Breaking kayfabe: 5 times WWE Superstars' real names were revealed on TV

#1 Roman Reigns (Joe Anoa’i) – WWE RAW

While the other WWE Superstars’ real names were revealed as part of storylines, Roman Reigns’ situation was very different.

On the October 22, 2018, episode of WWE RAW, Reigns announced that he had been diagnosed with leukemia for the second time in his life. The then-WWE Universal Champion began the segment by referring to himself by his real name, Joe Anoa’i.

"I feel like I owe everybody an apology. For months, maybe even a full year, I’ve come out here and spoke as Roman Reigns. I said a lot of things, you know.

"I said that I’d be here every single week, I said I’d be a fighting Champion, I said I was gonna be consistent, and I said I was gonna be a workhorse. But that’s all lies. It’s a lie because the reality is my real name is Joe and I’ve been living with leukemia for 11 years."

Reigns relinquished the WWE Universal Championship and explained that he did not know when he would be back in WWE.

Fortunately, the former Shield member made his return just four months later. His first match back came at WWE Fastlane on March 10, 2019, where The Shield defeated Baron Corbin, Bobby Lashley, and Drew McIntyre.

Four weeks later, he defeated McIntyre at WrestleMania 35 in his first one-on-one WWE match in over six months.