Roman Reigns (real name: Leati Joseph “Joe” Anoa’i) grew up in the wacky world of professional wrestling.
A member of the famous wrestling Anoa’i family, his father, brother, uncle and 10 of his cousins have all stepped between the ropes, often finding success on the large stage of World Wrestling Entertainment.
His father, Sika, and uncle, Afa, collectively known as the Wild Samoans, were WWE tag team champions in the 1970s.
His cousin, Rodney, known to wrestling fans as Yokozuna, was a two-time WWE champion. And currently, his twin cousins, Jonathan and Joshua Solofa, compete in WWE as the Uso brothers.
But Reigns is still a newcomer in the business, having begun training in 2010 and making his WWE debut in November 2012 as one-third of the outlaw group known as The Shield. Reigns, along with Seth Rollins (real name: Colby Lopez) and Dean Ambrose (real name: Jonathan Good) have already made names for themselves and appear to have bright futures. Reigns and Rollins are the current WWE tag team champions, while Ambrose is the United States champion.
Each has his own strengths: Reigns is the powerhouse; Rollins has the speed; and Ambrose is the talker. Together they have formed a captivating crew that has earned the interest of fans. They’ve been placed in the high-profile position of henchmen for on-air authority figure Triple H, a former 13-time world champion.
They have also been thrust into the spotlight, like their six-man match against the Big Show, Randy Orton and Sheamus at Wrestlemania this past spring.
Tomorrow, when WWE brings its newest pay-per-view event “Battleground” to Buffalo’s First Niagara Center, Reigns and Rollins will perform in one of the more emotionally charged matches, a tag-team tilt with brothers Goldust and Cody Rhodes.
Reigns spoke with The Daily News on Thursday about the pay per view, The Shield, and his future in wrestling.The Shield is different from every faction we’ve seen before. What is it about the three of you that works so well?
“I think we’re all different. We’re all trying to get to the same place; we’re GPSed on the same location. We’re trying to get to the top of the business, but we’re all taking different vehicles to get there. We have our strengths, and when we come together as a group, they just mesh perfectly. If you put three of the same dudes in a group, they’re going to butt heads, but because we’re all so different, we seem to gel and mesh really well.”
What is it like working with Triple H so closely? — It’s pretty cool. Most people see him as The Game, but it’s cool to see him in his role, the COO. He really holds the future in the palm of his hand.”
Are you learning from working with him?
“Absolutely. I think we’re smart enough guys to learn from anybody. If not what to do, what not to do. When you’re dealing with Triple H on a daily basis, you’re going straight to the top shelf. It’s always a learning experience with him.”
Can you talk about working with Rollins and Ambrose and what the three of you are learning from each other?
“As far as in-ring stuff — style and experience — they’re second to none. They’ve been doing their thing for eight or nine years, they’ve traveled the world. Once we all started, we just took off.
We joke about it now, but we’ve pretty much been all over the world in less than one year now. They busted their [butts] to get here. I mean, my hat’s off to them every single day, because they had to put so much effort into just getting into the front door. Some might say they snuck in through a window. But they were willing to do anything to get to this point. And those are the types of dudes I like to roll with; they’re ruthless, they’re aggressive; they won’t take no for an answer. They’re going to do anything to accomplish their goals, and that’s how I am.
We’ve always been on the same page. We’re just trying to change the game day in and day out. It couldn’t have been a better pairing, honestly.”
You made your WWE debut last November. What has been your favorite moment during those 11 months? — There are so many. If you replay what we’ve done, you have to say Wrestlemania, just because not everybody gets a ’Mania shot in their first year, not everybody gets a ’Mania shot in their whole career. For us to do it in the first six months, that will never leave the top spot. But there have been all kinds of cool moments, like the way we’ve come into the spotlight, riding a helicopter, wrestling The Undertaker, wrestling Kane, [Daniel] Bryan, and having awesome six-man matches week after week.
There have been so many cool reactions, so many cool emotions, and so many moments over the last 11 months. It has really been a crazy ride.
Tell me about your partnership with Seth Rollins and why you work so well together?
“We wrestle together five times a week. I’m with those guys more than I’m with my own family. We know each other inside and out as far as what we want to do in the ring.”
What does the future hold for The Shield?
“We’re looking for progression. We’re looking to get better. We’re trying to make the best sports entertainment product we can. We want to elevate every title we touch. We want to make every moment, every situation better, because The Shield is in it.”
Do you have goals beyond The Shield, individual goals?
“Absolutely. I want to be the WWE champion and defend my title at Wrestlemania against anybody, against the world. If you don’t want the WWE championship, then you’re wasting your time. There’s no advancement in our world, if that’s not what you want.
Between you, Rollins and Ambrose, who will win the WWE championship first?
“Oh, me! And if you ask them, they’ll give you the same answer. That’s why we roll together. Because we’re not messing around. That’s what we want. And I have a good feeling we’re all going to fight for it.”
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