How Well Do You Know WWE's Most Controversial Superstar, Roman Reigns?
- by Lucas Wesley
- – on
- in Sports
Since debuting alongside friends/sometimes enemies Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose in late 2012, Roman Reigns has experienced a meteoric rise to the top of the WWE Universe. In less than five years, Reigns went from being the third most important member of a three person group to becoming the biggest name in professional wrestling—albeit entirely for the wrong reasons. Vince McMahon and his writers repeatedly attempted to make Reigns the most heroic and beloved star in the company, a practice that horrifically backfired, as The Big Dog is instead perhaps the most hated man in sports entertainment today.
That isn’t to say Roman is entirely without his merits, however. Even the people who hate Reigns more than anyone else can agree that in a big match situation, the man has always been able to deliver a spectacular show. His microphone game could use a little work, but Reigns is a total powerhouse in the ring, a skill set he used en route to win several WWE Championships and appear in multiple WrestleMania main events while still basically a rookie. Of course, the fact McMahon sees him as a superstar is arguably the biggest factor in this success, with WWE blatantly ignoring the crowd in regards to their alleged top babyface.
Love him or hate him, not a single soul in the WWE Universe can stop talking about him. Find out how much you’ve learned with our quiz on WWE’s most controversial superstar, Roman Reigns.
Who did Roman Reigns cause to retire at WrestleMania 33?
The career of Roman Reigns is still incredible young, and there are almost certainly further WWE Championship bouts in his future. The Big Dog could also headline WrestleMania another half dozen times or more before calling it quits. However, chances are the biggest match of his life has already taken place, and it was the main event of the most recent Showcase of Immortals as of this quiz posting. Reigns coming out on top was historic enough, though the real shock for fans was his opponent seeming to retire as a result of his loss.
In what group did Roman Reigns make his WWE debut?
At this point, Roman Reigns is taking names and kicking butts all by himself. That said, this Big Dog isn’t necessarily a lone wolf, having entered the WWE Universe with not one, but two, of his closest companions by his side. Together, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, and Dean Ambrose were the most dominant unit WWE has seen arguably this entire decade, and the fact all three men went on to WWE Championship reigns less than two years after going their separate ways truly says it all.
To which wrestling dynasty does Roman Reigns belong?
Part of the reason Vince McMahon was so quick in shining to Roman Reigns is the fact the Big Dog comes from a long line of highly successful WWE superstars. Some fans may not realize that Reigns is simply the most recent huge star to come from the same family, featuring more former WWE champions than we have the time to name. Believe it or not, doing so wouldn’t even give away the answer, as no one in the family ever used their real name inside the ring.
What was Roman’s first championship in WWE?
For as impressively quick as Roman Reigns’s rise to the top of the WWE Universe happened, the man wasn’t the Big Dog his entire life. The WWE Championship may be the biggest prize in the company and thus the belt Reigns and other superstars have the strongest desire to win, yet there are plenty of other titles to hold a wrestler over until their moment in the sun arrives. Reigns fully understands this, having won a handful of these championships both before and after he won the big one. Which came first?
Who was Roman’s partner as WWE Tag Team Champion?
Being the first title Roman Reigns won in WWE, his co-Tag Team Champion in that endeavor obviously played a pretty huge role in his climb up the wrestling ladder. Take into consideration they defeated two established stars in Kane and Daniel Bryan, aka Team Hell No, to win the gold, and the victory was truly a star making ordeal. Though Reigns picked up the pin fall over Bryan to end the bout, it was his partner flying off the top rope with a knee to the face that sealed the victory.
Who is Roman Reigns’s wife?
An accomplished athlete and TV star in the prime of his life, it could probably go without saying that Roman Reigns gets plenty of attention from the female portion of the WWE Universe. Unfortunately for the ladies in the audience pining for the Big Dog’s attention, his heart already belongs to a woman he married at Disney’s Castaway Cay back in December of 2014. Unlike several other high profile WWE superstars, Reigns found his wife outside of the industry, having met when they were in college. They also have one daughter together, who was born in 2008.
How many times has Roman Reigns been WWE Champion (as of August 2017)?
It’s all well and good for Vince McMahon to love a wrestler and shove him or her down the fans throats despite all objections, but this alone doesn’t make a WWE superstar part of history. That distinction is generally only made upon their first WWE Championship, a title that Reigns has already held on multiple occasions a mere five years into his mainstream career. There’s a good chance Roman will find a few more WWE Championships as things progress, so we’ll clarify this question is being written just prior to SummerSlam 2017.
What was Roman Reigns’s original ring name?
