 | Some of this article'slisted sourcesmay not bereliable. Please help improve this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed.(April 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
%2c_circa_November_1983.jpg) King Tonga as theWWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Champion in 1983 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Tonga ʻUliʻuli Fifita (1959-02-10)February 10, 1959 (age 66)[3] |
Spouse | |
| Children | 4, includingTonga Loa,Tama Tonga andTala Tonga |
| Family | Bad Luck Fale (cousin once removed) Steve Fifita (cousin) Tatafu Polota-Nau (cousin) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Haku King Haku King Tonga Monster Face of Fear/Terror Meng Tama Tonga[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 275 lb (125 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Tonga |
| Trained by | Giant Baba[3] |
| Debut | 1978[3] |
Tonga ʻUliʻuli Fifita (born February 10, 1959) is a Tonganprofessional wrestler and formersumo wrestler (rikishi), best known for his appearances in theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) andNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) under thering nameHaku[3] and his appearances withWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) asMeng.
Making his debut in 1978, Fifita also wrestled under the namesKing Tonga andKing Haku while wrestling for the WWF. Fifita appeared on multiplepay-per-view events for the WWF andWCW and is a formerWWF World Tag Team Champion.
Growing up on the main island of the South Pacific island-kingdom ofTonga, Fifita attendedTonga College, where he playedrugby union. At the age of 15, he was part of a group of six teenagers and young men sent by theking of Tonga to Japan to studySumo. Sione Vailahi, who would later become better known as pro-wrestler "The Barbarian", was also a part of this group. After moving to Japan in 1974, he competed under theshikona (sumo name) of Fukunoshima (福ノ島). He made his debut in November 1974 and reached the rank ofMakushita 27. However, in 1975 the stablemaster who recruited him died, and he and the other five Tongan wrestlers got entangled in a dispute with his successor, which led to him being forced to retire by theJapan Sumo Association in 1976.[4]
| Fukunoshima Hiroshi | |
|---|---|
| 福ノ島 裕士 | |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft11+1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 95 kg (209 lb) |
| Career | |
| Stable | Asahiyama |
| Record | 48-25-4 |
| Debut | November 1974 |
| Highest rank | Makushita 27 (September 1976) |
| Retired | September 1976 |
Last updated: Aug. 2020 | |
Under the guidance of two other former sumotori who had turned topuroresu,Genichiro Tenryu andTakashi Ishikawa, he joined their home promotion,All Japan Pro Wrestling. Early in his career, he also refereed matches in theAmarillo territory. Nevertheless, this merely served as a springboard for him to wrestle all over the world.
In the early 1980s, Fifita, taking the name King Tonga, wrestled in Canada forFrank Valois'Lutte Internationale promotion based inMontreal. The heel Tonga was managed by former wrestlerTarzan "The Boot" Tyler. Tonga feuded with the top stars of the promotion, includingDino Bravo. A face turn appeared to be in the offing, as Tonga interfered in a tag match, attackingRoad Warrior Animal andPaul Ellering during a bout withJos LeDuc andJacques Rougeau Jr.. A miscommunication in another tag match with partnerButch Reed led to Reed and Tyler attacking Tonga. He worked in Puerto Rico for theWorld Wrestling Council where he feuded withInvader 1 and won many titles such as theWWC North American Tag Team Championship with El Gran Apolo, theWWC World Tag Team Championship withHercules Ayala and theWWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship. Tonga formed a team with his until-then rival Bravo, and the two became successful, including a win overThe Road Warriors at theMontreal Forum.[citation needed]
Tonga debuted at a WWF Championship taping on 8/20/85 as King Tonga and wrestled as a "babyface".
In 1986 King Tonga became a star by body slammingBig John Studd onChampionship Wrestling, though predictably Studd's managerBobby "The Brain" Heenan did not pay him theUS$15,000 he promised to anyone who could do so.
Tonga made a name for himself as Haku in the WWF as half of "The Islanders" withTama. Originally a fan-favorite team, the Islanders had mixed success, though they did win a $50,000 tag team Battle Royal atMadison Square Garden in October 1986.[5] They turned heel in 1987 during a match on theWWF Superstars of Wrestling withThe Can-Am Connection (Tom Zenk andRick Martel). Earlier in the show, Heenan had announced he would have a new tag team that night and everyone thought he was going to introduce a new team to the WWF. Instead he showed up at ringside during the match where it became known his "new" team was in fact the Islanders. A feud thus broke out between the Islanders and the Connection; when Zenk left the WWF, Martel and replacement partnerTito Santana, asStrike Force continued the war, with the Islanders challenging Strike Force for theWWF World Tag Team Championship after the latter team won the belts. The team also had a classic feud withThe British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith andDynamite Kid) that was started when the Islanders, along with Heenan, kidnapped the Bulldogs' mascot, abulldog named Matilda. Their feud ended after a six-man tag team match atWrestleMania IV, where the Islanders and Heenan (wearing an attack dog outfit), defeated the Bulldogs andKoko B. Ware when Heenan pinned Koko.
