Roman Reigns Adds to His Traditional Tattoo

Joe Anoai, better known to WWE fans as Roman Reigns, had extensive work added to his back by Samoan Mike.

It’s impossible to not notice WWE Superstar Roman Reigns. Most people are blown away by his combination of massive size and elite athleticism, but here at Inked we were drawn to Reigns by something else—his outstanding tattoo.

Perhaps it’s because there are so many bad tattoos in the world of wrestling—looking at you, Brock Lesnar—but to us, Reigns stuck out because of his amazing traditional Polynesian tattoo. Beyond the pure artistry, the tattoo is a powerful way for Reigns to connect to his roots.

“For me, [the tattoo] represents our culture,” Reigns told us back in 2019. “It represents that I am one of the sons of Samoa. I’m one of the sons of the Pacific. You see all my cousins with them. On a night like Monday Night, [on] Raw you see the Usos come out. They’re representing our culture. And you see me come out. We’re represented throughout a three-hour broadcast multiple times.

“I think every time that we get to be around our culture, or we get to run into anybody that is from a familiar background or ethnicity, they always love how we represent,” Reigns continues. “For me, it’s just a representation of our people, of our bloodline, within the wrestling world and just our family in general. We’re very proud of it.”

Over the weekend, Reigns visited Michael Fatutoa, better known as Samoan Mike, and added to his collection.

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…true meaning lay deeply rooted in #aiga whom we draw our strength no matter what life throws at us….. thanx for always being a warrior during our long ass sessions… #loveandrespect my uso @romanreigns #alofaatuuso #tatau #samoantattoo #tat #liaifaiva #polynesiantattoo #wwe #inked

A post shared by Michael Fatutoa (@samoan_mike) on Jun 25, 2020 at 8:27pm PDT

While sharing the photo of his handiwork, Fatutoa explained the significance of the tattoo. “…true meaning lay deeply rooted in #aiga whom we draw our strength no matter what life throws at us,” he says. “Thanx for always being a warrior during our long-ass sessions…” “Aiga” is the Samoan word for family, although it can be applied more broadly than just one’s immediate family, including relations not just from blood, but also from marriages and close associates.

Fatutoa does such beautiful tattoos, both aesthetically and when considering the connections that he builds throughout his art. We can’t wait to see how Reigns continues to build his collection over time.