.png) Sika in 1986 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leati Sika Amituana'i Anoa'i[5] (1945-04-05)April 5, 1945 |
| Died | June 25, 2024(2024-06-25) (aged 79) |
Spouse | Patricia Hooker[4] |
| Children | 5, includingRoman Reigns andRosey |
| Family | Anoaʻi[3] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring names |
|
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1][2] |
| Billed weight | 319 lb (145 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | "The Isle of Samoa"[3][2] |
| Trained by | Afa Anoa'i[3][4] Kurt Von Steiger |
| Debut | 1973 |
| Retired | 1991 |
Leati Sika Amituana'i Anoa'i (April 5, 1945 – June 25, 2024), better known by thering nameSika, was a Samoan-Americanprofessional wrestler. He is best known as one-half of thetag team theWild Samoans with his older brotherAfa, holding theWWF World Tag Team Championship three times. Sika and Afa were inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame in 2007 and theProfessional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2012.
Sika Anoa'i was born in the village ofLeone on the island ofTutuila inAmerican Samoa on April 5, 1945, toReverend Amituana'i Anoa'i and Tovaleomanaia Ripley, one of thirteen children.[4][6] In 1959, at the age of 14, he moved with his family toSan Francisco, California in the United States, where his father became pastor of the FirstCongregational Christian Church of American Samoa.[7][8] Shortly after,[when?] Anoa'i enlisted in theUnited States Merchant Marine, working on ships sailing tothe Philippines andJapan. He left in 1969 and worked, as adockworker before leaving to join his brotherAfa in pro wrestling.[4][1][9]
Anoaʻi was trained to wrestle by his brotherAfa andKurt Von Steiger, debuting in 1973 inStampede Wrestling as "Sika". Calling themselves "the Wild Samoans", the brothers gained notoriety due to their large, wildafros,sarongs, and habit of wrestling barefoot and eatingraw fish in the ring.[3][9][10] Throughout the 1970s, the Wild Samoans appeared with promotions includingBig Time Wrestling, theContinental Wrestling Association,Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling,NWA All-Star Wrestling,NWA Mid-America, Stampede Wrestling, and theWorld Wrestling Council, winning multiple tag team championships.[11] From 1977 to 1979, the Samoans made repeated tours of Japan withInternational Wrestling Enterprise; in January 1978, they briefly held theIWA World Tag Team Championship.[12]
In January 1980, the Wild Samoans debuted in theWorld Wrestling Federation withLou Albano as their manager, quickly establishing themselves as a force in the tag team division through a series of decisive victories. In addition to competing in the tag division, the brothers wrestled as singles, Sika unsuccessfully challengingBob Backlund for theWWF Championship in March 1980.[13][9][10]
On April 12, 1980, the Wild Samoans defeatedIvan Putski andTito Santana to win theWWF World Tag Team Championship. Their reign lasted until August 9, 1980, when they lost to Backlund andPedro Morales atShowdown at Shea. As Backlund was the then-WWF Champion, he and Morales were forced to vacate the championship, and the Wild Samoans regained the championship on the September 9, 1980, episode ofWWF Championship Wrestling, defeatingTony Garea andRene Goulet in the finals of a tournament. Their second reign lasted until November 8, 1980, when they lost to Garea andRick Martel.[13][14][15] They left the WWF in December 1980.