In 1988, followingKing Harley Race's legitimate stomach injury sustained in a match against Hulk Hogan, Haku was given Race's crown and robe and was rechristened King Haku during a coronation ceremony.[6] In one of his first big matches after becoming King Haku, he faced Hogan withMiss Elizabeth in Hogan's corner on Saturday Night's Main Event in October 1988. He challengedRandy Savage for theWWF World Heavyweight Championship on 17 December at The Spectrum, but failed to win the title. However, he cemented his position as king by successfully defending his crown against the returning Race in a match at the1989 Royal Rumble atThe Summit inHouston. He later lost the crown toHacksaw Jim Duggan[7] who himself was crowned as "King Duggan".
Haku would later go on to form thetag team known as theColossal Connection withAndré the Giant and win theWWF Tag Team Championship fromDemolition on 30 December edition ofSuperstars (taped on 13 December).[8] The team was formed largely due to André's ongoing poor health caused by hisGigantism and the tag-team was a way to prolong his career while also giving Haku a story line. Haku and André lost the titles atWrestleMania VI, when Demolition defeated the Colossal Connection to regain the titles. Haku never legally tagged Andre into the match (due to André's poor health). Late in the match André attempted to interfere, but Haku accidentally struck him with a savate kick which left André tied in the ropes (according toBobby Heenan, being tied in the ropes was one of André's favorite 'spots' as it gave the opposition some offence against him while at the same time giving him a 1–2 minute rest); Haku was pinned shortly after this. The team's manager, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, blamed André for the loss and even slapped the Giant, who retaliated by "paint-brushing" Heenan. Haku tried to ambush André; however, The Giant blocked Haku's kick and struck him repeatedly, causing Haku to flee the ring where he and Heenan tried to leave by the ring cart but were caught before it left by the Giant who forced both off the cart before riding the cart alone to a standing ovation from the 67,678 strong crowd. André's face turn meant that the team had split.
Just after WrestleMania, Haku became the first wrestler to challenge the new WWF champion, The Ultimate Warrior, but he lost the match. Later that month he was programmed into a house show program with Hercules. On a match that aired on 8 June 1990 MSG Network, Hercules defeated Haku. In matches through April and May, the former Heenan family member won most of his matches against Haku. In the summer of 1990 Haku transitioned to an opening card wrestler on the house show circuit. He was victorious against the returningBrady Boone,Jim Brunzell,Barry O, and the newly arrivedShane Douglas. After being left off ofSummerSlam 90, Haku was first to be granted a series of matches against newIntercontinental ChampionKerry Von Erich in a series of house show matches in September. Winless in these matches, he then became part of the Heenan Family feud against The Big Boss Man and participated in the 1990Survivor Series. Again winless, he moved on that fall to feud with the newly returnedDavey Boy Smith. Haku ended the year mired in a lengthy losing streak.[9]
In early 1991 he formed a tag team shortly after this with fellow Heenan Family memberThe Barbarian. Their most notable match was a defeat in the opening match ofWrestleMania VII againstThe Rockers (Shawn Michaels andMarty Jannetty).[10] The team was short lived and Haku returned to singles competition, facing the newly returnedRicky Steamboat on house shows the spring of 1991. In the summer of 1991 Haku began to appear inSuper World Sports in Japan for joint WWF/SWS cards.[11] Shortly after competing in theRoyal Rumble in1992, Haku left the WWF to compete exclusively in SWS.[12]
Coming towards the end of Fifita's WWF career, he would wrestle under the name King Haku for Japanese promotionSuper World of Sports. On 14 February 1992, Haku andYoshiaki Yatsu became the firstSWS Tag Team Champions. They lost the championship on 16 April when they lost them toGeorge and Shunji Takano but would regain them on 18 April, holding them until 19 June when SWS closed. With SWS closing, King Haku wrestled forConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in Mexico andNew Japan Pro-Wrestling andWrestle Association R in Japan, before finally joiningWorld Championship Wrestling.
