he played with his cousins Joshua and Jonathan Fatu (who would soon become The Usos). In his senior year, he was named Defensive Player of the Year by his hometown Pensacola's newspaper.
In his collegiate career, Reigns committed to Georgia Tech, where he played alongside none other than Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson. And he did pretty well, especially in his senior season, where he made the all-ACC First Team.
However, Reigns' professional career is nothing home to write about. He tried out for the Minnesota Vikings, but was cut after being diagnosed with leukemia (which would also threaten his wrestling career later on). He soon joined the Jacksonville Jaguars, but was cut as well.
He instead found his greatest success in Canada, the home country of his wrestling idol Bret Hart. He played for the then-Edmonton Eskimos (now Elks) for five games, recording nine tackles and a sack, before leaving football for the squared circle.
Roman Reigns has found more success since joining WWE
In 2010, just before he was released by the Eskimos, Reigns joined WWE. He was assigned to FCW, its developmental program at the time, and given the name Roman Leakee. During his time there, he won the tag team titles and challenged for the heavyweight title. When FCW was renamed NXT, so was Leakee, receiving his current name.
Reigns made his main roster debut in 2012 as one third of The Shield. Alongside Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose, they became one of the most popular stables in the company, but the period after their dissolution was rough, as fans would boo him incessantly for being forcibly pushed to the top.
While the perception of him changed after his leukemia reemerged, he would not redeem himself in fans' eyes until his 2020 heel turn. Since then, he has become WWE's most dominant champion in recent memory, and after his defeat of Cody Rhodes, it will be interesting to see where he goes from here.