How Did Roman Reigns’ Brother Die?

Roman Reigns might be a prevalent figure in wrestling but not much is known about his personal life. He keeps WWE and his personal life separate and rightfully so because wrestling fans can be extreme sometimes.

Most people don’t know that Reigns’ had a brother, and he used to wrestle in WWE too. His name was Matthew Tapunu’u Anoa’i and was known as Rosey in the pro-wrestling world.

Much like his father, Sika Anoi’a, he wrestled all over the world and across different promotions.

WWE signed Rosey in 2001 with his cousin Eddie Fatu. They called themselves “The Island Boys” and started their wrestling career in Heartland Wrestling Association. They wrestled there for a bit and even won the tag team championship.

After a gimmick change, they debuted on Monday Night R.A.W. as Eric Bischoff’s lackeys and attacked wrestlers every week.

The team was called 3-minute warning because Bischoff gave people three minutes to entertain him. If those people didn’t entertain him within those 3 minutes, the team would attack them.

They were having a good run until WWE released Eddie Fatu. Then Rosey formed a tag team with Hurricane after the latter saw potential to become a superhero. Hence Rosey was now called “Rosey, the Super Hero in Training” (the S.H.I.T.).

In 2005, the team won their first tag team championship, but Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch defeated them at Unforgiven.

Hurricane and Rosey then split up after he attacked Rosey, and they both feuded for a while. Hurricane eventually won the dispute.

Shortly after this, WWE rehired Fatu. He and Rosey were going to reunite the 3-Minute Warning. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out as Rosey got released from his contract.

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The final years of Roman Reign’s brother, Rosey

After his stint in WWE, Rosey went to Japan and wrestled there till 2007. He wrestled massive stars such as Minoru Suzuki and even challenged him for the championship.

Following Japan, he went back to the U.S.A. and wrestled on the independent circuit. From 2006 to 2007, Rosey appeared in several promotions and, at one point, even wrestled Jon Moxley for the H.W.A. Championship in 2006.’

He also helped his father, Sika Anoa’i, run his promotion in Florida. Rosey wrestled his final match on July 9, 2016, where he reunited with The Hurricane. He won his last match. 

Unfortunately, in 2017, Rosey was hospitalized due to congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Ten days after his birthday, he passed in his hometown of Pensacola due to his heart issues. Roman Reigns, on his Twitter, has always expressed love for his brother and has put out tweets whenever he missed Rosey.

Rosey had a long and prosperous wrestling career which fans still look back on. He may not be physically present in the world anymore, but his Samoan legacy lives on with Roman Reigns.

Undoubtedly, Rosey would have been incredibly proud of his brother today.

READ MORE: Who is Roman Reigns’ Father Sika Anoa’i?