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Wrestlemania XL finishes it’s second night on Sunday with the headlining match being between Cody Rhodes and former Minnesota Viking Roman Reigns.
The Tribal Chief, as his fans call him, is known to the Vikings by another name. Long before he broke Hulk Hogan’s Wrestlemania records and held the Universal WW Championship, he was simply Joseph Anoa’i.
Anoa’i attended Georgia Tech and played defensive line under Chan Gailey. He entered the NFL Draft in 2007 but went undrafted. He signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent but did not play for the team long. He discovered he had Leukemia and was forced to battle for his life instead of a roster position.
We acknowledged the Tribal Chief first.#WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/bnfscBeicj
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) April 7, 2024
In a full-circle moment, the Vikings social media team acknowledged the current Tribal Chief with a post claiming they acknowledged him first. Perhaps there will be one more acknowledgment if the former Viking can retain his title again.