November 19, 2012
Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns in September 2012. Photo by Mike Mastrandrea

Roman Reigns made his debut on the main WWE roster at Survivor Series 2012, when he teamed with Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins to attack Ryback during the Triple Threat match between CM Punk, Ryback and John Cena.

But his career has been in the cards for many years.

Leati Joseph Anoa'i, born May 25, 1985, is the son of Sika of the Wild Samoans tag team, and his brother Matt is the pro wrestler Rosey.

For a while, Joe Anoa'i pursued a football career, suiting up for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets as a defensive tackle. He was a three-year starter at Georgia Tech, a captain for the defense, and had 12 career sacks. In 2007, he was named an All-ACC first-team all-star. His major was Management.

While he was not chosen in the 2007 NFL Draft, Anoa'i was invited to the Minnesota Vikings camp, where he was waived, and then caught on with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an extra body. For 2008, Anoa'i was with the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL, wearing Number 99 and getting into a couple of games.

In 2010, the 6-foot-3, 265-pound Anoa'i signed with the WWE and was assigned to the Florida developmental territory, where he was known as Roman Leakee, Leakee and Roman Reigns.



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