| The Barbarian | |
|---|---|
 The Barbarian in 2016 | |
| Birth name | Sione Havea Vailahi |
| Born | (1958-09-06)6 September 1958 (age 66)[1] Nukuʻalofa, Tonga |
| Spouse(s) | Seini Tonga |
| Children | 7 |
| Family | Lei'D Tapa (niece) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Barbarian Headshrinker Sione King Konga Konga the Barbarian Sachinoshima Sione Super Assassin #1 Tonga John |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 300 lb (136 kg)[2] |
| Trained by | Red Bastien[3] |
| Debut | 1980 |
| Sachinoshima | |
|---|---|
| 幸島 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | Sione Vailahi (1958-09-06)6 September 1958 (age 66) Tonga |
| Height | 184 cm (6 ft 0 in) |
| Weight | 100 kg (220 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Asahiyama |
| Record | 34-13-16 |
| Debut | March 1975 |
| Highest rank | Sandanme 36 (September 1976) |
| Retired | September 1976 |
| * Up to date as of 8 September 2022. | |
Sione Havea Vailahi (born 6 September 1958) is a Tonganprofessional wrestler, better known by hisring name,The Barbarian. He is best known for his various stints withJim Crockett Promotions,World Championship Wrestling (WCW) andWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) and for being a part oftag teams thePowers of Pain withThe Warlord and theFaces of Fear withMeng.
His first national exposure was in the NWA territory Jim Crockett Promotions, where the Powers of Pain held theNWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship until they departed the company in 1988 and joined WWF, where they competed in the tag team division until the team was quietly split in 1990. Barbarian then competed as a singles wrestler until departing in 1992 and returning to WCW, where he became one-half of thefinalWCW United States Tag Team Champions withDick Slater. During this time, Barbarian challengedRon Simmons for theWCW World Heavyweight Championship atHalloween Havoc 1992. He left WCW in 1993 and returned to the WWF in 1994 asHeadshrinker Sione to form theNew Headshrinkers withFatu. He left the company in 1995 and made a second return to WCW, where he briefly reunited with The Warlord as themaskedSuper Assassins. Barbarian would then join Meng to form Faces of Fear and become a part offactionsDungeon of Doom and theFirst Family.
Born and raised in Tonga, Sione was one of six teenagers and young men sent by theKing of Tonga toJapan to studySumo wrestling in the mid-1970s.Tonga Fifita was also part of the group. Sione was known in sumo circles asSachinoshima.
After migrating to the United States, he trained in professional wrestling under the tutelage of Rolland 'Red' Bastien. In 1980, he made his debut, wrestlingKiller Karl Krupp inModesto, California. He wrestled asKing Konga in severalNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) regional territories in 1981. He soon went to the NWA'sJim Crockett Promotions, where he teamed up withRon Garvin as afan favorite. He had a short term inWorld Class Championship Wrestling as avillain namedTonga John. Wrestled in the CWA Memphis territory in 1984 feuding with Jerry Lawler.
