Roman Reigns (real name: Leati Joseph Anoa’i) is a former football player and a professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs under the SmackDown brand. Roman Reigns is the current and longest-reigning WWE Universal Champion in his second reign, along with being the WWE Champion in his fourth reign.
Reigns, widely known for being the leader of The Bloodline, was initially positioned as a heroic character, with the company attempting to position him as the ‘face of the company’. It was met with some backlash, which is why when Roman Reigns returned in 2020, he returned with a villainous character portraying the Tribal Chief. This new persona was not only acknowledged but also met with acclaim. He is regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers active in the world currently, and his A&E documentary goes on to prove exactly that.
Roman Reigns says he wanted the most authentic documentary in the history of WWEonAE
Ahead of WrestleMania 40, which is scheduled for April 6 and 7 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, WWE, has released an episode of the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion; Roman Reigns. The episode is part of the Biography: WWE Legends series on A&E, and it is directed and executive produced by soon-to-be Hall of Famer Paul Heyman.
According to ComicBook, Reigns said,
“I wanted the most authentic documentary in the history of #WWEonAE. The Wiseman was the only one who could do this story the justice it deserves. There’s so much about me that I’ve never discussed in public before. This is the true story of Joe Anoa’i and Roman Reigns.”
Biography: WWE Legends shares insights on some of the distinctive stories that molded the favorite wrestlers into the most beloved WWE Legends. A clip shared by the fan from the episode goes on to showcase that Roman Reigns was not comfortable with the plans former CEO of WWE Vince McMahon had for him. He said,
“It’s not like I had a whole bunch of options that I could just say no, or I am not feeling this, or this doesn’t feel good to me, or I wouldn’t say this. It was hard to do that. But when you don’t have that backup, when you don’t have that f*ck you money, and you can’t just stand on your art, your family is depending on you, and your lively hood is depending on you. You just have to be a good soldier and do what you’re told.”
Paul Heyman, upon his appearance on Rick Rubin’s Tetragrammaton podcast (via Bleacher Report), acknowledged that Roman Reigns had enough of the creative run by McMahon during his baby face run before he took a hiatus. He shared that McMahon paired him with Reigns, allowing the wrestler to come to the dark side, and thus The Tribal Chief persona was born.
Paul Heyman calls being part of the Tribal Chief’s run his life’s greatest honors
Paul Heyman mentions in the Biography: WWE Legends episode that he feels he was blessed with the opportunity to collaborate with the top star in the industry on a biography that is going to document what it’s like for him to be living that life at this very moment.
Talking further about Roman Reigns, he noted that he is not just another top guy; he is the person who has disrupted the status quo. He added that Reigns is a man of such vision and pursuit of greatness that he has managed to lift the entire industry out of the pandemic and into unfathomable heights.
The documentary, as Reigns mentioned, is authentic and goes into detail about the journey of the professional wrestler. The episode features WWE legends, including Hulk Hogan, the Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, Triple H, and John Cena. These legends weigh in on Reigns’ greatness and acknowledge that he is indeed one of the greatest wrestlers currently. Heyman said (via Uproxx),
“Roman Reigns could never have gone from being the Big Dog to becoming the Tribal Chief if he didn’t live those moments, if he didn’t have those successes, and if he didn’t suffer from those failures.”
He lastly noted that being a part of Roman Reigns’ Tribal Chief Run is one of his life’s greatest honors, adding that it’s an uncompromising pursuit of relevancy and greatness at the same time.
Biography: WWE Legends can be streamed on A&E.
