Before Roman Reigns dominated the WWE, Joe Anoa’i wrecked at Georgia Tech

Editor’s be aware: Roman Reigns gained the WWE Common Championship on Aug. 30, 2020. For greater than 1,300 days, he has held the title and has been the face of WWE. The next story on his school soccer days as Joe Anoa’i used to be beforehand written April 7, 2021. The story has been barely up to date for readability and brevity.

Roman Reigns want to apologize. That’s not like him. Not now.

Not as WWE’s Common Champion, the “Tribal Chief” who calls for respect from all folks always.

However Reigns can also be Joe Anoa’i, former Georgia Tech defensive lineman. And Anoa’i remembers a sure play towards Auburn in September 2005. It was the season opener. The Yellow Jackets have been unranked and traveled to face the No. 16 Tigers. Within the fourth quarter, Anoa’i pressured Auburn quarterback Brandon Cox and hit his arm on a move, which Georgia Tech intercepted.

As Cox rotated throughout the return, Anoa’i clocked him excessive.

“I insert my forearms into his jaw. It was … yeah,” Anoa’i mentioned, audibly wincing as he recalled the play. “I’m sorry. Whoever that quarterback was, I apologize. Completely pointless. I may have utterly did it in a greater manner, however I used to be a younger man. If I had the mindset I’ve now …”

Anoa’i paused and thought once more.

“I’d in all probability do the identical.”

Georgia Tech intercepted Cox 4 instances within the second half and gained 23-14. The victory ended Auburn’s 15-game profitable streak. The Tigers went undefeated the season earlier than.

Lately, Anoa’i’s blindside hit would lead to a penalty in school soccer. But in addition nowadays, Anoa’i is known internationally. He’s a multitime WWE world champion, and he’s about to be in the principle occasion of WrestleMania for the fourth consecutive time and eighth time total. This 12 months, WrestleMania XL is a two-night affair Saturday and Sunday at Lincoln Monetary Area in Philadelphia. Reigns will headline each nights.

Reigns has talked about his days with the Yellow Jackets earlier than, however The Athletic additionally spoke with former teammates and coaches to get a wider view of his days with the Rambling Wreck.

“They’re telling my secrets and techniques, huh?” Anoa’i mentioned with a chuckle.

They keep in mind a participant who was soft-spoken off the sector however, like his WWE character, was ferocious on it and revered in all places.

“On the follow area, the man was full go on a regular basis,” former Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta mentioned. “When it was time to loosen up, he was a cowbell in his personal manner. He was a humorous man. However when the ball was snapped and also you’re in a unique shade jersey, he was a really intense man.”

Reggie Ball arrived at Georgia Tech in the identical recruiting class as Anoa’i. An enormous wrestling fan, the quarterback didn’t learn about his new teammate’s wrestling lineage till they have been speaking at some point at the back of a gathering room and it got here up.

When Ball discovered that the tag group The Wild Samoans included Anoa’i’s father and uncle, Sika and Afa, and that one other wrestler, Rikishi, was a cousin, it blew his thoughts. So did the actual fact Anoa’i is also a cousin of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

“Once we came upon, the very first thing I did was name my brothers and my dad and allow them to know,” Ball mentioned. “Rikishi was the massive one; all people beloved him. We sort of went loopy after we discovered that out.”

Tashard Alternative, a operating again at Georgia Tech, was an enormous fan, too. Alternative wished to know concerning the rigors of the job, how exhausting the wrestlers needed to work and the way it in comparison with sports activities. He additionally requested a selected query.

“As just a little child, I used to be frightened of The Undertaker,” mentioned Alternative, now the operating backs coach on the College of Texas. “(Anoa’i) instructed me he met him. I requested, ‘Have been you scared?’”

Not even Jim Ross may work his magic. pic.twitter.com/dxC7e9QAcX

— Jenny Omega (@G0AwayHeat) March 24, 2024

Skilled wrestling wasn’t Anoa’i’s purpose from day one. When he arrived at Georgia Tech from Pensacola, Fla., he wished to play skilled soccer. Security Nathan Burton, now a co-defensive coordinator at Troy, remembers Anoa’i interested by soccer and enterprise. He was drawn to Georgia Tech due to its tutorial popularity, the placement in Atlanta and the networking prospects.

