Watch: Rare Roman Reigns Promo From FCW When the Tribal Chief Was Known as “The Boss”

Roman Reigns has, hands down, established himself as the most dominant figure in WWE today. The 37-year-old debuted on the main roster of WWE in 2012 as a member of the villainous stable, The Shield, alongside Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. Roman Reigns has since come really far in his storied career.

The Tribal Chief is now the longest-reigning Universal Champion in WWE history, having held the title for over 890 days. At WrestleMania 38, Roman Reigns did the unthinkable when he dethroned Brock Lesnar and unified the top titles of WWE. The WWE Undisputed Champion is now gearing up to face the Royal Rumble winner at the grandest stage with the titles at stake. 

One of the high points in his career was when he handed The Undertaker his second loss at WrestleMania 33. Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns have been the only two wrestlers to have defeated The Undertaker at WrestleMania. The Big Dog’s biggest setback came in 2019 when he announced that he has cancer.

After a break, Reigns returned to the promotion as a heel, built his empire, claimed Championships, and cemented himself as the Tribal Chief of the Bloodline. Roman goes by with many monikers, but before he made it to the WWE, he was known as “The Boss”. 

Roman Reigns was known as “The Boss” at FCW

In case you didn’t know, FCW(Florida Championship Wrestling) is WWE’s now-defunct developmental territory where Roman Reigns initially learned the ropes. The territory was later rebranded as NXT. The Samoan wrestler trained under the tutelage of the legendary Dusty Rhodes.

Roman Reigns wrestled under the ring name Leakee. In a resurfaced video from 2012 making rounds on social media, Roman Reigns is seen in the middle of the ring cutting a promo in a suit and shades, looking as kempt as possible. Turns out that Roman played the gimmick of The Boss before Sasha Banks. 

But his character was changed completely when he made it to the main roster of WWE. At first, Roman Reigns was one of the most hated wrestlers. WWE fans refused to acknowledge him after the split of The Shield. But after Reigns’ heel turn, Reigns became the hottest commodity in the wrestling business. 

Roman Reigns has to go through Sami Zayn to get to Cody Rhodes

The latest edition of SmackDown saw the Bloodline’s turncoat, Sami Zayn, challenge Roman Reigns at the Elimination Chamber for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship. The former honorary Uce betrayed Reigns at the Royal Rumble after he refused to hurt Kevin Owens with a steel chair as ordered by the Tribal Chief. Instead, Zayn drove the chair to Roman Reigns’ back.

This led to Sami Zayn becoming a babyface. Zayn’s defect from the stable also caused a ripple effect and forced Jey Uso out of the group. While Cody Rhodes remains the number one contender to get a title shot at WrestleMania 39, it remains to be seen if Rhodes would face Roman Reigns or Sami Zayn at the Grandest Stage depending on who beats who at Elimination Chamber.

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