After playing collegiate football for Georgia Tech, Anoaʻi started his professional football career with brief off-season stints with the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) in 2007. He then played a full season for the Canadian Football League's (CFL) Edmonton Eskimos in 2008 before his release and retirement from football.
Anoaʻi then pursued a career in professional wrestling and was signed by WWE in 2010, reporting to their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). As Roman Reigns, he made his main roster debut in November 2012 alongside Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins as The Shield. The trio teamed together until June 2014, after which Reigns entered singles competition. Reigns is a three-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time United States Champion, a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion (with Rollins), the 2015 Royal Rumble winner and the 2014 Superstar of the Year. He also tied the WWE record for most eliminations in a Survivor Series elimination match with four in the 2013 event and set the record for most eliminations in a Royal Rumble match with 12 in the 2014 event.
Since 2014, WWE has attempted to establish Reigns as their next "face of the company".[5] Reigns has headlined multiple major WWE pay-per-view events, including the last three WrestleManias scoring wins over Triple H and The Undertaker. However, Reigns' ascendancy as a world title-chasing/holding heroic underdog has been marked by critics' disapproval and overwhelmingly negative crowd reactions. He was consequently named 2016's "Most Hated Wrestler of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, becoming the first babyface wrestler to have been recognized as such,as well as the "Most Overrated" by Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Anoaʻi then pursued a career in professional wrestling and was signed by WWE in 2010, reporting to their developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). As Roman Reigns, he made his main roster debut in November 2012 alongside Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins as The Shield. The trio teamed together until June 2014, after which Reigns entered singles competition. Reigns is a three-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, a one-time United States Champion, a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion (with Rollins), the 2015 Royal Rumble winner and the 2014 Superstar of the Year. He also tied the WWE record for most eliminations in a Survivor Series elimination match with four in the 2013 event and set the record for most eliminations in a Royal Rumble match with 12 in the 2014 event.
Since 2014, WWE has attempted to establish Reigns as their next "face of the company".[5] Reigns has headlined multiple major WWE pay-per-view events, including the last three WrestleManias scoring wins over Triple H and The Undertaker. However, Reigns' ascendancy as a world title-chasing/holding heroic underdog has been marked by critics' disapproval and overwhelmingly negative crowd reactions. He was consequently named 2016's "Most Hated Wrestler of the Year" by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, becoming the first babyface wrestler to have been recognized as such,as well as the "Most Overrated" by Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
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