Seeing themonster villain potential in a huge, intimidating man with surprising agility, now back in Crockett's territoryJim Crockett, Jr. changed Vailahi intoKonga the Barbarian. He debuted in JCP on 29 December 1984 episode ofWorldWide after a match betweenAssassin #1 andKareem Mohammad as a member ofPaul Jones'Army. He defeatedSam Houston in his first match later in the night.[4] Vailahi was brought into the company to aid Jones in his rivalry withJimmy Valiant. He was paired withSuperstar Billy Graham under the management of Jones. At the inauguralThe Great American Bash, Barbarian teamed with Graham andAbdullah the Butcher in a loss to Sam Houston,Manny Fernandez andBuzz Tyler in asix-man tag team match.[5] Following the event, Barbarian occasionally teamed with Abdullah andturned on Graham by the end of the year. Barbarian lost to Graham in anarm wrestling contest and then in a singles match atStarrcade.[6] At theNWA/AWA Star Wars, Vailahi lost toCapitol Sports Promotions starCarlos Colón.[7] Vailahi frequently teamed withBlack Bart,[8]Shaska Whatley,Teijho Khan, as well asBaron von Raschke throughout 1986. Vailahi teamed with Raschke to participate in the1986 Crockett Cup, losing to Jimmy Valiant and Manny Fernandez in the opening round.[9] It was during this time that "Konga" was dropped from his name and he became simplyThe Barbarian. Raschke left Jones' team and became a rival of the group.[10] AtStarrcade, Whatley and Barbarian lost toHector Guerrero and Raschke in a tag team match.[11]
Vailahi entered the1987 Crockett Cup withBill Dundee, beatingTim Horner andMike Rotunda in the opening round and lost toThe Super Powers (Dusty Rhodes andNikita Koloff) in the second round.[12] Vailahi teamed with the likes ofManny Fernandez andVladimir Petrov throughout 1987.[13] In 1987, he appeared in the movieBody Slam, as Axe, of the tag team called The Cannibals. In late 1987, he formed a team withIvan Koloff, who was also his coach. During this time, he formedThe Powers of Pain withThe Warlord and the team began feuding heavily with another team of big men,The Road Warriors (Animal andHawk).[14] Vailahi made hispay-per-view debut at theBunkhouse Stampede Finals pay-per-view on 24 January 1988, as a participant in aSteel cageBunkhouse Stampede. He was the runner-up, being eliminated byDusty Rhodes.[15] They injured Animal's eyein storyline during a weightlifting contest and soon after teamed with Ivan Koloff to beat Rhodes and Road Warriors to win theNWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship at alive event on 12 February.[16] Koloff and Powers of Pain would lose to Rhodes and Road Warriors in abarbed wire match atClash of the Champions I on 27 March.[17] The following month, Powers of Pain entered the1988 Crockett Cup, defeatingMark Starr andChris Champion in the second round and Road Warriors in the quarter-final and lost to eventual winnersLex Luger and Sting in the semi-final.[18] In April 1988, Crockett decided he wanted the feuding tag teams to have a series ofscaffold matches, which neither team wanted because they felt that they were too large to safely participate. This was especially so for the Powers of Pain, who were scheduled to lose the matches by falling off the scaffolding. Barbarian and Warlord decided to leave the company. The NWA announcers explained that the Road Warriors had run them off, even though they still held the World Six-Man Tag Team Championship.
Upon their arrival in WWF, the Powers of Pain werefan favorites, initially managed byTito Santana,[19][20] They feuded withWWF World Tag Team ChampionsDemolition[2] who had defeatedStrike Force (Santana andRick Martel) for the titles and then injured Martel (kayfabe). The Powers were introduced as mercenaries to help Martel and Santana gain revenge on Demolition for both the title loss and the injury to Martel. They made their debut in a dark match (of which footage survives) at a TV taping on 18 June 1988 as a replacement for Strike Force in a WWF World Tag Team Championship match where they beat Demolition by count-out when the champions walked out.[21] Their televised debut was filmed later that evening and screened on 16 July episode ofSuperstars where they defeatedenhancement talentsIron Mike Sharpe and Tony Ulysses.[21] The Powers had their first televisedrivalry againstThe Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff andBoris Zhukov). They defeated Bolsheviks in theirpay-per-view debut atthe inaugural SummerSlam, where they introduced their new managerThe Baron.[22] The Baron left the WWF in early November.
At theSurvivor Series, The Powers led a team of fan favorite tag teams against Demolition's team of villainous tag teams in aSurvivor Series match, during which adouble turn took place when Demolition's managerMr. Fuji turned on Demolition by causing them to get eliminated by count-out. The Powers afterwards came to Fuji's aid and thus becamevillains and Demolition became fan favorites. The Powers of Pain then eliminatedLos Conquistadores to win the match before Demolition returned to the ring to confront the Powers and Fuji. Following this, Demolition and the Powers (with Fuji now in their corner) engaged in a series of championship matches at house shows, typically ending in double disqualification or a narrow countout victory for the Powers. On 12 December episode ofPrime Time Wrestling, Fuji was confirmed as the new manager of The Powers of Pain.
