The Big Dog: 5 Fast Facts About Roman Reigns

Fact: Roman Reigns is the most polarizing WWE Superstar since John Cena.

He may be the least popular member of The Shield, but there’s no doubting that he was an integral part of their success. That being said, here are five fast facts about Roman Reigns!

5. He’s half Italian

Everyone knows about Reigns’s Samoan heritage and his relation to The Rock, but it’s far less known that he’s actually half Italian thanks to his mom, Patricia. His father, meanwhile, is WWE Hall of Famer Sika, one half of The Wild Samoans.

Other wrestlers Reigns counts among his family are his late brother Rosey, Yokozuna, Umaga, The Tonga Kid, and The Usos.

4. He’s the youngest wrestler to win the Slammy for Superstar of the Year

WWE fans might not think much of the Slammys now, but they’ve been going on for quite some time – and in 2014, Reigns became the youngest WWE Superstar in history to win the Slammy for Superstar of the Year. At the time, he was just 28 years old.

3. He faced Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose in a triple threat match in FCW

Before there was NXT, there was FCW. Before there was Roman Reigns, there was Leakee. And before there was The Shield, Leakee squared off against Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose in a triple threat match to earn a shot at the Florida Heavyweight Championship.

Leakee won the match, but he failed to capture the title from Leo Kruger, a.k.a. Adam Rose.

2. He holds the record for most eliminations in a single Royal Rumble

As any WWE fan knows, the Royal Rumble is all about stats – and Reigns acquired an impressive one in 2014. That year, Reigns eliminated a record 12 opponents in the Royal Rumble match, thus surpassing Kane’s longstanding record by one. Despite his impressive showing, however, Reigns ultimately lost the match to Batista.

1. He wasn’t supposed to be in The Shield

Here’s a fact that’s sure to enrage all the Reigns haters out there: he actually wasn’t supposed to be in The Shield – and the only reason he was was because Triple H and Vince McMahon ordered it.

After CM Punk’s tumultuous exit from WWE in 2014, he revealed on Colt Cabana’s podcast that The Shield was his idea. Furthermore, he revealed that he wanted the group to consist of Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Chris Hero – but the powers that be swapped out Hero for Reigns:

“So, and this, I don’t know, this will probably blow some people’s minds and then some people will be like ‘oh, you’re full of s**t’ but I don’t f***ing care either way: The Shield was my idea.

“So I took the idea to Hunter, I took it to Vince, they agreed. Vince was immediately like ‘who do you have in mind?’ And I said ‘[Dean] Ambrose, [Seth] Rollins, Chris Hero, or Kassius Ohno.’ Hunter shot down Hero.

“They wanted Roman Reigns. They came to me and they were like ‘what about Leakee?’ I didn’t… it wasn’t my hill to die on. I said ‘sure’ because it made sense to me. Oh, they want their guy in, he’s the pretty guy, but that’s good because this guy can learn from working under me.”

Nothing against Hero, but I can’t imagine The Shield any other way.

So there you have it – five fast facts about Roman Reigns. If that’s not enough of The Shield for you, be sure to check out the fast facts posts about his brothers in arms, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose!

What do you think of Roman Reigns? Share your thoughts and comments below!