Wrestling fans know (and dislike) the Roman Reigns character, but might not know the story of Joe Anoa’i.

He’s already made a vow for the biggest night of his life: “I plan on tasting my own blood.”

And that’s fitting, considering everyone else can smell blood.

The people do not like Roman Reigns. They don’t like his character, his storyline, his way. They do not like him. There seems to be a constant torrent of vitriol on social media for the World Wrestling Entertainment star. There’s the all-caps screaming: “IN NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM IS ROMAN REIGNS READY TO BE WWE CHAMPION AND BE LABELED AS THE GUY,” which was written by the handle “RobbyTheBrain.” And there’s the profane. Oh, there's the profane.

This isn’t the "love-to-hate" hate, either. This isn’t Rowdy Roddy Piper hate, which was true love. This is refuse-to-play-along hate. When Reigns was bailed out by The Rock at the “Royal Rumble” in January, paving his way to the main event at Sunday’s WrestleMania 31 from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., there was a simultaneous explosion of joy at seeing the “People’s Champ” and explosion of derision for this other guy.

Reigns knows.

“I have a good bit of doubters and haters,” he said. “Go ahead and irritate me and piss me off. Because when I’m in that mindset, I’m unstoppable.”

He plans to be unstoppable at WrestleMania, facing off against WWE champion Brock Lesnar for the title. Fans will be apoplectic if Reigns wins, as they see him as a silver-spoon-clutching heir to a throne rather than the kind of everyman-superhero that most babyfaces embody. He has an unfortunate name, Roman Reigns, as the target is right there in the moniker. This is America, home of the brave and land of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. We have no use for “Roman Reigns.” Just ask “Hunter Hearst Helmsley,” the Connecticut blueblood who became the water-spewing Triple H.

It is ironic, though — if irony is possible in a world where steel chairs do no damage and referees become unconscious from a light shove — that they hate this guy so much. His fake story doesn’t seem to be working but his real story would resonate with anyone. When he’s cut open at WrestleMania, he will be Roman on a pedestal. What bleeds out, though, will be Joe from Pensacola.

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Joe is Joe Anoa’i, a member of one of the most successful families in pro wrestling history. The Anoa’is include the Wild Samoans, Umaga, Yokozuna, Rikishi, the Tonga Kid, Rocky Johnson and The Rock. So Joe, whose father is Sika, knew the impact of his sport from birth. When his older brother, Matt, would go to school as a boy, he would hear his classmates tell him, “My dad hates your dad’s guts!” Then the family would move elsewhere, to a new school and a new class where a new kid would say, “Man, your dad scares me.”

“It was like gypsy life,” said Matt Anoa’i, who is 15 years older than Joe. “Dad started wrestling when I was five years old. Once he got started, it was pretty much me, my dad, mom and our dog. We’d travel around in a Toyota. … Every year I would have to switch schools because he would have to switch territories.”

View photos Roman Reigns' family history runs deep in professional wrestling circles. (Courtesy of WWE.com) More

Matt loved it, and eventually built his own wrestling career as Rosey. But the road grew wearisome, and the family settled down in Pensacola, Fla. They built a wrestling ring in the backyard — one that stands to this day.

To understand Roman Reigns, this rusty 16-by-16 ring is the place to start.

Story continues