Barbarian entered theRoyal Rumble match at the1989 Royal Rumble pay-per-view as the number 26 entrant. He andTed DiBiase eliminatedBrutus Beefcake andHercules, before Barbarian was eliminated by Rick Martel. On 20 February episode ofPrime Time Wrestling, Powers of Pain received an opportunity for the Tag Team Championship against Demolition, which they lost via disqualification. AtWrestleMania V, Powers of Pain and Mr. Fuji competed against Demolition for the title in ahandicap match, where Demolition retained the title by pinning Fuji. AtSurvivor Series, Powers of Pain and Demolition were on opposing teams as Powers of Pain were paired with Ted DiBiase andZeus in the Million $ Team against Hulk Hogan's Hulkamaniacs (Demolition andJake Roberts). Powers of Pain eliminated both members of Demolition before being disqualified for double teaming Hogan. Hulkamaniacs won the match. After coming up short in their title hunt, Powers of Pain feuded with tag teams such asThe Hart Foundation,The Bushwhackers andThe Rockers. Barbarian participated in the1990 Royal Rumble match as the number 28 entrant. He was eliminated by Hercules. Powers of Pain faced Demolition for the last time in a tag team match on 10 February episode ofSuperstars, which Demolition won by disqualification. Powers of Pain's last televised match as a team was on 19 February televised special on theMSG Network, where they teamed with Mr. Fuji againstJim Duggan and The Rockers in a match, which they lost. On 3 March episode ofSuperstars, it was announced that Barbarian would faceTito Santana atWrestleMania VI. The following week onSuperstars, it was announced that Fuji had sold the contracts of Powers of Pain, thus splitting up the team. Powers of Pain had their last match as a team on 25 March, where they lost to Hulk Hogan andThe Big Boss Man.
On 24 March episode ofSuperstars,Bobby Heenan became the manager of Barbarian. As a member of Heenan'sfaction, Barbarian's image was tweaked: he grew out hisRoad Warrior-like mohawk and face paint, instead wearing a fur cloak, a helmet with reindeer-like antlers, and a skull to the ring. He briefly wrestled in singles competition, defeatingTito Santana atWrestleMania VI. He was a member of Natural Disasters (Earthquake,Dino Bravo andHaku) against The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Big Boss Man,Tugboat and Jim Duggan) atSurvivor Series. Hulkamaniacs won. On 22 December episode ofSuperstars, it was announced that Barbarian would face Heenan Family's rival The Big Boss Man in a match at the1991 Royal Rumble, which Barbarian lost. He would also lose a subsequent rematch to Boss Man on 18 February episode ofPrime Time Wrestling. Barbarian was paired with Heenan Family member Haku in a tag team on 23 February episode ofSuperstars, where it was announced that the duo would face The Rockers atWrestleMania VII. Their first match as a team was on 9 March episode ofSuperstars, where they defeated enhancement talents. Barbarian and Haku lost the match to Rockers at WrestleMania VII. Later in the event, Haku and Barbarian helpedMr. Perfect retain theIntercontinental Championship against Big Boss Man. Barbarian was utilized as a mid-carder throughout the year.