Fifita joined WCW in 1994, under the new ring name Meng, because the name Haku wastrademarked by the WWF. Fifita made his surprise WCW debut on the 28 May 1994 episode ofSaturday Night, as the mysterious and intimidating bodyguard ofCol. Robert Parker,[13] wearing business suits and shades while maintaining a quiet demeanor. He would accompany Parker whenever Parker's wrestlers of theStud Stable competed in matches. His last night as a bodyguard was at theSuperBrawl Vpay-per-viewevent on 19 February 1995, where Stud Stable memberBunkhouse Buck lost toJim Duggan. Meng attacked Duggan after the match. Later in the event, whenBlacktop Bully was scheduled to wrestleDustin Rhodes, WCW CommissionerNick Bockwinkel came out and escorted Meng back to the dressing room because of the attack on Duggan earlier in the show. The next week, Col. Parker announced that Meng would no longer be a bodyguard, but would be a wrestler from then onwards, winning his first match against alocal competitor with one fast high kick. Meng began feuding with Duggan, leading to amartial arts match between the two atUncensored, which Meng won.
Shortly after, Meng began feuding withRoad Warrior Hawk, wrestling him to a double count-out atSlamboree. After the event, Meng participated in a tournament for the vacatedUnited States Heavyweight Championship. He defeatedMarcus Alexander Bagwell andFlyin' Brian in the tournament to advance to the tournament final againstSting atThe Great American Bash, which Meng lost. In the summer of 1995, Meng formed an alliance with Parker's newest clientKurasawa and feuded with Sting and Road Warrior Hawk, losing to them atClash of the Champions XXXI.[14]
He would soon become known as "The Monster" Meng. He was touted as being a former bodyguard to theEmperor of Japan. Meng's finishing maneuver was theTongan Death Grip, a nerve grip on theAdam's apple applied to a standing victim who would drop into a supine position.
In late August 1995, Meng quietly dropped Parker as his manager and joined theDungeon of Doom faction under the name "Face of Terror" to feud withHulk Hogan. AtFall Brawl, Meng teamed with Dungeon of Doom membersKamala,The Shark andZodiac to take on Hogan,Randy Savage, Sting andLex Luger in aWarGames match, which Dungeon of Doom lost. The faction continued to feud with Hogan and his allies throughout the next few months. In November, Meng participated in the first-everthree-ring, sixty-man World War 3 battle royal at thenamesake event for the vacantWCW World Heavyweight Championship. Savage won the match. On the 27 January 1996 episode ofSaturday Night, Meng unsuccessfully challengedJohnny B. Badd for theWorld Television Championship.
Two nights later, on the 29 January episode ofMonday Nitro, Meng formed a tag team with Dungeon's newest recruit The Barbarian calledThe Faces of Fear, and the group was managed byJimmy Hart. Faces of Fear lost toRoad Warriors (Hawk andAnimal) in the match. AtUncensored, Dungeon of Doom lost to Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage in aDoomsday Cage match. AtSlamboree, Meng was randomly paired with Dungeon teammateHugh Morrus against tag team partner Barbarian andDiamond Dallas Page in the Lethal Lottery tournament to qualify for theBattlebowl battle royal. Meng and Morrus lost the match.
Faces of Fear branched out as a tag team after the rivalry with Hulk Hogan ended. They unsuccessfully challengedSting and Lex Luger for theWorld Tag Team Championship on the 20 May episode ofNitro. Faces of Fear continued to team in WCW's tag team division while also teaming with their Dungeon teammates in various eight-man tag team matches. After losing toChris Benoit andSteve McMichael atHalloween Havoc, Faces of Fear began pursuing the World Tag Team Championship. AtWorld War 3, Faces of Fear unsuccessfully challengedThe Outsiders (Scott Hall andKevin Nash) for the titles in atriangle match, also involvingThe Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs andJerry Sags). Faces of Fear received another title shot against Outsiders atStarrcade but lost again.