Truth be told, Roman Reigns is one of the more generic names created by WWE in recent years, sounding more like a Nicki Minaj song than something to strike fear into the hearts of gigantic pro wrestlers. That said, it’s at least a lot better than the moniker Reigns was given while working down in Florida Championship Wrestling. It’s hard to understand what the writers and/or Roman were going for in creating it, as it looks like a bastardization of his real first name at best and a weird joke at worst. No wonder they changed it before he hit the big leagues.
Who did Roman Reigns defeat for his first WWE Championship?
Every wrestler remembers their first time on top of the WWE mountain, and true fans of the performer will likely due the same. Should things continue the way they’re going now, Roman Reigns may well break records in terms of how many times he holds the WWE Championship, yet the initial victory will always remain his most historic. Reigns accomplished this feat by winning a tournament after the last champion was injured, meaning he had to literally fight his way to the top, winning the gold through sheer force of will.
Who cashed in the Money in the Bank on Roman minutes after he won his first WWE Championship?
Professional wrestling has never been the same hasn’t quite been the same since WWE announced such a thing as the Money in the Bank briefcase. So long as some other wrestler is holding the anytime number one contender contract, the WWE Champion can never truly rest, unsure of when his opponent will cash in. For Roman Reigns, that time came all of five minutes after he won his first WWE Championship, and thanks to distracting interference from Triple H, that was all she wrote for the Big Dog’s time on top.
How many eliminations was Roman Reigns responsible for during the 2014 Royal Rumble?
Forget about how many WWE Championships the guy might set in his career—Roman Reigns is already forever in the history books thanks to his performances in various Royal Rumbles. The 30-entrant over-the-top battle royale is to many fans the biggest and best WWE competition of the year, and Roman has already won at least one of these bouts. He also holds the record for the most eliminations in a single Rumble, a feat he accomplished the first time he competed in such a match.
What year was Roman Reigns born?
One aspect that likely gets overlooked in the success of Roman Reigns is how remarkably young he still is despite it all. Especially in recent years, it has almost felt like a WWE superstar needs to be at least 35 to earn a slot in the main event. That perception has been changing awfully fast, though, and men like Roman Reigns and his former allies in The Shield have a whole lot to do with it. Roman’s youth likely has a lot to do with why Vince McMahon likes him so much, knowing there is plenty of time to make him a legend.
Who did Roman Reigns last eliminate to win the 2015 Royal Rumble?
Setting the record for most eliminations in one Royal Rumble wasn’t enough for Roman Reigns. Well, maybe it was Vince McMahon who thought the Big Dog deserved more. Either way, Roman may not have broken his own record the second time around, though he did himself one better by winning the match. This meant he went on to the main event of WrestleMania 31 and challenged for the WWE Championship against Brock Lesnar. Reigns almost won, too, until Seth Rollins cashed in the Money in the Bank contract and shocked the world.
How many times has Roman Reigns been in the main event at WrestleMania (as of 2017)?
In the modern era of WWE, where every wrestler gets a cup of coffee with at least one major championship, it could be argued Vince Russo’s dream of belts not mattering has finally come true. One thing that will always matter to Vince McMahon, however, is who he places in the main event of his flagship event, WrestleMania. Reigns first had the honor when he challenged Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship, and while he didn’t win, the Big Dog nonetheless came out on top in his own way: he’s been featured in every subsequent WrestleMania main event since.
Who did Roman Reigns defeat for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 32?
Having lost the WWE Championship in the 2016 Royal Rumble, it almost looked like Roman Reigns was going to end his WrestleMania main event streak at a mere one. Oh, who are we kidding—WWE was so transparent about the build to WrestleMania 32 that most fans knew exactly what was happening from the second it was announced his gold would be on the line at the Rumble. As the majority of WWE fans predicted, the man to defeat Roman in the Rumble held the gold until a one on one match between them at Mania, where the Big Dog came out on top.
Who was Roman Reigns former WWE Tag Team Championship winning brother?
Marring the many successes Roman Reigns has experienced in recent years, the man also suffered a great tragedy early in 2017 when his elder brother suddenly passed away of a heart attack at the age of 47. Reigns loss was shared by the entire WWE Universe, both in empathetic fashion and because his brother was himself a former superstar for the company. During his time in WWE, Roman’s brother mostly competed in the tag division, starting his career in a team called 3-Minute Warning and later winning gold with The Hurricane.
Which wrestler did Roman Reigns defeat for the United States Championship?
