| Rikishi | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Fatu in 2017 | |
| Birth name | Solofa Fatu Jr. |
| Born | (1965-10-11)October 11, 1965 (age 59) San Francisco, California, U.S.[1] |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 8 (includingJonathan,Joshua andJoseph) |
| Family | Anoaʻi |
| Website | rikishifatu |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Alofa thePolynesian Prince[1] Fatu[1] Headshrinker Fatu[1] Hustle Rikishi[1] J.R. Smooth[1] Junior Fatu[1] Kishi[1] "8 Kid Fatty"[1] "Make a Difference" Fatu[1] Rikishi[1] Riki-Shi[2] Rikishi Phatu[1] Solofa Fatu Jr.[1] The Sultan[1] Sumo Rikishi[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 425 lb (193 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | "The Isle of Samoa"[3] "The streets ofSan Francisco by way ofStamford" (as "Make a Difference" Fatu)[3] "TheMiddle East" (as The Sultan)[3] |
| Debut | 1985[1] |
Solofa Fatu Jr.[1] (born October 11, 1965) is an Americanprofessional wrestler, best known under the ring namesRikishi andFatu with theWWE and also competed under the variety of names inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling,World Championship Wrestling andTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Born in San Francisco, Fatu debuted in the professional wrestling business in 1985 asPrince Alofa and later competed with theSamoan SWAT Team in Japan and multiple wrestling promotions across the United States. In 1992, Fatu made his debut for the World Wrestling Federation, he had employed multiple gimmicks during his early run. He returned to the WWF in 1998 where he was repackaged as a sumo wrestler character named Rikishi Phatu, in which he dropped his last name when he began teaming with the popularToo Cool tag team. During his tenure with the company, Fatu has held theWWF Intercontinental Championship (1 time), theWorld Tag Team Championship (2 times), and theWWE Tag Team Championship (1 time). After leaving the WWE in 2004, he would appear in the independent circuit, along with a short stint in TNA asJunior Fatu in 2007. He was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame in 2015.
Fatu is the father ofJimmy Uso,Jey Uso, andSolo Sikoa. As a prominent member of theAnoaʻi family of Samoan wrestlers, he is the brother ofSam Fatu andUmaga, uncle ofJacob Fatu and the cousin ofRosey andRoman Reigns.
Solofa Fatu was born on October 11, 1965, inSan Francisco to Solofa Fatu Sr. and Elevera Anoaʻi Fatu, and grew up in the Sunnydale Projects in theVisitacion Valley neighborhood, where his maternal grandparents were preachers.[4] He attendedBalboa High School, and competed on thewrestling team.[5]
In 1982, when he was seventeen years old, Fatu was wounded in adrive-by shooting that left him with a scar on his abdomen; he claimed in a 2021 interview that he haddied for three minutes in the emergency room before being revived.[4] He spent two months in the hospital, after which his mother, fearing for his safety, sent him out of state to live with her brothersAfa andSika Anoaʻi, with whom he trained to become a professional wrestler.[4]
Fatu began his wrestling career in 1985, working forGino Brito andDino Bravo'sLutte Internationale promotion inMontreal asPrince Alofa, a high-flyingbabyface.[6] He often teamed with the territory's top faces. Fatu also worked forInternational Championship Wrestling in New York City in that same year.
He and his cousinSamula Anoaʻi became theSamoan Swat Team (Samu & Fatu) in 1986 forNew Japan Pro Wrestling. In 1987, they signed with theWorld Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico and they used the "Samoan savage"gimmick their relativesThe Wild Samoans successfully used by working barefoot, never publicly speaking English, and no-selling attacks to the head. They became the newWWC Caribbean Tag Team Champions (after a long vacancy) on November 7, 1987, inGuaynabo, Puerto Rico after defeatingInvader I and Invader III.[7] They held the title for just over a month before dropping it toMark andChris Youngblood[7] before leaving the promotion.