“I knew I wished to be some sort of star,” Anoa’i mentioned. “Whether or not it was a sports activities star or WWE Famous person, I knew I wished to be an individual of affect, somebody who was celebrated and folks wished to be him. That’s what I wished as a child, like, a superhero sort.”

Anoa’i performed linebacker in highschool however moved to the line of defense at Georgia Tech. He was an edge-rush specialist, somebody with pace to get round offensive tackles but in addition may muscle his manner inside. Coaches knew about his household’s athletic background, so that they wished his hand within the floor. When he bought to campus, Georgia Tech used him in third-down pass-rush conditions.

In Anoa’i’s sophomore 12 months, Tenuta used extra three-man fronts. If Anoa’i wished to remain on the sector, he needed to bulk up and have the ability to transfer inside at instances.

“Our power coach was like, ‘Look, man, we simply want you to realize weight. I would like you to eat pizza, and I would like you to drink protein shakes at night time,’” Anoa’i mentioned. “It was giving me the inexperienced gentle to get fats and have an superior time being a school scholar.

“If I may return, I’d do it loads in another way. I’d get my Aaron Donald look on. I’m smarter about diet now.”

Anoa’i began for 3 years at Georgia Tech. He earned first-team All-ACC honors as a senior in 2006. He flattened Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn within the 2006 opener, touchdown on him like a cross-body slam in professional wrestling. It’s a play Tenuta remembers fondly.

“He comes round, Brady Quinn sprints out and he simply blows the man up. That’s a spotlight play,” Tenuta mentioned. “Once we’d line up towards sure groups, the primary collection, I’d inform Joe to line up at proper finish as a result of the (offensive sort out) is a rookie, so I would like you to knock the crap out him, and he’d do it. He’d play left, proper, outdoors … he was a really versatile participant. He didn’t flinch.”

“That’s when all people took Joe extra severely,” Ball mentioned of Anoa’i’s Notre Dame efficiency. Although Notre Dame, ranked No. 2 within the nation, gained the sport 14-10, Anoa’i completed with six tackles and a sack.

Off the sector, Anoa’i used to be laid again. He stayed out of bother. He performed plenty of Halo on Xbox.

This was the early 2000s, earlier than Wi-Fi was in all places, however the Georgia Tech dorms had ethernet landlines within the Olympic village the place athletes stayed. Soccer gamers had scores of video games going directly. Ball would usually jump over to Anoa’i’s room as a result of he had an additional controller.

“I don’t even assume common college students knew about it,” Anoa’i mentioned. “We’d be operating two, three, 4 events of Halo video games. I used to dominate these guys. Earlier than Name of Responsibility got here out, Halo was the factor.”

Anoa’i additionally took teammates to WWE reveals that got here via Atlanta — a dream come true for among the gamers who grew up watching wrestling.

Gamers have been drawn to Anoa’i, and he turned a group captain as a senior. He saved his composure. He saved gamers in line. He wasn’t loud, however he wasn’t quiet.

“You needed to exemplify some sort of toughness,” Alternative mentioned. “You needed to undergo some sort of battle for him to earn his respect. You’ve gotta earn your proper to be round his circles. That’s how he carried himself.”

“When Joe mentioned one thing, all people listened,” Burton added.

One second nonetheless eats at him years later. In Anoa’i’s senior 12 months, Georgia Tech reached the ACC championship sport however misplaced 9-6 to Wake Forest in one of many ugliest video games in current school soccer historical past. Georgia Tech led 6-3 within the fourth quarter, however the protection allowed two area objectives within the closing 9 minutes and misplaced.

Ball remembers Anoa’i telling the group he allow them to down.

“I keep in mind being actually pissed off after that sport,” Anoa’i mentioned. “My entire profession, our protection was ranked fairly excessive. Coach Tenuta was the person, certainly one of my favourite coaches. He simply spoke my language. However that was a tricky sport. We’ve bought Calvin Johnson (on offense); I’d slightly us simply throw it deep to CJ each collection than to not transfer the ball. He was the very best participant on the sector, irrespective of who was on the sector. It was essentially the most boring sport of all time for a fan.”

It was a irritating end, however Anoa’i targeted on his subsequent purpose, the NFL. Anoa’i signed with the Minnesota Vikings after going undrafted in 2007.