Roman Reigns won the WWE Championship three times before he ever won the United States Championship, so for him to even compete for the belt almost felt like slumming. Of course, in modern day WWE, belts tend to be as important as the person holding them instead of the other way around, so perhaps Vince McMahon was trying to give the division a boost by inserting the Big Dog into the mix. On the other hand, he kind of ruined a good thing by having Reigns dethrone one of the most ironically appropriate US Champs in recent history.
In which state was Roman Reigns born?
Truth be told, Roman Reigns home state has played an incredibly small role in his character and career. Though the WWE Universe has rolled through Reigns’s old stomping grounds on many occasions, there never seems to be much of a difference in how a local audience responds to him in comparison to the rest of the world. It could be that WWE is placing less of an importance on homelands nowadays, rarely even announcing it when superstars make their way to the ring. For this reason, however, one could be considered a true Roman Reigns fan if they know where he’s from.
What is Roman Reigns’s finishing move?
Not even Vince McMahon’s preordained superstar of tomorrow can climb the WWE ladder without having a few great moves under his belt. Criticisms about his character aside, Reigns is an incredible athlete inside the squared circle, able to go toe-to-toe with the biggest giants of his industry and produce spectacular matches on an almost weekly basis. The one downside of course is that to many of them end the same way: with Reigns hitting his trademark maneuver and getting the easy win.
Who did Roman Reigns form a tag team with while in Florida Championship Wrestling?
Almost every wrestler out there has an unexpected early tag team partner even their biggest fans would be shocked to know about. Roman Reigns fulfilled this chapter of his career while training in Florida Championship Wrestling, teaming with a man then called Mike Dalton to win the FCW Tag Team Championships for all of 28 days. Since then, Reigns has pretty much only teamed with fellow main event stars, making it all the more surprising to learn his old ally turned into a low level comedy character after changing his name and getting called up to WWE.
True or False: Roman Reigns has violated the WWE Wellness Policy.
Given everything Vince McMahon has already done for Roman Reigns, one would expect The Guy to in the very least follow his boss’s rules. However, that same logic hasn’t prevented countless other superstars from violating the WWE Wellness Policy and earning a 30 to 60-day suspension, so why would Roman be any different? In most cases, the specifics aren’t revealed, but superstars violate this policy mostly through using illegal drugs, typically those of the recreational or performance enhancing variety. Has Roman Reigns ever been such an offender?
Which of the following nicknames has Roman Reigns never used?
Generally speaking, it can feel repetitive and bland to say the same person’s name over and over and over again. In a quiz like this, we don’t have much of a choice in repeating Roman Reigns’s name ad nauseam, and for the most part, WWE finds its in the same predicament with every big name star on its roster. To circumvent this issue, Vince McMahon and his writers come up with dozens of buzzwords and nicknames to use in reference to his superstars. Being a huge star, Roman Reigns has several. Which of these did we make up?
What current WWE tag team features Roman Reigns’s cousins?
While the majority of Roman Reigns’s wrestling relatives have retired or passed on, there are actually a handful of performers still in WWE today who share his blood line. In fact, that’s exactly what the three of them called one another whenever forming a six-man tag team. Most of the time, however, the real life siblings are using the Samoan word for “brother” as their team name. To their credit, Roman’s cousins have done the family proud the same as he has, winning three WWE Tag Team Championships thus far.
What superhero does Roman Reigns reference in his theatrical punch?
While Roman Reigns likes to end most of his matches with a bombastic, cutting Spear through his opponent’s mid-section, the explosive tackle is hardly his only trademark move. Competitors also fear his Drive By, Niagara Bomb, and especially a certain hard hitting punch to the face often aided by the propulsion of bouncing off the ring ropes. One could say Roman’s punch is even superheroic, or at least that’s what the maneuver’s name would imply. Of course, Vince McMahon picked one of the blandest yet recognizable options available to name it after.
Who defeated Roman Reigns for the United States Championship?
It’s already been stated that in modern day WWE, the performer holding a given championship has more to do with the belt’s prestige than anything else. This was certainly the case when Roman Reigns won the United States title, as the so-called secondary belt became a main event focus for the span of several months. Ultimately, it was a 2-on-1 handicap match where Roman was forced to face two equally huge stars, both former World Champions themselves, where the Big Dog was unable to hold on to his gold any longer.
At what WWE Pay-Per-View did Roman Reigns and The Shield make their debut?
From the very beginning, The Shield referred to themselves as the Hounds of Justice, men prepared to take up arms against any moral wrongdoing they saw committed in the WWE Universe. Starting at the top, they interfered in a WWE Championship match to ensure the man who entered with the gold would also leave with it. To accomplish this feat, they triple power bombed one of his two opponents through the announce table, a move that soon became one of their trademarks. When did it all go down?