During this time, Barbarian had only one major match, a loss toThe British Bulldog atBattle Royal at the Albert Hall. Immediately after the match, Barbarian participated in abattle royal, in which he was eliminated by Tito Santana. On 1 December episode ofWrestling Challenge, it was announced that Barbarian would challengeBret Hart for the Intercontinental Championship atThis Tuesday in Texas butno-showed the event and was replaced bySkinner. On 18 January 1992, Barbarian reunited with his Powers of Pain tag team partner The Warlord in a loss toNew Foundation (Owen Hart andJim Neidhart). Barbarian participated in the1992 Royal Rumble match for the vacantWWF Championship as the number eight entrant. He was eliminated by Hercules. He left the WWF in February 1992 and returned to JCP, which had becomeWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW).[2]
Barbarian made his televised debut in WCW as avillain on 4 July episode ofSaturday Night, where he defeated Steve Pritchard. On 12 July episode ofMain Event, Barbarian andDick Slater werebooked to defeatThe Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin andMichael Hayes) for theUnited States Tag Team Championship. However, this was the last match for this title as the title was retired a month later. Barbarian was heavilypushed throughout the summer with a winning streak against the likes ofBrian Pillman,Tom Zenk,Marcus Alexander Bagwell andBarry Windham. He was placed in an alliance withTony Atlas,Cactus Jack,Jake Roberts andButch Reed. Their mainrival wasRon Simmons, whom Barbarian unsuccessfully challenged for theWorld Heavyweight Championship at theHalloween Havoc pay-per-view.[23][24] Barbarian entered theKing of Cable Tournament, losing toDustin Rhodes in the quarter-final on 14 November episode ofSaturday Night. On 18 NovemberClash of the Champions XXI, Barbarian, Cactus Jack and Tony Atlas lost to Simmons and his debuting partner2 Cold Scorpio in ahandicap match. Barbarian appeared at the company's premier pay-per-viewStarrcade on 29 December, where he was randomly paired withKensuke Sasaki againstBig Van Vader and Dustin Rhodes in a Lethal Lottery qualifying match, which the latter duo won.
On 13 January 1993Clash of the Champions XXII, Barbarian was supposed to team with Vader,Paul Orndorff and Barry Windham againstSting, Dustin Rhodes and Ron Simmons in aThundercage match but Barbarian was kicked out of his team byHarley Race for siding with Cactus Jack. As a result, Barbarianturned into aheroiccharacter. On 17 January episode ofMain Event, Barbarian and Jack faced Vader and Orndorff in a match, which ended in a double disqualification. The two teams faced off in ano disqualification match on 23 January episode ofPower Hour which Vader and Orndorff won. On 30 January episode ofSaturday Night, Barbarian lost to Orndorff insingles competition. Barbarian received a title match against Vader for the World Heavyweight Championship on 7 February episode ofMain Event, where Vader retained the title. Barbarian made his last televised appearance on 7 March episode ofMain Event, where he lost toSteve Regal in the first round match of atournament for the vacantWorld Television Championship. He would compete on thehouse show circuit for the next few months and departed the company in June.[25]
On 6 June 1994, Barbarian returned to the WWF at ahouse show to faceRazor Ramon as a substitute forDiesel. He would wrestle numerous matches on house shows against the likes ofLex Luger,Tatanka andTyphoon for the next two months. On 1 September, Barbarian replaced an injuredSamu and teamed withFatu againstTwo Dudes with Attitudes (Shawn Michaels and Diesel) for theTag Team Championship, just a few days after Michaels and Diesel had beatenThe Headshrinkers (Fatu and Samu) for the titles.[26] Later that month, he permanently replaced Samu and was renamedSeone, one half of the new version of The Headshrinkers with Fatu after Samu left the WWF. On 10 October episode ofMonday Night Raw, Vailahi made his televised return to WWF. The new combination made only one pay-per-view appearance as a team which was at theSurvivor Series event as part of The Bad Guys (Razor Ramon,1-2-3 Kid andThe British Bulldog) against The Teamsters (Shawn Michaels, Diesel,Jeff Jarrett,Owen Hart andJim Neidhart). New Headshrinkers were quickly eliminated but their team won the match after Michaels and Diesel broke up as a team.[27] This resulted in Michaels vacating the Tag Team Championship and atournament was set up to crown the new champions. New Headshrinkers participated in the tournament, beating Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart by disqualification in the quarter-final round on 31 December episode ofSuperstars, before losing toBam Bam Bigelow andTatanka in the semi-final round on 14 January 1995 episode ofSuperstars.[28] Seone participated in the1995 Royal Rumble match as the number six entrant. He eliminatedKwang andRick Martel and then he andEli Blu eliminated each other. This sparked a feud between New Headshrinkers andThe Blu Brothers (Jacob and Eli), in which New Headshrinkers came up short. New Headshrinkers received an opportunity for the Tag Team Championship againstOwen Hart and Yokozuna on 6 May episode ofSuperstars, but lost the match. By July, the Headshrinkers dissolved, as Vailahi left the WWF for WCW.