Samu and Fatu next appeared in Texas, working forFritz Von Erich'sWorld Class Championship Wrestling. Storywise,Buddy Roberts brought them in to fight his fights against theVon Erich family and formerFabulous Freebirds partnerMichael Hayes. The SST defeatedKerry andKevin Von Erich for theWCWA World Tag Team Championship on August 12, 1988.[7] They remained undefeated in WCCW until they dropped the belts to Hayes and his new partner, Steve Cox, on September 12.[7] They recaptured the title four days later.[7] Hayes and Cox beat them for the title again on October 15,[7][8] and, two days later, lost it back again.
On September 12, 1988, The Samoan Swat Team became double champions by beating"Hollywood" John Tatum andJimmy Jack Funk for theWCWA Texas Tag Team Championship.[7] They made theirpay-per-view debut atAWA SuperClash III.[9]
In early 1989, the SST left WCCW, vacating both championships. SST signed withJim Crockett Promotions, introduced as managerPaul E. Dangerously's replacement forThe Original Midnight Express (Randy Rose andDennis Condrey), who had left the promotion. The SST took over the Express' feud withThe Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton andStan Lane), beating them atClash of the Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun on April 2, 1989.[10] The SST teamed with former rival Michael Hayes,Terry Gordy, andJimmy Garvin at the1989 Great American Bash, losing aWarGames match toThe Road Warriors, The Midnight Express, andSteve Williams.[11]
In the fall of 1989,Paul E. Dangerously was phased out and the SST took a new manager, "The Big Kahuna"Oliver Humperdink. They were also joined by Fatu's brother,The Samoan Savage. The SST lost more and more matches as 1989 drew to a close, but got a break whenSid Vicious was injured, leading his team,The Skyscrapers, to pull out of the "Iron Team Tournament" atStarrcade 1989. Fatu and The Samoan Savage, rebranded as The New Wild Samoans, replaced them.[12] For the rest of their WCW career, Fatu and Savage teamed, while Samu only wrestled singles matches.[citation needed]
After leaving WCW in the summer of 1990, Fatu and Savage worked for several independent promotions in the US, Europe, Puerto Rico and Japan, often teaming with cousinKokina Maximus.[13] The three worked for theUniversal Wrestling Association in 1991, where they won the UWA Trios Tag Team Championship and held it for just under two months.[14] They headlined the UWA's 16th anniversary show, losing the title toDos Caras,El Canek, andMil Máscaras.[15]
After Samu and Fatu joined theWorld Wrestling Federation, they were renamedThe Headshrinkers, but their savage gimmick remained. Kokina Maximus also joined the WWF, but was repackaged as Japanese sumo wrestler Yokozuna, and his relation to The Headshrinkers was not acknowledged. The Headshrinker's first notable angle came when they interfered to helpMoney Inc. beatThe Natural Disasters for theWWF World Tag Team Championship.[16] Soon after, The Headshrinkers feuded with The Natural Disasters and the recently formedHigh Energy.[17]
Between 1992 and early 1994, The Headshrinkers occasionally challenged for the tag title and made sporadic PPV appearances, feuding withThe Smoking Gunns[18] andMen on a Mission.[19] Fatu would receive aWWF Championship match againstBret Hart on the March 1, 1993 episode ofMonday Night RAW. Despite interference by Samu, Fatu was unsuccessful.
