Joe Anoa’i, a defensive tackle from Georgia Tech who was an undrafted free agent, was signed by the Minnesota Vikings shortly after the 2007 NFL Draft. Shortly after signing with the Vikings, he was cut by the team, therefore his tenure there wasn’t long. After that, he briefly played for the Jacksonville Jaguars before spending a season in the Canadian sports League and ultimately retiring from sports.
While this may not seem like much, Joe Anoa’i went on to accomplish something very different, and it seems likely that his time with the Vikings was a major factor in making sure he could do so.
As the current WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, most of you are already familiar with Joe Anoa’i. He has held the title for more than 1,300 days, and as Wrestlemania weekend approaches, we now have a better understanding of the circumstances behind the termination of his football career.
About two years after Reigns’ leukemia was first discovered by his Vikings physical, it went into remission, but it returned in 2018. Soon after he resumed treatment, the leukemia returned to remission and remained so for the rest of his life. Reigns’ health issues kept him out of action for the most of the COVID-19 pandemic, but he has returned long enough to enjoy the prolonged reign as the Universal Champion that we previously discussed.
If Joe Anoa’i hadn’t signed with the Vikings, it’s impossible to predict how his career would have turned out. Maybe his football career would have gone in a different direction or his CML would have been discovered during one of his physicals with a different squad. Although we can never be certain, we do know that during his physical examination with the Vikings, the sickness was discovered, and this probably put him on the right path to receiving the necessary treatment.
