Jacob Fatu Reveals Advice Roman Reigns Told Him Before WWE Debut

Jacob Fatu is opening up about the wild moments surrounding his WWE signing—and a message from Roman Reigns that stuck with him before his debut.

While appearing on WWE’s RAW Recap podcast, Fatu reflected on signing with WWE in early 2024 and attending WrestleMania 40 before fans even knew he was officially part of the company. He explained that returning to Philadelphia carried extra meaning because of how much his independent wrestling career grew in that city. Fatu described arriving at WrestleMania 40 shortly after signing, but still not knowing exactly when WWE planned to use him.

“Yeah, I was there. WrestleMania 40. WrestleMania 40, pulled up. A lot of people don’t know, a lot of my independent career took off in Philadelphia so to be there, that WrestleMania during that time, it was something special. I got there at WrestleMania, still didn’t know, I was signed already. I just got signed but I didn’t know when I was coming.”

He went on to explain how surreal it felt being backstage among WWE’s biggest names while keeping his presence under wraps.

“Day after WrestleMania 40, met everybody, said ‘what’s up?’ We were in the Hall of Fame, I was sitting in Gorilla. Nobody could see me. I was hooded up. Everybody walking by, and I was tripping out. I seen my brother Solo, I seen my brother Big Jim, see Mr. Yeet Man, seeing all of them in there. I was in there with Roman, the Tribal Chief and O.G. Paul Heyman so, to go out there to be a part of that, it was off the rip.”

Fatu also revealed a key moment with Roman Reigns that helped shape how he approached his WWE debut. According to him, Reigns gave him advice that stuck with him during the waiting period before he finally appeared on television.

“I just remember when Roman seen me, when I left, he said, ‘Jacob, do whatever you gotta do. But when you come back, look different.’ I was already looking different at that time. But, two more months, came in and got it rolling.”

He also recalled how surprising it was to see other members of his extended Bloodline circle arriving in WWE around the same time, even when he didn’t fully know what plans were in motion.

“The day after WrestleMania 40, seen Tama — Tama Tonga come over. Tama Tonga’s a beast, a workhorse, a dog. Seen him, man, okay. Didn’t know they was coming. Backlash, France, seen Tonga Loa pop up. I’m like, ‘Okay.’ I gotta call brother up and them, ‘Hey man, I still got a job over there!?’ I ain’t know what was going on.”

Fatu closed by revealing that his WWE debut didn’t go exactly as originally planned, adding another unexpected twist to the story.

“I was supposed to debut at Money in the Bank. Next thing you know, they called. Man, a couple days and was like, ‘We doing it on SmackDown.’ Nobody seen it coming.”

Jacob Fatu’s rise in WWE has been fast and unpredictable, and these behind-the-scenes details show just how chaotic the path to his debut really was. Between Roman Reigns’ advice and last-minute changes to his debut plans, it’s clear his arrival wasn’t something WWE took lightly.

Do you think Jacob Fatu’s WWE debut lived up to the hype, or should WWE have handled his arrival differently? Share your thoughts and let us know what you think.