The Headshrinkers helped Yokozuna win acasket match againstThe Undertaker at the1994 Royal Rumble.[20] In April, they turned face, tookLou Albano as their manager and challenged tag championsThe Quebecers. They won the gold on the May 2 episode ofMonday Night RAW.[21] AtKing of the Ring on June 19, they successfully defended the title against Yokozuna andCrush.[22] Their title reign ended at ahouse show inIndianapolis on August 28, when they lost toShawn Michaels andDiesel.[23] This happened a day before they were scheduled to defend againstIrwin R. Schyster andBam Bam Bigelow atSummerSlam. The match went on without the title, and The Headshrinkers lost by disqualification.[24]
Soon after, Samu left the WWF to recover from injuries and was replaced bySione (formerly The Barbarian). They were called The New Headshrinkers. Thestoryline reason for Samu's departure was that he was not coping well with manager Lou Albano's attempts to civilize him, particularly about wearing boots. The New Headshrinkers made only two PPV appearances, at the1994 Survivor Series, where they were eliminated from their ten-man tag match, but helped their team win[25] and at the1995 Royal Rumble; Sione lasted about seven minutes early on and Fatu over five nearer the end. They entered a tournament to crown new WWF tag team champions in late 1994/early 1995, and lost to Bam Bam Bigelow andTatanka in the semi-finals.[26] For the first half of 1995, they worked withJacob & Eli Blu, usuallyputting them over. Their final match was a loss to Men on a Mission at a June 22 house show inLondon, England, after which Sione left for WCW and Fatu was removed from WWF television.[27]
After a brief hiatus, Fatu reappeared as a singles wrestler in July 1995 repackaged as a streetwise positiverole model, for which he filmed several vignettes in his old San Francisco neighborhood touching on his real-life upbringing in theghetto and preaching the messages of staying in school and saying no to drugs,[28] all while he spoke fluent English. Each segment ended with the onscreen phrase "Make a Difference", making it the unofficial name of the gimmick. Fatu made his in-ring return on July 29 by pinningRad Radford onWWF Superstars, and then enjoyed a run of victories overenhancement talent for the remainder of the year.[1] However, the character did not get over with fans, and in 1996 Fatu was regularly booked to lose to stars such asSteve Austin,Vader, andHunter Hearst Helmsley.[1] Two men known as "The Samoan Gangster Party" (Fatu's cousinsSamu andMatthew Anoaʻi) additionally began showing up in the audience during his matches, but no storylines were ever developed. The "Make a Difference" gimmick was dropped in April 1996.[1]
In August 1996, Fatu was repackaged as a heel known as The Sultan, a red masked wrestler with curved shoes who never spoke, ostensibly because his tongue was cut out. He was managed byThe Iron Sheik andBob Backlund. He unsuccessfully challengedRocky Maivia for theWWF Intercontinental Championship atWrestleMania 13.[29] The Sultan vanished in January 1998, and Fatu left to train atDory Funk'sFunking Conservatory wrestling school.[30] He would work from 1998 to 1999 in the independent circuit. OriginallyECW starSabu was to play The Sultan but according to Sabu in a shoot interview, he turned down the offer because he didn't want to be managed by The Iron Sheik and that he wanted his uncleThe Original Sheik to be his manager but the WWF rejected the idea.
After WWF, Fatu continued his Sultan gimmick in theindependent circuit losing toJimmy Snuka. He reunited with Samu as the Headshrinkers working for his uncle's promotionWorld Xtreme Wrestling in Pennsylvania. Later that year he feuded with Billy Two Eagles forElite Canadian Championship Wrestling in British Columbia as Fatu which lasted a year. On April 28, 1999, Fatu teamed with his cousin Yokozuna to defeat Skull Murphy Jr.,Danny Collins and Blondie Barratt in a handicap match in London, England.
In May 1999, Fatu made his debut in Memphis forPower Pro Wrestling as J.R. Smooth, arap gimmick where he started dying his hair blonde and wore sunglasses. He defeatedMichael Hayes for thePPW Heavyweight Championship. He would feud withKurt Angle and dropped the title to Angle on July 24.
