WWE’S EX-ESKIMO RETURNS
Anoa’i now known as ‘Roman Reigns’
As Joe Anoa’i, he barely made a dent in the Canadian Football League in a handful of games with the Edmonton Eskimos more than a decade ago.
Let’s just say he is in no danger of going down as the most famous Edmonton pro athlete to wear No. 99.
But as Roman Reigns, his professional wrestling stage name, he’s given his former club nothing but pride to have a connection with one of the WWE’S biggest superstars.
And they’ve brought him back for the first time since the 2008 season — his first and only as a pro — to take in Friday’s game against the Ottawa Redblacks and hold a meet and greet with 100 ticketholders.
“It brings back some good memories,” the Georgia Tech product said after stepping back on the turf field at Commonwealth Stadium, which he remembered being grass. “I was just joking, I did most of my time on the sideline, but it was fun. I learned a lot up here, it was a crazy transition in my life, obviously, with my story that’s kind of known now. I was going through some stuff.”
In October, 2018, Anoa’i announced he had been privately battling leukemia for 11 years, only to have it return after being in remission. He went on hiatus from Raw and relinquished the Universal Championship he held, before making a triumphant return to the ring in February.
The initial diagnosis was made one year before Anoa’i came to Edmonton.
“It was so difficult at the time,” he said. “It was so ahead of its time and it just put a giant asterisk next to my name. If I was a team owner, would I want to take a chance on an unproven player?
“So for Edmonton to give me the opportunity, it was such a blessing. Even as a short one, it’s still a part of my journey.”
Back then, his 6-foot-3 frame held that of a 325-pound defensive tackle, as opposed to the sculpted 265 pounds he weighs in at now while working in the field of sports entertainment.
Anoa’i finished his CFL career with nine tackles and a forced fumble in five games (three starts), before being released.
But to Anoa’i, it’s less about the numbers and more about the relationships he had with former teammates, pointing to fellow former defensive linemen Dario Romero and Adam Braidwood, as well as fullback Calvin Mccarty, who is the lone player still on the Eskimos roster.
“We were all in the Edmonton House, we stayed in a condominium that turns into a hotel for us, and it was like a bit of a frat house almost,” Anoa’i recalled. “A lot of camaraderie, we just always hung out. (Mccarty) was one of the guys I definitely hung out with and I related to him because he had his wife and his young child and my wife and I had a young daughter as well, so we just had that bond.
“We played video games together and I know he’s done well. That is awesome (that he is still playing).”
The first time Mccarty saw Anoa’i on television, he wondered why it took so long to pursue his wrestling dream.
“That was just my journey. You just never know,” Anoa’i said. “I legitimately thought I was going to be a football player. Even to this day, I’m still stubborn and
I’ll say, ‘I was pretty good, y’all.’”
Fun fact: Anoa’i is a playable character in the last six WWE 2K video games, and will be on the cover of the upcoming 2020 edition, but his first digital appearance was as a football player in NCAA Football 2005.
Unfortunately, there was no CFL version the year he played.
“I had a couple games where I did some stuff. When they activated me and I played, I thought I took advantage, but it’s just tough, there’s a lot of football players out there and a lot of talent,” said Anoa’i, whose best performance came in a 38-33 win over the Hamilton Tiger-cats where he made five tackles and forced quarterback Casey Printers to fumble.
“But the funny thing was, as I saw that (fumble) happen and saw one of my guys get it, I started celebrating and you see another guy get taken off his feet and almost take my ankle out. It would have just crushed my leg, so I got really lucky.”
Anoa’i recently made another big career move, this time to the silver screen in the summer blockbuster Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, starring his cousin and former WWE superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
“This is a whole different monster,” he said.
“It’s storybook stuff and one day I’m going to have to write this book. If you would have told me when I was sitting on that sideline acting like I was doing something, that this was all going to happen, and I’d be back in this situation? I’d say you’re a liar.”