Which type of vehicle did Braun Strowman once tip over with Roman Reigns trapped inside?
Since defeating The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33, Roman Reigns has been a marked man in the WWE Universe. It isn’t that other wrestlers particularly miss the Dead Man, they just want to beat the man who beat the Phenom. No one has done more to attain this goal than Braun Strowman, who Reigns has continuously feuded throughout almost all of 2017. The two have wrestled countless matches and experienced hundreds of brawls through the backstage area, the most memorable of which ended with Reigns thrown into a vehicle Strowman then lifted and toppled onto its side.
What is Roman Reigns’s nickname on Xavier Woods’s YouTube series?
Like any other people in the world, pro wrestlers have plenty of ways to relax during their downtime. One common activity a surprising number of WWE superstars these days seem to enjoy is playing video games, especially those with a multiplayer option, so their friends and fellow wrestlers can get in on the fun. Xavier Woods even has his own YouTube show called UpUpDownDown where he and other WWE athletes play their favorites together. Roman Reigns has appeared more than once to play Call of Duty, and like most of Xavier’s guests, he likes to don a goofy/brilliant nickname when doing so.
Which team defeated Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins for the WWE Tag Team Championships?
Being the first taste of gold either Roman Reigns or Seth Rollins would hold in the WWE Universe, the two future World Champions viciously defended their Tag Team titles with all they had. This fervor paid off for nearly half a year, from Extreme Rules 2013 to an episode of Raw in the middle of October. At the time, The Shield were working for Triple H, and had been failing at their task of keeping two of his enemies out of the company. The last straw was losing their gold to those very rivals.
What classic cartoon family did Roman Reigns meet in a WWE Studios film?
Considering WWE has their very own film studio which consistently produces two or three seldom viewed movies per year, it’s almost surprising Vince McMahon hasn’t decided Roman Reigns needs to be on the big screen yet. Of course, anything more than the small cameo he had in Countdown would mean time away from the ring, which is probably why McMahon hasn’t made that dream come true. However, Reigns at least had the time to provide his voice and likeness for a legendary cartoon family’s adventures in pro wrestling.
Which infamous WWE manager claimed to hire The Shield upon their debut?
When The Shield debuted at Survivor Series 2012, it appeared their sole goal was keeping the WWE Championship around the waist of CM Punk. Though the group’s goals expanded in due time, Punk and his manager would soon admit that was indeed the case. Of course, given who Punk’s manager happened to be, most fans assumed they were the one truly behind the decision. It would definitely fit in line with this person’s usual behavior, which includes not officially revealing the partnership until after two months filled with mysteries.
Which of the following wrestlers was NOT involved with Roman Reigns’s WrestleMania debut?
In recent years, Roman Reigns has only been appearing in WrestleMania at the very end of the show, in the main event. However, his first two dances at the Showcase of Immortals went a little differently, as Roman was closer to the opening match. He wasn’t alone in doing so, either, joined by Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins in The Shield for two six-man tag team matches both times around. Quite frankly, it almost looks like The Shield’s opponents were pieced together at random in retrospect. Who wasn’t involved the first time around?
Which college did Roman Reigns attend?
Before he trained to become a pro wrestler, Roman Reigns was simply Leati “Joe” Anoa’i. During this time, he met his wife Galina Becker, and went to college, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in management. Reigns also played on his school’s football team at the time, later getting called one of the most accomplished athletes ever to make his way through the system. This is despite the fact one of Roman’s teammates was Calvin Johnson, who later became a huge star in the NFL playing for the Detroit Lions.
In what WWE Hall of Fame tag team was Roman Reigns’s father a member?
Long before Roman Reigns, his brother, cousins, or any other members of the extended Anoa’i family were able to find success in professional wrestling, his father Sika and uncle Afa blazed the trail for all who would follow them. Presented as uncivilized wild men, Afa and Sika’s gimmick looks racially insensitive in retrospect, yet it nonetheless made them huge stars in their day, especially in the WWE Universe. Together, Afa and Sika won the WWE Tag Team Championships three times, resulting in over a combined full year with the belts. Inductions to the WWE Hall of Fame naturally came next.
Which CFL team did Roman Reigns play for prior to becoming a wrestler?
Having been a pretty great football player while studying at Georgia Tech, it makes sense that Roman Reigns’s first post-collegiate attempt at a career wouldn’t be in the ring, but with the pigskin. Things may have turned out a whole lot differently for WWE if Reigns found success in football, yet that didn’t quite happen. Instead, Reigns was shuffled around a few NFL teams without ever getting game time before getting shuffled up to Canada, where he competed for one season before getting cut and calling it quits with that dream.