While WWE currently references Vailahi asSione on their website, the character's name was actually spelledSeone on television and in WWF Magazine during his 1994–1995 run. Sometimes it was also spelledSionne in French.[citation needed]
In late 1995, Vailahi returned to WCW, wearing a mask and teaming with his formerPowers of Pain tag team partner,The Warlord. They were known as the masked "Super Assassins", managed byCol. Robert Parker. Super Assassins made their televised debut on 27 November episode ofPrime, with a win over theAmerican Males. No mention was ever made on television of their former identities, and the team did not last long as Warlord left WCW in early 1996.
Later on, he was added intoKevin Sullivan'sDungeon of Doom and was paired with Dungeon teammateHaku (now known as Meng) in a tag team calledFaces of Fear on 29 January episode ofMonday Nitro, where they lost to the returningRoad Warriors. Faces of Fear were part of Alliance to End Hulkamania againstHulk Hogan and Randy Savage in aDoomsday Cage match atUncensored, which Hogan and Savage won. At theSlamboree pay-per-view, Barbarian was randomly paired withDiamond Dallas Page in a Lethal Lottery match, where they defeated Meng andHugh Morrus in the first match and thenRick Steiner andThe Booty Man in the second match to qualify for theLord of the Ring battle royal, in which Vailahi was the runner-up, being eliminated by Page. Dungeon of Doom were entered into a rivalry withFour Horsemen, stemming from The Taskmaster's rivalry with Horsemen memberChris Benoit overWoman. At theHalloween Havoc pay-per-view, Faces of Fear lost to Horsemen members Benoit andSteve McMichael in atag team match. Faces of Fear began pursuing theWorld Tag Team Championship as they facedThe Outsiders (Scott Hall andKevin Nash) andNasty Boys (Brian Knobbs andJerry Sags) in atriangle match for the title atWorld War 3, where Outsiders retained the title. Faces of Fear received another title match against Outsiders atStarrcade but failed to win the title.
Faces of Fear competed in the tag team division throughout 1997 and failed to get any championship success. Dungeon of Doom disbanded after Taskmaster's retirement. Faces of Fear would then feud withWrath andMortis, whom they faced in a losing effort atFall Brawl. On 29 September episode ofMonday Nitro, Barbarian lost to newcomerGoldberg, becoming one of the earliest victims of his undefeated streak. Faces of Fear had their next rivalry againstGlacier andErnest Miller, whom they defeated atWorld War 3. On 12 February 1998 episode ofThunder, Barbarian tried to separate Meng fromHugh Morrus after Meng defeated Morrus and refused to release theTongan Death Grip. Meng then applied the hold on Barbarian as well, thus breaking up Faces of Fear. Barbarian formed a tag team with Morrus under the management ofJimmy Hart and feuded with Meng throughout the year. The former partners competed in the opening match of theRoad Wild pay-per-view, where Meng defeated Barbarian.
Jimmy Hart reunited Faces of Fear in early 1999 and put them in a tournament for the vacatedWorld Tag Team Championship. Barbarianturned on Meng during a tournament match againstBobby Duncum, Jr. andMike Enos on 12 February episode ofThunder by striking Meng with theKick of Fear. Barbarian continued his rivalry with Meng throughout the year. In the spring of 1999, Barbarian formed a short-lived alliance with Hugh Morrus, which led to the two receiving several title shots for the World Tag Team Championship but failed to win the titles. As part of this alliance, Barbarian faced his former partner Meng andJerry Flynn in various tag team matches including astreet fight on 10 April episode ofSaturday Night. Barbarian and Morrus lost all of these matches.
This would later lead to Barbarian being placed in Jimmy Hart'sFirst Familyfaction with, Hugh Morrus,Brian Knobbs and Jerry Flynn in the summer of 1999. First Family found little success, failing to win the WCW World Tag Team Championship from the team ofKonnan andBilly Kidman on 11 November episode ofThunder. This resulted in the group completely dissolving within only two months, and all the members of the faction went their separate ways.
