WWE's Jacob Fatu Clarifies Familial Relationship With Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu just had a heated clash at WWE Backlash, where "The Original Tribal Chief" came out of the main event with a hard-fought victory before being attacked by Fatu moments later. The Ano'ai family have been at the center of many long term feuds since Reigns first became "The Tribal Chief," but even his biggest fans still get some of the family members and their ties incorrect.

During an appearance on the "Cheap Heat" podcast, Fatu clarified his relation to Reigns, despite the two often being referred to as cousins. "He's really my uncle," Fatu said. "Roman Reigns' father, Sika – half of the greatest tag team, The Wild Samoans. ... Afa and Sika have a sister – my grandmother. ... That would make Roman my uncle."

Despite their lineage, Fatu expressed that him and Reigns have always considered themselves each other's cousins because of the smaller age gap between them. Fatu then pointed out that Reigns is also The Usos' uncle as well, but even Jimmy and Jey have a cousin-type relationship with him as well. "My first Christmas, my first birthday, my first holidays were with the Usos," Fatu said. "I've known Roman since we were young." Fatu further explained that he was around when Reigns and The Usos were in high school, and claimed that even then his cousins were all stars.

"You knew they were gonna be somebody; you just felt it!" he recalled. "Man, you felt it so much to where damn, it kinda rubbed off on us, you know what I mean?"

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Cheap Heat" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.