The Samoan Dynasty: Meet the incredible family of Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is part of the Anoa’i family which is known for having a prestigious wrestling background with an immense amount of successful wrestlers. If you ask him, Roman Reigns will tell you that he has over a hundred cousins. However, we're narrowing down to the hand-picked few who are wrestlers and have established a name for themselves.
Also read: Meet Roman Reigns’ adorable daughter
It should be noted that while Roman Reigns does call The Rock his cousin, they aren't technically related. As mentioned, Maivia and Trovale were blood brothers. Interestingly enough, The Rock does share a legitimate family relationship with Nia Jax. Even so, it seems that in the Samoan family culture, the word "cousin" is thrown around rather freely, so anyone who's close is likely considered family.
Also Read: Who is Roman Reigns' father?
Let’s now go and take a look into Roman Reigns' incredible family:
#1 Rosey (Matthew Anoa’i)
The brother of Roman Reigns, Rosey, passes away on this day last year. Rosey is also related to The Rock as he is a member of the Anoa’i Family https://t.co/xuvuUHADzB
Rosey had a 4-year stint in WWE, having a run completely opposite to that his younger brother Roman Reigns is currently having.
He was part of 3-Minute Warning with Jamal (Umaga) and then teamed up with The Hurricane for 3 years. He had a superhero gimmick, with Hurricane terming him as “Super Hero In Training(S.H.I.T). Rosey was released from his contract in March 2006.
He has wrestled on the independent circuit, going to Japan, Epic Championship Wrestling and many others. He sadly passed away on April 17th, 2017.
#2 Yokozuna (Rodney Anoa’i)
Coming to @WWENetwork Jan 31st 2021 WWE Icons: Yokozuna
"He was a title bearer for our family. He will be the most massive presence our family ever puts out there"-Roman Reigns https://t.co/4o9PB2eGV9
Yokozuna was perhaps among the most famous members of Roman Reigns' family at the time. He was a two-time WWF Champion and a WWE Hall of Famer. He had the gimmick of a Japanese sumo wrestler who was utterly dominant in the ring. Debuting in WWF in 1992. he and was instantly pushed to the top.
He main evented Wrestlemania two years in a row, at Wrestlemania IX and Wrestlemania X. He was one of the original big dominant heels, and his pairing with Mr Fuji did wonders for him as he became the top heel of WWF for a while. For a man of his size, Yokozuna was very agile in the ring and was known to be a great worker.
Outside of his character, Yokozuna was known to be an extremely kind-hearted individual. He tragically passed away from a pulmonary edema in his hotel room in Liverpool on October 23rd, 2000. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame by The Usos and Rikishi.
#3 Black Pearl (Reno Anoa’i)
While he hasn’t wrestled in the WWE, don’t let that fool you. Black Pearl, as he is known by ring name, wrestles on the independent circuit and has been in the business for 13 years. He is perhaps best known for his time in Nu-Wrestling Evolution, where his gimmick is that of an aristocrat, going by the nickname “The Count Of California.
While he is not known for his wrestling skills, it is his strength in character which he is known for and known to play off of very well. Many believe he would be suitable for WWE in that regard.
#4 Tonga Kid/Tama (Sam Fatu)
Tama (real name Sam Fatu) is the immediate brother of the late Umaga and Rikishi. He had a 5-year stint with WWF where he debuted as The Tonga Kid. He was trained by the Wild Samoans Afoa and Sika. Three years into his run, he was renamed Tama.
He also had a year-long stint in WCW, where he was known as The Samoan Savage. In WCW, he was notably part of a trio called The Samoan SWAT Team with Fatu (Rikishi) and his cousin Samu. After leaving WCW in the summer of 1990, he wrestled all over for the next 21 years before hanging up his boots.
#5 Rikishi (Solofa Fatu Jr.)
