.png) Fatu, circa 1987 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Samuel Larry Fatu (1966-09-01)September 1, 1966 (age 59) |
Spouse | Theresa Fuavai-Fatu |
| Children | 3, includingJacob Fatu |
| Relative(s) | Rikishi (brother) Umaga (brother) Jimmy Uso (nephew) Jey Uso (nephew) Solo Sikoa (nephew) Zilla Fatu (nephew) Jacob Fatu (son) Naomi (niece-in-law, by marriage) |
| Family | Anoaʻi |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Samoan Savage[1] The Tonga Kid Tama Tama Samoa Nikozuna Wild Samoan Nick Wild Samoan Savage Sam Fatu Samoan #4 |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 225 lb (102 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | "The Isle of Samoa" Tonga |
| Trained by | Afa Anoa'i Sika Anoa'i[1][3][4] |
| Debut | 1983[1] |
| Retired | 2019 |
Samuel Larry Fatu (born September 1, 1966)[5] is an American retiredprofessional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with theWorld Wrestling Federation under thering namesThe Tonga Kid andTama and withWorld Championship Wrestling asThe Samoan Savage.[1][4]
Fatu debuted as aprofessional wrestler in 1983,[1] after being trained by theWild Samoans.[3] Shortly after debuting he joined theWorld Wrestling Federation as "Samoan No. 4," in May 1983 wrestling at untelevised house shows before making his television debut in the fall of 1983 as The Tonga Kid. Billed as the cousin ofSuperfly Jimmy Snuka, he entered into his first major feud with Snuka's rivalRoddy Piper in 1984.[6] He left the WWF in January 1985 and went to work in other territories.
In August 1986, he returned and teamed withTonga Fifita, who was wrestling under the name King Tonga.[1] Fatu was renamed to Tama, while Fifita was renamed Haku. Together, they were christened The Islanders.[1] The Islanders gained several key victories, including a tag team battle royal victory overBig John Studd andKing Kong Bundy, but ultimately failed to gain the interest of fans. The two were eventually repackaged as villains in April 1987 afterBobby Heenan distracted their opponentsThe Can-Am Connection to help the Islanders win a match; the team was now managed by Heenan,[1] and used an aggressive, savage style of wrestling as opposed to a scientific style.
WhenTom Zenk of the Can-Am Connection left the WWF later in 1987, the Islanders continued the feud with his partnerRick Martel and ultimately with Martel's new teamStrike Force withTito Santana and while the two teams generally traded victories during the early part of the feud, once Strike Force won theWWF Tag Team Championship, the Islanders began finding themselves on the losing end, despite having several attempts.[1] In early December 1987, the Islanders were disqualified from a match with theBritish Bulldogs when theykidnapped the Bulldogs' dog, Matilda.[1] The Islanders were indefinitely suspended in the storyline until Matilda was found.[1] From late January 1988 until early February, the Islanders were consistently beaten by the British Bulldogs.[1]
AtSaturday Night's Main Event XV on March 7, they beatThe Killer Bees, a tag team consisting ofB. Brian Blair andJim Brunzell. AtWrestlemania 4, the Islanders, with Bobby Heenan, defeated the Bulldogs andKoko B. Ware, with Matilda.[1] On April 21, Heenan introducedSiva Afi as the newest member of the group, but Afi never made another appearance with the Islanders. Fatu then left the WWF.
After leaving the WWF, Fatu began performing for theWorld Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico as "Tama". On January 6, 1989, he andDan Kroffat defeatedThe Batten Twins to win theWWC World Tag Team Championship. The Batten Twins regained the championship on March 4, 1989.
In 1989, Fatu joinedWorld Championship Wrestling, where he adopted the ring name "The Samoan Savage" and began teaming with his brotherFatu and his cousinSamu ofThe Samoan SWAT Team. The trio were managed by"The Big Kahuna" Oliver Humperdink. In late 1989, Samu withdrew from in-ring competition and The Samoan SWAT Team was renamed "The New Wild Samoans". AtStarrcade in December 1989, The New Wild Samoans competed in the Iron Teamround-robin tournament, placing third in a field of four teams.