On November 22, 1981, the Wild Samoans were disqualified in a match againstAnimal Hamaguchi andRusher Kimura.[16]
In April 1981, the Wild Samoans debuted in theOklahoma City, Oklahoma-based promotionMid-South Wrestling. They were initially managed byErnie Ladd before betraying him to align themselves withSkandor Akbar. They held theMid-South Tag Team Championship on three occasions between June 1981 and May 1982, feuding withJunkyard Dog and his partners. They left the promotion in May 1982.[11]
In March 1982, the Wild Samoans began competing for theAtlanta, Georgia-based promotionGeorgia Championship Wrestling, where they weremanaged bySonny King. In August 1982, they defeatedThe Fabulous Freebirds to win theNWA National Tag Team Championship. They held the championship for several months, vacating it in December 1982 upon leaving the promotion to return to the WWF.[11][17]
The Wild Samoans returned to the WWF in November 1982, once again adopting Lou Albano as their manager. They won the WWF World Tag Team Championship for a third and final time on March 8, 1983, defeatingChief Jay Strongbow andJules Strongbow. During their reign, Sika was injured and his nephewSamu substituted for him in several title defences. On November 15, 1983, they lost the belts to Soul Patrol (Rocky Johnson andTony Atlas) after Albano accidentally hit Afa with a chair.[14][17]
After splitting from Albano, the Wild Samoans challenged Soul Patrol on several occasions, but were unable to regain the championship. In April 1984, Sika unsuccessfully challenged Hogan for the WWF Championship in one of Hogan's earliest title defenses. In mid-1984, the Wild Samoansturnedface and began a lengthy feud with the North-South Connection (Adrian Adonis andDick Murdoch) who were the WWF World Tag Team Champions.[18] They left the WWF once more in January 1985.[19]
The Wild Samoans appeared with several promotions in 1985 and 1986, includingPro Wrestling USA,Lutte Internationale andInternational Championship Wrestling.[20][21][22]
With Afa now semi-retired, Sika returned to the WWF in August 1986 as a singles wrestler. Managed byThe Wizard, he went undefeated before dropping a countout toRicky Steamboat, a pinfall to Pedro Morales and a disqualification toHillbilly Jim in November 1986.[23]
In March 1987, Sika formed a tag team withKamala, aligning himself with Kamala's manager,Mr. Fuji, and "handler",Kim Chee. The duo wrestled a series of matches againstThe Can-Am Connection and took part in several tournaments. The team was dissolved in August 1987 when Kamala left the WWF. In September 1987, he competed in theKing of the Ring tournament, losing in the first round toS. D. Jones. On the October 3, 1987Saturday Night's Main Event XII (recorded September 23, 1987), he unsuccessfully challenged WWF Champion Hulk Hogan in the main event. He wrestled a series of matches againstBam Bam Bigelow and then againstJake Roberts. At theSlammy Awards ceremony on December 16, 1987, the "Song of the Year" category ended with no winner after he ate the envelope containing the winner's name.[24]
In early 1988, Sika's regular opponents includedLanny Poffo,George Steele, andHillbilly Jim. On March 27, 1988, he appeared on his firstpay-per-view, competing in abattle royal atWrestleMania IV. He left the WWF once more following the bout.[25]
After leaving the WWF, Sika wrestled several matches on the independent circuit. He formed a short-lived tag team with his nephewKokina in theContinental Wrestling Federation, where they were managed byAlan Martin. He retired in 1989.[26]
He wrestled a couple of matches in 1991 in Austria and Connecticut.
On August 15, 1997, the Wild Samoans reunited for one night teaming withDisco Inferno,Gene Ligon and the Big Cheese as they defeatedKen Timbs, George Love, Jay Love, Gary Royal and Kane Adams at IWA Night of the Legends in Kannapolis, North Carolina.[27]
His last match was in 2006.
On March 31, 2007, the Wild Samoans were inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame by Sika's sonRosey and Afa's sonSamu.[3]
The Wild Samoans appeared atHell in a Cell on October 25, 2020, to celebrateRoman Reigns' victory.[28]
Anoaʻi was married to and separated from Patricia Hooker.[4] They had five children. Their oldest son, Matt (1970–2017), worked in WWE asRosey and was a tag team champion.[29] Younger son Joseph played college football forGeorgia Tech from 2003 to 2006 before beginning a professional wrestling career in 2010, winning theWWE Championship on multiple occasions asRoman Reigns.[3][30][31] Anoa'i held thematai title of Pola’ivao.[32]
Sika Anoa'i died inPensacola, Florida on June 25, 2024, at the age of 79.[32][33][34]His death was caused by a heart attack. Just under two months after his death, his real life brother and tag team partner Afa would also die.[35]
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