Barbarian's last televised match in WCW was on 29 March 2000 episode ofThunder, a loss to theWCW World Television ChampionJim Duggan. WCW terminated Barbarian's contract in April 2000 in an effort of lowering budget costs.
In March 2004, The Barbarian won the NWA Virginia Heavyweight Championship, and feuded withDavid Flair for the title, until he was ruled ineligible to compete due to a lack of a validVirginia wrestling license. In 2005, The Barbarian again teamed with The Warlord in Gladiator Championship Wrestling, and renewed his feud withRoad Warrior Animal. In 2007, at the Annual Championship Wrestling/IRW Fun Fest Slam inKingsport, Tennessee, The Barbarian wrestled 'Big' Steve Fury, the CW Heavyweight Champion, in front of 1,100 people. He also made an appearance inIWA Mid South, at the April Bloodshowers 2007 event, where he wrestledJimmy Jacobs. In 2008, The Barbarian teamed with Demolition Ax (Bill Eadie), and managed byTed DiBiase, in Seagrove North Carolina, defeating Cowboy Willie Watts and Leroy Greene. In 2009, The Barbarian teamed with the Iron Chief in the Ivan Koloff's tag team tournament in the Allied Independent Wrestling Federation (AIWF). In August 2012,Chikara announced that The Barbarian would be making his debut for the promotion in the following month's2012 King of Trios tournament, where he will reunite with The Warlord and Meng asThe Faces of Pain in reference to their previous team namesFaces of Fear andPowers of Pain.[29] On 14 September, the team was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by TeamROH (Mike Bennett,Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson).[30][31] Two days later, on the final day of the tournament, The Barbarian and The Warlord took part in a tag teamgauntlet match, from which they eliminated their old WWF rivals, Demolition, before being eliminated themselves by1-2-3 Kid andMarty Jannetty.[30]
As of 2024, he still wrestles at 66 years old.
Sione has seven children with his wife, Seini Tonga. His youngest son, Peter, was acollege football player, who signed withBrigham Young University in February 2005. However, in the early stages of his BYU contract, Peter withdrew in order to play closer to his home inCharlotte, North Carolina. Peter signed to attendWingate University inWingate, North Carolina. His son Joey competes in powerlifting and strongman events. Sione's nephewSamu Manoa is an American rugby union player who currently plays second row or back row forToulon inFrance.Samu Manoa also plays for the US National Team. Sione's nephew Luke Kaumatule played TE/DE forStanford University and nephew Canton Kaumatule played DE forOregon University but transferred to theUniversity of Central Florida to begin playing in the 2018 season. Both Luke and Canton are the younger brothers to Samu Monoa.
He is the uncle and trainer ofLei'D Tapa, who is aGerman professional women's wrestler,MMA fighter, andprofessional boxer.
In July 2016, Sione was named part of aclass actionlawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurredtraumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE.[32] In September 2018, the lawsuit was dismissed by US District JudgeVanessa Lynne Bryant.[33] In September 2020, an appeal for the lawsuit dismissed by a federal appeals court.[34]
| Year | January Hatsu basho,Tokyo | March Haru basho,Osaka | May Natsu basho,Tokyo | July Nagoya basho,Nagoya | September Aki basho,Tokyo | November Kyūshū basho,Fukuoka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | x | (Maezumo) | East Jonokuchi #5 5–2 | East Jonidan #63 4–1–2 | East Jonidan #46 Sat out due to injury 0–0–7 | West Jonidan #45 5–2 |
| 1976 | West Jonidan #13 4–3 | West Sandanme #76 Sat out due to injury 0–0–7 | West Jonidan #30 5–2 | West Sandanme #83 6–1 | West Sandanme #36 Retired 5–2 | x |
| Record given aswins–losses–absences Top division champion Top division runner-up Retired Lower divisions Non-participation Sanshō key:F=Fighting spirit;O=Outstanding performance;T=Technique Also shown:★=Kinboshi;P=Playoff(s) | ||||||
,Wrestlingdata.com,Internet Wrestling Database