They say that with the greatest wrestling characters the apple doesnt fall far from the tree, they are merely an extension of the personalities of those playing them. The real-life story of Joe Anoai is an interesting one, far more compelling than that of the emotionless Roman Reigns character he portrays. Growing up as a child of the business meant a nomadic life for the youngster, who would be forced to change cities, schools and friendship circles almost every year due to his father moving territories. Thats a hard life for a child. Growing up a fan of Bret Hart, Anoai learned to wrestle in a crudely-made 16x16 ring in his backyard, trained by various wrestling family members who would stop by. Before he broke into the professional ranks, Anoai tried his hand at football, and he was pretty damn good at it too, signed by the Minnesota Vikings and coming inches away from making the team. He decided to refocus on the family business and full immersed himself in pro wrestling. By all accounts he was a model student, dedicated to learning the craft and determined to be as good as he possibly could be in order to live up to his familys impressive legacy. More importantly, he wanted to do something that would help him give his daughter the best life possible. Above all, he is a family man, dedicated to his daughter. Its hard to hate a man with that sort of motivation as the determining factor behind everything he does. Reigns is not in wrestling to seek out personal glory, he simply wants financial stability.
The author of the highly acclaimed 'Titan' book series, James Dixon has been involved in the wrestling business for 25 years as a fan, wrestler, promoter, agent, and writer. James spent several years wrestling on the British independent circuit, but now prefers to write about the bumps and bruises rather than take any of them. His past in-ring experience does however give a uniquely more "insider" perspective on things, though he readily admits to still being a "mark" at heart.
James is the Chief Editor and writer at historyofwrestling.co.uk and is responsible for the best-selling titles Titan Sinking, Titan Shattered, and Titan Screwed, as well as the Complete WWF Video Guide series, and the Raw Files series.
