Roman Reigns has topped the 26th annual list of 500 wrestlers conducted by Pro-Wrestling Illustrated magazine. It is a prestigious achievement to any pro-wrestler around the world. PWI publisher Stu Saks stated the following regarding their choice:
“Our cover headline comes right out and states it: ‘Half of You Will Hate This! Roman Reigns Is No. 1.’ Reigns is certainly not the sexy choice, but based on what he accomplished during the time frame for evaluation, we think he’s the right choice”
Reigns also posted the below in his Twitter account:
This one is for The Roman Empire!!!Now go on and cry about us haters. #TheGuy pic.twitter.com/xhChb2oQTa
— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) September 1, 2016
“Thank you, man. It’s crazy. Last year, was I what, three or four? To just remain in that same company, to be in that class with those guys, it’s world class,” he said. “It’s a great honor and it goes with a lot of hard work. It’s very flattering. It just shows that if you keep your head down and stick to your day-to-day, you grind it out and take the long road, good things happen. It’s a great achievement and another great accolade.”
Roman Reigns, real name Leati Joseph “Joe” Anoa’i is the cousin to one of the greatest WWE champion of all time, The Rock. Starting with WWE’s developmental territory of Florida Championship wrestling in the year 2010 (now NXT) he debuted in the main roster as part of the group Shield in the year 2012. Once the group broke up in 2014, Reigns established himself as one of the most top singles competitors in the WWE.
With a strong backup from Vince McMahon he headlined last two Wrestlemanias and is a three-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion. The chairman of the board wanted him to establish as the next cornerstone of the company but the decision received face backlash from the WWE fans as they showered booed him constantly. The critics are also in doubt with Reigns being the face of the company Hence, he is to feature in the mid-card level for sometimes.