Rikishi officially confirms Roman Reigns' family member has secretly joined WWE 5 years after his last match
Earlier this week, rumors surfaced that Roman Reigns' cousin has signed with WWE. Wrestling legend Rikishi has officially confirmed the news of Lance Anoa’i joining the Stamford-based promotion.
Lance Anoa’i is a third-generation wrestler, son of Samu, and grandson of late WWE Hall of Famer Afa Anoa'i. The 32-year-old performer has spent 14 years grinding on the independents, working for promotions like MLW, where he was a member of the Samoan SWAT Team led by Jacob Fatu.
Lance was let go by Major League Wrestling late last year. Fightful recently learned that Lance Anoa’i signed with WWE this summer. However, he has been dealing with an undisclosed injury and is unlikely to get cleared soon.
This is probably why the creative team has no imminent plans for him, whether on NXT or the main roster. A few hours ago, Rikishi took to his official Facebook handle to congratulate his nephew on signing with WWE.
"Another 🩸☝🏾 your turn nephew lance. YOU earned your spot! #LanceAnoai #Smarts #HeGetsIt," he said.
Lance Anoa’i has joined Hikuleo but has yet to make his WWE debut. But unlike Hikuleo, he has wrestled in the Stamford-based promotion before. He worked as an enhancement talent quite a few times, with his most memorable outing coming off against Shane McMahon on the May 27, 2019, edition of Monday Night RAW.
That night, Roman Reigns came to the aid of his cousin after the post-match beatdown from Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre. It will be interesting to see if the two cousins will reunite amid the Bloodline civil war.
What's next for Roman Reigns in WWE?
The OG Bloodline is back! Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso kicked off Friday Night SmackDown last night but were interrupted by Jey Uso, who wanted The Original Tribal Chief to hash things out with Sami Zayn.
The Canadian wrestler confronted Reigns and clarified that his kick to the OTC was accidental. Zayn asked Roman to apologize to Jey, but the Head of the Table said he felt sorry for letting the YEET Master waste his time. This forced Sami Zayn to walk out on the OG Bloodline.
Later in the show, Roman Reigns confronted Solo Sikoa during an Undisputed Tribal Chief Acknowledgment Ceremony. As expected, The Original Tribal Chief refused to acknowledge The Street Champion, which ignited a brawl between them, leading to The Usos and Sami Zayn helping Roman Reigns fend off the Solo Sikoa-led Bloodline.
The show ended with the OG Bloodline members standing tall and raising the ones.