Meng spent much of 1997 facing lower and mid-card performers before starting a small winning streak in the summer of 1998. This led to a main eventWCW World Championship match withBill Goldberg on 10 August edition ofMonday Nitro. Goldberg, too, had an impressive winning streak. Goldberg won and retained his title that night and thus added another wrestler in his winning streak, making it 160–0. Prior to this, Meng had faced Goldberg (before he won the World Championship) onWCW Saturday Night and despite the loss had pushed Goldberg for longer than anyone had until that point. In the spring of 1999, whenRic Flair was the (kayfabe) president on WCW programming, the barbaric Meng would often annihilate Flair's enemies per his instructions. Later on, Meng had a short-lived feud with Sting and occasionally faced top stars likeLex Luger and WCW ChampionBret Hart. He also participated in matches for the newly introducedWCW Hardcore Championship toward the end of 1999. Meng finally won the title at theSin pay-per-view on 14 January 2001. He became the final WCW Hardcore Champion. A week later, he left WCW just two months before it was bought by WWF in March 2001.
Fifita, under the name Meng, wrestled forWorld League Wrestling winning theWLW Heavyweight Championship on two occasions in 2000. He would return in 2003 to win the championship for the third time. Since 2005, Fifita has been essentially retired, returning to the wrestling ring on a few occasions over the years. In 2009, as King Haku, he would wrestle regularly forWorld Xtreme Wrestling where he won theWXW Hardcore Championship twice. He would return to semi retirement after his stint. Meng appeared atChikara'sKing of Trios 2012 tournament, held on 14–16 September inEaston, Pennsylvania, teaming withThe Barbarian andThe Warlord under the team name the Faces of Pain. On 14 September, the team was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by TeamROH (Mike Bennett andMatt Jackson and Nick Jackson).[15][16]
One week after Sin, Fifita returned to the WWF as Haku and made a surprise appearance at the2001 Royal Rumble. After the Rumble, he formed a tag team withRikishi, but the team did not last long due to Rikishi suffering an injury. Haku was left to wrestle on the lower card shows likeSunday Night Heat. His final TV taping was againstShawn Stasiak on aWWF Jakked/Metal taping inBuffalo, New York on 23 July 2001 which Stasiak won. Haku would work in WWF's developmental territoryHeartland Wrestling Association. Haku's last matches were againstWWF European ChampionDiamond Dallas Page at house shows in February and March 2002 losing all of them in Texas, New Mexico, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. He was eventually released from the WWF in April 2002.
On 4 January 2016, Fifita, as King Haku, made a surprise return to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, taking part in theNew Japan Rumble on theWrestle Kingdom 10 pre-show. During the appearance he represented his sonTama Tonga'sBullet Club stable. He was eliminated from the match after submitting toHiroyoshi Tenzan.[17] The following day, Haku teamed with his son and fellow Bullet Club membersDoc Gallows,Karl Anderson andYujiro Takahashi in a ten-man tag team match, where they defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan,Kushida,Satoshi Kojima,Togi Makabe andTomoaki Honma.[18] Haku next appeared at NJPW'sG1 Special in USA on 2 July 2017, alongside his sons when they teamed with stablemateHangman Page.[19]
Haku, once again representing Bullet Club, returned at theG1 Special in San Francisco. He, alongside Tama Tonga,Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi andChase Owens defeatedChaos membersYoshi-Hashi,Gedo,Rocky Romero,Yoh andSho, after making Gedo submit to the Tongan Death Grip. Later that night, Haku appeared with Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa afterKenny Omega successfully defended theIWGP Heavyweight Championship againstCody. They initially congratulated Omega, but suddenlyturned and attacked Omega and theYoung Bucks as they were celebrating on the ramp while wearing T-shirts referring to themselves as the "BC Firing Squad". After dragging Omega and the Young Bucks back to the ring to attack them further, fellow Bullet Club membersHangman Page,Marty Scurll, Yujiro Takahashi, and Chase Owens all attempted to come to The Elite's defence, but were summarily beaten down. The Firing Squad attempted to make peace with Cody, but Cody refused, and was also attacked. Haku then delivered a piledriver to Omega onto a steel chair, leaving the Firing Squad standing tall at the end as they declared themselves to be the real Bullet Club.
