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The backstory
Most people first saw Roman Reigns during his main roster debut at Survivor Series 2012, along with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose as part of The Shield. The group went on to tear through the main roster, and at one point all three members held the WWE Championship on the same night. All three are WWE Grand Slam Champions, and two of them have carried the Universal Championship.
While you probably already know all know this, not many remember Reigns' initial run in WWE, where he performed in Florida Championship Wrestling, the developmental brand now known as NXT.
Before joining his family as a wrestler, Reigns was an American Football player for both the NFL and CFL.
In his entire career, he hasn't wrestled for any other wrestling promotion except WWE.
2010 was the year the world of professional wrestling first caught glimpse of the man who is currently the face of WWE.
Roman Reigns makes his debut in NXT
After his dream of making it as an NFL player came to an end, Reigns decided to follow in his family's footsteps and become a WWE Superstar. After all, wrestling is in his blood. This is where he belongs. In 2010, Roman signed with WWE under the ring name Roman Leakee, and was later assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling.
After FCW was rebranded to NXT, he made his debut for the black and yellow brand under the ring name 'Roman Reigns' as a heel. He defeated CJ Parker (now known as Juice Robinson) in his first match. Reigns' move-set was a bit different from the one he currently uses. For example, he hadn't yet adopted The Spear as a finisher. He also wrestled in trunks.
In NXT, his heel character was described as a businessman who dressed to impress. He viewed himself as the most valuable commodity in WWE. If only he knew that several years later he would actually become the franchise player.
Here's a clip of Reigns facing Parker in his first match:
The aftermath
Reigns joined forces with Ambrose and Rollins and created The Shield. He then won the 2015 Royal Rumble match, main evented four consecutive WrestleManias, won the Universal Championship, and is currently one of the faces of WWE. Proof? He's the co-cover star, along with 'The Man' Becky Lynch, of the WWE 2K20 video game, and he's set to appear at SummerSlam.
Apparently, he's also Batman?
Whoever he is, he's not going anywhere any time soon. Even Leukemia can't beat this guy.
Do you remember Roman's early days in development? Let's talk about it in the comments below!
