On the advice of his late brother Rosey, Roman Reigns almost joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) before signing with WWE.
Roman Reigns is the Universal Champion for the past eighteen months. Owning to his dominant reign on SmackDown, he is the biggest star in all of wrestling.
Prior to signing a developmental deal with the company, Roman Reigns was almost committed to flying to Japan. The wrestler was determined to follow his brother’s footsteps.
Late Matthew Anoa’i, better known in the world of wrestling as Rosey is the brother of the current Universal Champion.
Matthew Anoa’i wrestled on several tours for All Japan Pro Wrestling post the completion of his tenure with the company of WWE. In 2001, Rosey joined WWE alongside his cousin Eddie Fatu.
Roman Reigns had almost joined APJW ahead of WWE
In the recent past, former WWE star Rene Dupree spoke on the podcast show of Cafe de Rene podcast. On the show, the former WWE star disclosed that it was the brother of The Tribal Chief who had advised him to join All Japan Pro Wrestling (APJW) ahead of joining the company of WWE.
According to Rene Dupree, Rosey had advised Reigns to get some experience in the ring before signing with WWE.
Speaking about the same the former WWE star Rene Dupree said the company of All Japan Pro Wrestling wanted Reigns to join them. The company demanded him to live in the dojo for three months which did not go well with The Tribal Chief and thus he rejected the offer.
“Rosey, which was Big Matty, was Roman’s brother. So before he debuted with WWE, his brother suggested he come to Japan for a few tours. The All Japan office wanted him to live in the dojo for three months and he didn’t wanna do that. He just wanted to go over and tour for three tours and then sign with WWF (WWE).”
Thus, Roman Reigns rejected the advise by his brother and went on to join the company of WWE. In the year 2010, The Tribal Chief debuted in then-WWE developmental territory FCW as Leakee.
Two years later in the year 2012, the wrestler made his debut on the main roster with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. And on 3rd of April 2022, at the event of WrestleMania 38, Roman Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar to unify the Universal Championship with Raw’s WWE Championship and thus became the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
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