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After training at Funk's and working in the independents, Fatu returned on October 5, 1999, for a dark match forSunday Night Heat defeatingCrash Holly.[31] On the November 13, 1999 episode ofWWF Metal as Rikishi Fatu, beating Julio Fantastico.Rikishi is the general Japanese term for a sumo wrestler, similar to his cousin's ring name "Yokozuna". "Fatu" soon became "Phatu", until he dropped the last name entirely after he started teaming with Too Cool. No mention was made of his WWF past. He had gained some weight, bleached his hairblonde, and wore amawashi.[32] PerVince McMahon's request and Fatu's own willingness to honorsumo tradition, nothing was worn underneath themawashi and his buttcheeks were exposed; this was unlike Yokozuna, who wore tights underneath the loincloth, which both McMahon and Fatu felt were unnecessary for the Yokozuna character.[33] His ring gear gained immediate attention; on his televised debut with the gimmick onWWF Metal, play-by-play announcerKevin Kelly responded that he was "a little concerned with, well, Rikishi Fatu's well...garment, or lack thereof," with color commentatorTom Prichard responding that "there isn't much of a garment there!".[34]
On November 22, 1999, onMonday Night Raw, Rikishi helped Too Cool from being attacked by the Mean Street Posse. It was the first time Rikishi's character debuted onRaw, and the first time Too Cool and Rikishi were in the ring together. Rikishi brieflyfeuded withViscera before forming a wildly popular alliance with the duoToo Cool (Grand Master Sexay andScotty 2 Hotty).[3] One night, during Too Cool's traditional post-match dance routine, Rikishi joined them. As the dance routines became more frequent and longer, this popularity translated to a significant push. In the2000 Royal Rumble match, he and Too Cool did the dance to their respective songs, much to the delight of the audience. He later eliminated seven opponents, and it took six wrestlers working together to eliminate him.[35]
Rikishi also became known for his infamous signature maneuver – theStink Face – as hisbuttocks were rubbed into the faces of opposing wrestlers.[3] When his opponent was incapacitated in the corner of the ring, Rikishi would slap his buttocks to indicate the attack, and then he would turn around, hike his thong up, and smother his buttocks into his victim's face.[3] On an episode ofRaw on May 15, 2000,Stephanie McMahon described Rikishi's buttocks as "bulbous", "smelly" and "sweaty" when describing the Stink Face.[36]Kurt Angle, who received a Stink Face from Rikishi, said, "It was the worst smell I ever smelt in my life."[37] The Stink Face also served as a finishing move at times, as wrestlers became physically ill from the maneuver, forcing them to leave the ring and thereby losing via count out. The Stink Face became known as the most repulsive move in the World Wrestling Federation, and this humiliating maneuver became very popular with the fans.[38]
In May 2000, fan favorites Rikishi and Too Cool feuded withEdge,Christian andKurt Angle, culminating in a victory atJudgment Day.[39] After winning theIntercontinental Championship fromChris Benoit on the June 22 episode ofSmackDown!,[40] Rikishi qualified for the2000King of the Ring tournament. On June 25, at King of the Ring, he defeated Benoit in the quarterfinals andVal Venis in the semis. Both opponents hit him with a steel chair after losing, weakening his shoulder and helping Kurt Angle defeat him in the final.[41] Stemming from Venis' attack, Rikishi faced him on July 6 and lost the title afterTazz hit him with a television camera.[40] They rematched in asteel cage atFully Loaded. In this match, Rikishi climbed the cage and, in an allusion toJimmy Snuka, splashed Venis from the top. Rikishi soon lost the match after Tazz again hit him with a camera.[42]
On the October 9 episode ofRaw,CommissionerMick Foley accused Rikishi of being the person who had run overStone Cold Steve Austin almost a year earlier atSurvivor Series, which was the day before the Rikishi gimmick officially debuted in the WWF. This was due to Scotty 2 Hotty unknowingly revealing to Foley that Rikishi was at Survivor Series when he was explaining to Foley his whereabouts on the day Stone Cold was hit. When Foley confronted Rikishi about it, he admitted to running down Stone Cold. Rikishi then said he attacked Austin in order to allow his cousinThe Rock an opportunity for stardom, insisting thatBuddy Rogers,Bruno Sammartino,Bob Backlund,Hulk Hogan and Austin – "The Great White Hope" – had always beenpushed, at the expense of Samoan wrestlers likePeter Maivia,Jimmy Snuka, Samu, Yokozuna and The Rock. After accepting full responsibility for the hit-and-run, as well as clearing The Rock of any culpability in the process, Rikishi then said if he was being honest he would run Austin down again. Rikishi left the ring and thenturnedheel.
Austin immediately set out for revenge, facing Rikishi in aNo Holds Barred match atNo Mercy.[43] The match went to a no contest when Austin dragged Rikishi to the parking lot and tried to run him over; a police car drove in front of Austin's, saving Rikishi. Though arrested, Austin had brutally attacked Rikishi, cutting and bruising his face. Later that night, Rikishi interfered in The Rock'sWWF Championship defense against Kurt Angle, but "accidentally" kicked the champ, allowing Angle toAngle Slam them both and win the title.[44] After several attacks on Austin by an unseen assailant, it became clear that Rikishi had an accomplice. During a handicap match pitting Rikishi and Angle against Austin,Triple H came to the ring, seemingly to aid Austin, butswerved the audience by attacking him with asledgehammer. Triple H then revealed he had masterminded the Survivor Series assault and hired Rikishi to drive the car.
