Happy Birthday! WWE Champion Roman Reigns Turns 31 Today!

Leati Joseph Anoa'i, aka WWE's Roman Reigns and at press time, the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion (a title he's carried three times) turns 31 today. Reigns might be one the most polarizing figures since his turn as the company's franchise player, but that wasn't always the case.

Originally part of WWE's developmental Florida Championship Wrestling under the name Roman Leakee, but when FCW was rebranded as NXT, he was rechristened Roman Reigns. Though never winning any championships under either brand, he debuted along with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose at the 2012 Survivor Series as part of The Shield. With Dean working as the mouthpiece and the unofficial leader, Roman and Seth were seen as the enforcers. With Reigns quickly earning the nickname of the Juggernaut, Rollins and Reigns won the WWE Tag Team Championship and went on an undefeated streak for seven months.

Eventually, The Shield aligned themselves with The Authority and Triple H, but it was that alliance that first sowed the seeds of dissension. Reigns and Rollins eventually lost their championship, leaving Ambrose the United States Champion, giving him an ego and cemented his place as the top man of the faction. That year at the Royal Rumble was a different story.

Roman set a new record at the 2014 Royal Rumble by eliminating 12 men from the battle royale, breaking Kane's previous record of 11 at the 2001 Rumble. Though he didn't win the Rumble match (that went to the returning Batista) Reigns set himself apart from the rest of the roster and that's when he was seen as the next big thing.

The Shield finally dissolved in June of 2014, which allowed Reigns to branch off and shine as a solo act. On his podcast, Stone Cold Steve Austin was asked who he thought was the next face of the company, and he said it looked as though they were grooming Reigns for that position. Roman was included in some main event and high profile matches that Summer competing in the Money In The Bank match (with Seth Rollins winning and subsequently cashing it on on Roman at WrestleMania 31) for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

At the Battleground pay-per-view the month after Money In The Bank, Reigns was involved in a fatal-four way for John Cena's WWE title, but failed to capture the title this time around. By the end of the year, it was apparent that Roman was indeed the rising star that the company wanted.

At the 2015 Royal Rumble, despite winning the match and celebrating with his cousin The Rock, Roman's win was met with mixed reaction from the crowd, but primarily boos. There was concern that Reigns was being pushed too hard and too soon, but he still came out on top...until WrestleMania.

Roman would continue to chase the WWE Championship for the remainder of 2015 until finally winning it at Survivor Series only to lose it minutes later by Sheamus who was cashing in his Money In The Bank briefcase.

Roman would go on to win the title two more times before finally getting his WrestleMania moment pinning Triple H at WrestleMania 32. His reign as champion has been strong, but controversial, but you can't deny that he's The Guy at the moment.