On 28 July 2021, Haku made a surprise appearance atAll Elite Wrestling's (AEW)Fight for the Fallen event where he accompanied his sonHikuleo to the ring for hisIWGP United States Heavyweight Championship match, where he facedLance Archer in a losing effort.[20]
Fifita, as Haku, made an appearance in the now-renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (shortened to WWE as of 2011) at the2025 Hall of Fame forLex Luger's induction. This was his first WWE appearance in over 23 years. He made a special appearance atWrestleMania 41 to congratulateJacob Fatu on winning theWWE United States Championship againstLA Knight.[21]
Fifita is married to Dorothy Koloamatangi whom they have a daughter, Vika; a son,Tevita, who is also a wrestler; and two adopted sons,Alipate andTaula. His son Tevita playedfootball as adefensive end for theUniversity of Texas at El Paso and was on theWWE roster from 2009 until 2014, as Camacho, and was also known as Micah inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling. Tevita currently wrestles as Tonga Loa, Alipate as Tama Tonga, and Taula as Talla Tonga all in WWE. Among Fifita's cousins are formerMiami Dolphins defensive tackleSteve Fifita andAustralian Wallabies rugby international playerTatafu Polota-Nau. Meng made a cameo appearance in the 1978Sylvester Stallone movieParadise Alley along with many other professional wrestlers.[citation needed]
Fifita also has close connections withDwayne Johnson, who also wrestles as The Rock, a non-blood related member of theAnoaʻi family, whom Johnson considered as his uncle.[22]
Many former wrestling personalities have described Fifita as the toughest or greatest legitimate fighter in wrestling, includingStone Cold Steve Austin,[23]Road Warrior Animal,[24]The Undertaker,[25]Perry Saturn,[26][27]Barbarian andWarlord,[28]Hulk Hogan,[29]Rocky Johnson,[30]The Rock,[31]Arn Anderson,[32]Goldberg,[33]Big Van Vader,[34]Fit Finlay,[35]Mean Gene Okerlund,[36]Ric Flair,[37]Stu Hart,[38]Rikishi,[39]Frenchy Martin,[40]Jim Cornette,[41]Bob Holly,[42]Dave Penzer,[43]Gino Brito,[44]J. J. Dillon,[45]Sonny Onoo,[46] andHillbilly Jim.[47]
On 3 March 1989, Haku got into an altercation with some men at aBaltimore Airport bar who called wrestling "fake", and during the fight, Haku bit off the nose of one of the men. Haku stated, "Yeah. It was in Baltimore Airport...me andSiva Afi went over and there were lots of babyfaces there at the bar. So we went and sat in the other corner away from them. When they were ready to close, we had a few drinks, and on our way out there were five guys just sitting there. Of course, the same thing came out. The 'fake' stuff. 'Hey, are you guys with those guys – wrestlers? The fake wrestlers on TV?' You know. I said, 'Yeah. I'll show you.' And I reached over without thinking – there are four other guys there (laughs) – grabbed his face, and bit his nose off. Then the fight started. Me and Siva kind of cleaned house there and left. I'll never forget it."[48]
In a shoot interviewBobby Heenan talked extensively about Meng and referred to him as the toughest man he has ever met. The most extreme story he shared was in regard to a bar fight in which he claimed Meng "took his two fingers on his right hand, his index finger and trigger finger, and he reached into the guy's mouth and he broke off the guy's bottom teeth." Heenan said that if he had not been there and seen it himself, he would not believe it. Heenan was also close friends withAndre the Giant and claimed that the only two men in the world that Andre feared were Meng andHarley Race.[49] Heenan also praised Haku as a good-hearted family man.
Kevin Sullivan told a story to WWE Classics about the time when he and Haku went to a tavern to grab a few beers before heading to their hotel. According to Sullivan, it was obvious that he and Meng were not locals, so when they walked into the bar, a guy playing pool insulted Meng. "The next thing I know is that Menggoozles the guy like Mr. Spock," Sullivan said. "It was fast and furious. He then grabbed another guy who tried to get involved and knocked him unconscious." After that, things got even crazier. "Meng bit through the guy's shirt like a wolf, bit a chunk out of the guy's back, then spit it on the floor," he said. "I said, 'It's time to go.'" Sullivan said that as they drove from the bar he saw police cars pulling into the parking lot, but authorities did not pursue them and no charges were ever filed.[50]
WrestlerShane Douglas said in a shoot interview that one would be better off fighting the US Army than fighting Haku. He spoke about an incident when he witnessed several cops trying to hold Haku down and one of them struck Haku with a baton on his face while the others emptied their cans of mace on him but Haku did not visibly react.[51]
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | x | x | x | x | x | (Maezumo) |
| 1975 | West Jonokuchi #19 5–2 | West Jonidan #71 5–2 | East Jonidan #42 6–1 | East Sandanme #80 4–3 | East Sandanme #65 3–4 | West Sandanme #77 7–0–D |
| 1976 | East Makushita #60 3–4 | East Sandanme #8 3–4 | West Sandanme #21 5–2 | West Makushita #56 6–1 | East Makushita #27 Retired 1–2–4 | 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) | ||||||
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
,Cagematch,WrestlingdataLinks to related articles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