Rikishi with his sons, Jey and Jimmy Uso and their cousin, Roman Reigns 🤙🏼 https://t.co/Yok9jgwrSa
Rikishi is a WWE Hall of Famer most famously known for his 12-year tenure in the WWE. He went through multiple gimmick changes, but he is perhaps most famously known during the Attitude Era days, where he won the Intercontinental Championship, the WWF World Tag Team Championship, and the WWE Tag Team Championship.
He is known for his “stinkface” finisher that would involve him slamming his opponents face between his buttocks and viciously rubbing it. He is also famously known for having been thrown off the Hell In A Cell onto a truck of hay by The Undertaker, and also for being the one to hit Stone Cold with a car and as a result using the famous line “I did it for The Rock”
He was released by WWE in 2004 after the company repeatedly requested him to lose weight. He remains a beloved part of the Attitude Era, and has shown up on WWE programming multiple times in a non-wrestling capacity.
#6 Umaga/Jamal (Eddie Fatu)
Umaga vs Roman would’ve been big. R.I.P twitter.com/mattnazar50/st…
The late, great Umaga will always be one of the most beloved heels of the Ruthless Aggression Era. He was a two-time Intercontinental champion and one star who many fans believe should have won a world championship.
He had a forgettable first run with WWE under the name Jamal, where he teamed up with Roman Reigns' own brother Rosey in a tag team known as 3-minute warning. His initial run only lasted a year. His second run, although only for three years, was far more memorable.
He had world title feuds with John Cena and even feuded with the likes of Bobby Lashley. He represented Vince McMahon against Donald Trump and Bobby Lashley in the Battle Of The Billionaires match at WrestleMania 23, which was a big attraction. The next year, he represented Raw in an inter-promotional feud between him and Batista, who represented Smackdown.
Umaga was released by WWE after a Wellness Policy Violation and refusing to go to rehab. He suffered a heart attack on December 4th, 2009 and tragically passed away.
#7 Roman Reigns' Bloodline: The Usos(Jonathan Salofa Fatu & Joshua Samuel Fatu)
As real as it gets.
Congrats to the @WWEUsos on 12 years with the WWE! 👏
#SmackDown https://t.co/Jm6ES6ZqpZ
Technically speaking, Roman Reigns and The Usos are not exactly cousins. However, they are around the same age and all 3 grew up together, forming that kind of a brotherly relationship with each other. The Usos are the children of Rikishi.
Their move to SmackDown in 2016 saw a career resurgence for the twins. Since then, they've become one of the most popular tag teams in WWE, raking up multiple tag team titles and putting on numerous entertaining matches, many of which were considered match of the year at the time.
As if that wasn't enough, the two paired up with The Tribal Chief to form an unstoppable faction, holding all the tag team gold that the main roster can offer them right now.
#8 Solo Sikoa (Joseph Fatu)
WWE Should Add Solo Sikoa To The Bloodline thesportster.com/wwe-should-add… https://t.co/vHCBJx7fkm
Joseph Fatu is the son of Rikishi and the younger brother of The Usos. Having made a name for himself on the independent wrestling circuit as Sefa Fatu, Sikoa joined WWE in 2021.
Here's what The Usos said to their younger brother before he joined WWE:
"Coming from a big family, man, it’s hard to make your own footprint in the sand, so we told little bro, you’ve got to find your way. You’ve got to find what works for you, man. Every single day he’s like, ‘yo, did you watch my match? Is there anything you’ve got? Is there anything you can tell me to do?’ I was like, ‘How about the first thing is don’t look like us, try not to look like us. We look a lot alike, so he had long hair, he chopped his hair and dyed his hair. Went from the Air Forces to barefoot, he’s uncomfortable in the ring barefoot but he’s just doing whatever he needs to do to make his mark.” [H/T: WrestlingInc]
With Sikoa proving himself on NXT 2.0, it might be time for Roman Reigns to call the younger Uso up to the main roster and induct him into The Bloodline. While we don't know if and when that will happen, it will certainly inject freshness into The Tribal Chief's stable.