VIA: One of the prevailing feelings in WWE Superstar Roman Reigns’ life this month is anticipation – anticipation not just of this Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view, but also of the kickoff of college football season.
Before he was a Superman-punching contender for WWE gold, Reigns was an All-ACC defensive lineman at Georgia Tech by the name of Joe Anoai.
And though Reigns’ field of competition has changed, he does draw football experience in the ring. “My finisher, the spear, it’s pretty much an open-field tackle, driving my shoulder into the guy’s chest and wrapping up,” he said. “It was an obvious choice.”
Reigns will spend the weekend in Los Angeles sitting on a “SummerSlam Confidential” panel with Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, Hulk Hogan, Sting, Cesaro and Sheamus and then facing the villainous Randy Orton on Sunday in the ring.
But before that, Reigns took time to play football general manager and draft his own fantasy team from WWE’s roster. Presenting Team Reigns:
OFFENSE
LT – Big Show. “We’d have to put him on the island and protect the blind side.”
RT – Tensai. “He’s a big, tall, real wide guy. Very athletic.”
G – Mark Henry and Bray Wyatt. “Mark Henry is a guard. Definitely a strong guard for sure. Bray’s got a low center of gravity and has good feet on him. He knows what to do.”
C – John Cena. Cena, the undisputed WWE champion, was a Division III All-America at the position for Springfield (Mass.) College. “He doesn’t have enough fat on him, but the center gets a lot of help from the guard, so we’ll keep Cena at center since he knows the position.”
TE – Wade Barrett. Reigns’ first instinct was to put Jack Swagger at this spot, assured that Swagger would be an excellent blocker. “But he looks like he has brick hands,” Reigns said. “Wade’s got that tight end frame, a little long and lanky. He looks like a guy who could run down the seam.”
RB – Dolph Ziggler. “I’m trying to think of speed here, so we’ll put Dolph in there.”
FB – Ryback. “He’d have a big neckroll. He’d wear a huge neck roll. He’d be the best. We’d have him mic’d up, and he’d be saying all kinds of big guy phrases. (Reigns breaks into a cave man voice.) Like, ‘Big guy block. Big guy block!’”
WR – Kofi Kingston and Fandango. “Kofi, he’d be like a slot guy. Fandango has the footwork down; we have to make sure he has the hands.”
QB – Cesaro. “He has the size, mobility and arm strength to make all the throws.”
DEFENSE
NT – Big E Langston and Rusev. Langston is a former defensive tackle at Iowa. “They’ll rotate. We’ll play a three technique. They’ll be in there eating up space.”
DL – Luke Harper and Erick Rowan. Reigns has a clear gameplan for the remaining members of the Wyatt Family. “I’ll have them right outside the guard. Or head up on the guard depending on the situation.”
DE – Titus O’Neil and Curtis Axel. O’Neil played defensive end at Florida after earning second-team All-USA honors from USA TODAY as a high school senior. “We need a more skilled d-end, a big guy who’s pretty athletic. We’ll be dropping a d-end back into coverage a little bit. He has that type of frame.” Of Axel, Reigns said, “He has small feet, so he’s nimble.”
LB – Reigns and The Usos. Reigns chose the position he played at Pensacola’s Escambia High School, middle linebacker, for a reason. It allows him play between his former high school teammates Jimmy and Jey Uso, who also happen to be the WWE Tag Team Champions. “They’ll be flanking me. We’re blitzing, we’re bringing the house, two over the top every time.”
DB – Xavier Woods at strong safety and Tyson Kidd at one cornerback. “The second corner will be Dean Ambrose,” Reigns said of his friend and former tag team partner. “He is willing do whatever he has to do to lock his man down.” And free safety? Chris Jericho. ”He has a little bit of leadership and good instincts back there. He’s pretty witty. He knows the gameplan like the back of his hand. He’s a smart football player, not a fast one.”
COACH – Paul Heyman. “He’d be a motivator, He’d have a hell of a pregame, postgame and halftime speech. And assistant head coach Arn Anderson. Just because I’d love to hear him talk.
OWNER – Vince McMahon. “He’s like the Dallas Cowboys owner [Jerry Jones]. That type. They’ll shoot the skybox more than the field.”
Reigns did identify two WWE Superstars that he’d never allow to play on his team.
They happen to be his arch enemies. “Seth Rollins, you can’t trust him. He’d probably send our gameplan to the other team.
“And Randy Orton, he’s my water boy. He gets the towels.”
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