Photo Credit: Roman Reigns’ Instagram
Roman Reigns officially joined WWE in 2010 following the retirement of his professional football career. That year, he signed a contract for the company, arriving in the developmental brand, FCW, aka Florida Championship Wrestling.
Despite being from a renowned wrestling family, Roman didn’t have prior experience as a professional wrestler, meaning he acquired the knowledge and honed skills in pro wrestling after arriving in WWE. In the early 2010s, WWE hired several talents with bright wrestling backgrounds or impressive proven athletic acclaim like Reigns had before 2010.
However, he wasn’t known as Roman Reigns while making his professional wrestling debut in FCW. Initially, he competed in the ring as Roman Leakee. His WWE debut match under the FCW brand took place on August 19, 2010. The Tribal Chief’s first introduction as a professional wrestler came in a Battle Royal match consisting of 15 people, not a singles encounter.
Unlike his main roster, he didn’t see an overwhelming success in FCW. The six-time WWE World Champion Roman Reigns incidentally never won the FCW Florida Heavyweight Championship, even though he attempted to come close to capturing it.
During his FCW stint, a young Reigns challenged then-FCW Heavyweight Champion Adam Rose. Beating his Shield boys, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, Roman earned a shot of facing Rose in a title bout. Unfortunately, he ended up on the losing side, squandering the only singles title opportunity he received there.
On the other hand, Roman Leakee, aka Reigns, excelled as a tag team competitor in FCW. Teaming up with Tyler Breeze, he won the FCW Tag Team Championship, which was his first gold in professional wrestling.
Once FCW was overhauled into NXT in 2012, which is still WWE’s developmental brand today, he debuted his current name Roman Reigns. Ultimately, it became his official WWE moniker in the future, and he never had to alter his first or last ring name.
Roman Reigns Joined WWE’s Main Roster On November 18, 2012
The Shield, consisting of NXT trios of Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose, made one of the most influential debuts in WWE history at Survivor Series 2012. The date, November 18, 2012, marked Roman Reigns’ first appearance on WWE’s main roster, making him wait two years following his signing with the company in 2010. The Hounds of Justice attacked Ryback in the middle of the WWE Championship match, enabling CM Punk to pick up the victory.
The Shield’s debut in 2012
As months progressed, The Shield showed their dominance in between ropes, with the Triple Powerbomb becoming a staple move for the group to opponents. Defeating some top tag teams and groups, including Triple H-led Evolution, the stable was disbanded in 2014 once Rollins betrayed Ambrose and Reigns, attacking them and joining The Authority.
Roman successfully transitioned into a solo star following the incident. Fast forward a decade since the break up of the group, the Tribal Chief is arguably WWE’s biggest active star, winning every possible accolade of the company with the longest world championship run in modern history.
Roman Reigns’ Family History In WWE
A myriad of wrestling fans know Roman Reigns hails from the most renowned wrestling family in the United States, the Anoa’i family, whose family members have had a long association with WWE.
The Tribal Chief’s father was a popular tag team wrestler, performing for WWE in the 1980s. On the other hand, The Usos are his cousins once removed, alongside WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi.
On top of it, Roman’s family members also include Nia Jax, Jacob Fatu, Umaga, Yokozuna, etc. Apart from the Tribal Chief himself, The Rock is arguably the highest achiever in his family, creating a wrestling legacy and an accomplished movie career in Hollywood.
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Avik Das is an English Literature graduate with an experience of over six years as a professional writer. He has written for renowned publications such as The Sportster, Sportskeeda, Pinkvilla, and The Things
