By Danny Coleman

originally published: 03/21/2014

Professional WWE wrestler Roman Reigns is 6’ 3” and 265 pounds of rock solid muscle, a former WWE Tag Team Champion and is extremely excited to be coming to the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton on Sunday March 23 on the “Road to WrestleMania.”

Coming to the WWE circa 2010 via the NFL where he did brief stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Minnesota Vikings, after four years as a defensive tackle at Georgia Tech.; Reigns found the transition from one to the other to go smoothly. “Yeah, I did four years at Georgia Tech., I was a true freshman, then brief stints in the NFL, a little time in the Canadian Football League and then to the WWE. From a physicality stand point, it allowed me to adapt well but there are things here in the WWE, like falling on your back and the overall intensity that can’t be matched,” he said.

The rigors of being a professional wrestler and road warrior require Reigns to not only be dedicated to his craft but to his own self as well in the form of physical fitness. “I hit the weight room five or six days a week,” he stated. “I’m not always weight training, thanks to football I’m an experienced lifter but I also do cardio exercises every day. I have to be able to go for at least 20 to 30 minutes every night at every show, so my workouts are a mix of cardio and weights. Our bodies are machines and if we don’t eat the proper things or keep up with the maintenance ….” Roman also confessed that music plays a key role in his daily routine, telling me that he’s “Always got his headphones in” but refusing to narrow it down to a specific genre or favorite type. “Oh yeah, you know, that’s a simple but really good question. Music plays a big part in my day, I like it all. I like rock, rap, country; I don’t prefer one over another, if it sounds good to me I like it!”

As his voice trailed off, and admitting that “Every day is a prep day,” Roman says that he is “Constantly doing something” to stay fit and in shape as he travels the circuit but that he is also involved in the plots and the twists that come on a nightly basis. “Oh yeah,” he explained, “We are heavily involved with all of that. I mean, it’s our careers, we’ve all got a heavy hand in that; why trust others?”

A Tag Team Champion is something that Reigns takes special pride in, as it continues a family legacy. “Winning the Tag Team Championship was awesome! Myself and Seth Rollins, there’s nothing like it; I consider it a prestigious honor. Tag teams are special, the team work that goes into it, the excitement of the crowd, the way the crowd cheers when a tag is made; it’s like something magical happens within the match. Winning it, for me, allowed me to keep with family members, my father and my uncle were tag team champions; they were the Wild Samoans.”

In Trenton, reigns will be part of another tag team match, this one of the six man variety. “I’m part of a six man tag team (The Shield) that’s going up against the Wyatt family. There’s a lot of chemistry in this match, actually the whole evening will be great; we’re gonna tear the house down. (John) Cena will be there wrestling Randy Orton in a steel cage match for the WWE World Championship; it’s going to be an unbelievable night in Trenton!”

Tickets for WWE LIVE: Road to WrestleMania are available at the Sun National Bank Center or on line at www.sunnationalbankcenter.com and range in price from $15 to $95. The Sun National Bank Center is located at 81 Hamilton Ave. at its intersection with South Broad St. in Trenton.

Danny Coleman is a veteran musician and writer from central New Jersey. He hosts a weekly radio program entitled 'Rock On Radio' airing Sunday evenings at 7:00pm EST on ThePenguinRocks.com where he features indie/original bands and solo artists.