However as he earned the chance, all the things modified. Throughout his group bodily, he was recognized with leukemia. The Vikings later launched him.

He had continual myeloid leukemia, a slow-progressing illness. Fortunately, medical doctors caught it early, and his most cancers ultimately went into remission. Anoa’i signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars later in 2007 however was launched earlier than the season. In 2008, he performed one season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL earlier than being launched.

It’s exhausting to know the way good Anoa’i may have been on the sector if he hadn’t been battling the illness, earlier than and after it was detected. But when it hadn’t been for soccer, most cancers may not have been detected so early.

Ball remembered watching follow movie at Georgia Tech and noticing when Anoa’i took it simple on the offensive linemen as a result of he was overpowering them an excessive amount of.

“Joe may have had a 10-year profession,” Ball mentioned. “He was that good.”

With soccer out of the image, Anoa’i turned to the household enterprise of professional wrestling, signing a developmental contract with WWE in 2010. He’d recognized wrestling his entire life. It was in his blood. However that didn’t make it any simpler.

“The transition, regardless, is so overwhelming and surprising,” Anoa’i instructed The Athletic in 2018. “You go from being on a soccer area decked out in pads, coated up. Subsequent factor you recognize, you’re placing on underwear, going out in entrance of not many individuals, in order that’s embarrassing. It’s an enormous transition getting snug to the scenario, getting snug with the folks round you, with your self, your personal physique and shallowness.”

However he had all of it. The smoldering look. The physique. The bodily capability via soccer. (He was 6 foot 3 and 303 kilos, per Draft Scout, as a draft-eligible participant.) In lower than two years, he’d made it to WWE’s foremost roster.

By 2015, he was main-eventing WrestleMania. Anoa’i stepped away in 2018 when his most cancers returned, but it surely went again into remission, and he entered the ring once more in 2019.

Alternative was enjoying with the Indianapolis Colts when he came upon Anoa’i had been wrestling. Anoa’i had instructed Trent Richardson to move alongside a hiya.

“It makes you proud due to who he’s,” Alternative mentioned. “I keep in mind it was a shock as a result of I didn’t know what he was doing. However you knew he’d do nicely.”

Coaches at all times need their gamers to succeed outdoors of the game they play. When Burton was an assistant at West Alabama from 2014 to 2016, Anoa’i ended by whereas passing via Livingston, Ala., to say hiya to Burton and head coach Brett Gilliland, a grad assistant at Georgia Tech throughout Anoa’i’s senior season. Burton likes to inform his youngsters he used to play with Roman Reigns.

“When Joe comes on (TV), we’ll watch it,” Burton mentioned. “I make some extent for them to see him do his job.”

Anoa’i has saved Georgia Tech soccer in his coronary heart. He watches video games as a lot as he can. In 2018, Anoa’i returned to campus to mannequin the Yellow Jackets’ new uniforms. It wasn’t a payday, so the request was prone to be brushed apart by WWE, however Anoa’i wished to do it to assist promote his alma mater.

Former head coach Geoff Collins joined the Georgia Tech employees as a recruiting coordinator throughout Anoa’i’s senior 12 months in 2006. When Collins returned as head coach in 2019, he leaned into Anoa’i’s fame. Everybody on the Georgia Tech employees wore certainly one of Anoa’i’s WWE shirts that reads “Wreck Everybody & Depart.”

𝐖𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐊 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄 & 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐄@WWERomanReigns defends his #UniversalTitle tonight on #SmackDown 💪#4the404 /// @WWE pic.twitter.com/JXNV5BuUKi

— Georgia Tech Soccer (@GeorgiaTechFB) October 16, 2020

“I used to be blessed to get to be round him in 2006. … I’ve been capable of proceed and construct upon these relationships,” Collins mentioned. “He makes us proud by who he’s, what he does and all of these issues. So excited to see him proceed to be a dominant pressure on a worldwide stage.”

Anoa’i has made a profession out of doing what he did to Brandon Cox 19 years in the past. His wrestling profession has reached a brand new apex together with his edge.

Wreck everybody and depart.

(Prime images: Mike Zarrilli / Getty Photographs and Louis Grasse / PXimages / Icon Sportswire through Getty Photographs)