The New Wild Samoans left WCW in the summer of 1990.
After leaving WCW, Fatu (wrestling as "The Samoan Savage") journeyed to Mexico to perform for theUniversal Wrestling Association along with his brother Fatu and his cousin,The Great Kokina. Billed as "The Hawaiian Beasts", the trio won theUWA World Trios Championship from Los Villanos on April 7, 1991. Los Villanos regained the championship on May 31, 1991. In March 1992 with his brother Fatu returned to the WWF as the Samoan Swat Team they wrestled in two house shows againstBarry Horowitz and theBrooklyn Brawler andBeverly Brothers. In July 1992, his brother Fatu, Great Kokina and Samu all went to the WWF. Fatu instead did not return nor got a contract from WWF and would go on his own.
Fatu returned to the WWF as Tonga Kid for a few house shows in 1993 againstPapa Shango andRazor Ramon and 1994 teaming with Samu againstThe Smoking Gunns.
Fatu wrestled three matches forECW in April 1998.[7]
Fatu defeatedVic Grimes in a hardcore match put on byAll Pro Wrestling on September 9, 2000 as part of a Samoan Pride Festival atCrockett Hills Regional Park[8]
In 2005 and 2006, he wrestled in Italy with the Nu Wrestling Evolution promotion. Fatu competed on theindependent circuit until retiring in 2011.[9]
He returned in 2018 working in the independents andEmpire Wrestling Federation in California until 2019.
Fatu appeared as "The Tonga Kid" in the opening scene of the 1986 filmHighlander, where he was involved in a six-man tag team match withGreg Gagne andJim Brunzell againstThe Fabulous Freebirds at the Meadowlands Arena.[10] He also starred as "Tonga Tom" in the 1987 wrestling filmBody Slam, along withDirk Benedict and Roddy Piper.[3][11][12]
Fatu was featured in an April 2020 documentary for Vice'sDark Side of the Ring series, revealing new information on the May 1983 homicide ofNancy Argentino.
Fatu was born to Matagaono Solofa I'aulualo and Elevera Anoaʻi Fatu. He is a member of the famous Anoaʻi family and is the nephew ofSika Anoaʻi andAfa Anoaʻi, known as theWild Samoans. He is the younger brother ofSolofa Fatu Jr. (Headshrinker Fatu/Rikishi), and the older brother of theEddie Fatu (Umaga/Jamal), who died of a heart attack on December 4, 2009.[13][14] Fatu is married to Theresa Fuavai-Fatu.[15] They have four children, two of whom are also professional wrestlers:Jacob, who currently performs forWWE, and Journey, who competes on theindependent circuit.[5]
Some of Fatu's other relatives are also involved in professional wrestling, including his twin nephews, Jonathan and Joshua, who currently perform in WWE asJimmyandJey Uso respectively, and their younger brother Joseph Fatu who currently performs asSolo Sikoa, his cousinsRodney Anoaʻi (Yokozuna),Afa Anoa'i Jr. (Headshrinker Manu),Samula Anoaʻi (Headshrinker Samu),Matt Anoaʻi (Rosey),Joe Anoaʻi (Roman Reigns),Reno Anoaʻi (Black Pearl), andLloyd Anoaʻi (L.A. Smooth).Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) is also considered to be his cousin because of theblood brothership between his great grandfather Reverend Amituana'i Anoaʻi and Johnson's grandfatherPeter Maivia.
In November 2008, Fatu's wife went into cardiac arrest while giving birth. Her heart stopped completely before the twins, Marley and Myracle, could be delivered byCaesarean section, but she was spontaneously revived and eventually recovered.[15][16] This type of incident is very rare, with one of the cardiac surgeons who was working on Theresa saying that he had never seen surviving mothers or babies.[15]
,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database| First generation | |
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| Second generation | |
| Third generation | |
| In-laws | |
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| Related articles | |