While Austin began feuding with Triple H, Rikishi's tension with The Rock boiled over. Despite delivering aStink Face to the Rock, Rikishi would lose to him in a match atSurvivor Series.[45] He then participated in a six-manHell in a Cell WWF Championship match atArmageddon. Vince McMahon drove a flatbed truck ringside in an effort to dismantle the cage and stop the match. Before he could, commissioner Mick Foley had McMahon, Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco forcibly removed from the arena by security. The Undertaker then chokeslammed Rikishi from the top of the cell onto the wood chip-covered bed. Kurt Angle later retained the title.[46]
In January 2001, Rikishi won a Fatal Four Way match onSmackDown! for the #30 spot in the2001 Royal Rumble match involving Rock, Undertaker and Kane, after he pinned the latter. There, he eliminated The Undertaker, and was soon eliminated by The Rock.[47]Haku returned to the WWF in the Rumble, and he and Rikishi formed a tag team and feuded withThe Brothers of Destruction,The Dudley Boyz thenThe Hardy Boyz. The team split while Rikishi was sidelined with an eardrum injury in March. He returned on the May 3SmackDown! and fought The Undertaker to no-contest. On the nextRaw, he turned face once again and gave the Stink Face toStephanie McMahon after she distracted him and cost him a non-title match with Austin. On May 20, atJudgment Day, he injured his shoulder in the opening bout withWilliam Regal, which caused him to miss much of the year and the entireInvasion angle.
Rikishi returned on the December 6 episode ofSmackDown!, delivering a Stink Face toVince McMahon and solidifying hisface status. However Rikishi never regained the same amount of popularity he once had in the year 2000; he also never got another main event push. Upon theWWF Brand Extension in March 2002, Rikishi was drafted to theSmackDown! brand. AtJudgment Day on May 19, he facedBilly and Chuck in a "secret partner" match. His partner turned out to beRico,Billy andChuck's stylist. Despite Rico's best efforts to unfairly help Billy and Chuck, Rikishi and Rico won the match and became theWWE Tag Team Champions.[48] Rico would later cause Rikishi to lose the titles back to Billy and Chuck in a rematch on the June 6 episode ofSmackDown!.[49]
In early 2002,Hulk Hogan was booked to face Rikishi in Hogan's first match back since leaving the WWF to go to rivalWCW in the 1990s. Hogan won the match, but Rikishi was able to deliver aStink Face to Hogan after the conclusion of the match.[50]
Rikishi was not featured much in late 2002 and early 2003. He feuded withJohn Cena,Bill DeMott, andThe Full Blooded Italians onSmackDown!. The return ofRoddy Piper led Rikishi to challenge him as Piper had hit Jimmy Snuka with acoconut years ago onPiper's Pit. AtBacklash on April 27, Piper's protegeSean O'Haire defeated Rikishi after Piper got hit with a coconut by Rikishi giving O'Haire time to hit the Widowmaker on Rikishi.[51] Rikishi eventually formed a tag team with Scotty 2 Hotty, and the duo defeated theBasham Brothers for theWWE Tag Team Championship on the February 5, 2004 episode ofSmackDown!,[52] holding them for two and a half months before losing them toCharlie Haas and Rico on the April 22 episode ofSmackDown!.[52] Fatu, however, was released by WWE on July 16, for not following up with clearance from an injury that had him out of action since the April 22SmackDown!.
After WWE, Fatu continued to wrestle on theindependent circuit. In October 2005, he shortened his ring name to Kishi after being notified by WWE legal representatives that WWE owned a trademark on the name "Rikishi". Fatu, as Kishi, would go on to work for Nu-Wrestling Evolution, a professional wrestling promotion based in TurinItaly.[53]On February 17, 2007, Fatu competed as SUMO RIKISHI in a tag team contest at anAll Japan Pro Wrestling event, as he was brought in byKeiji Mutoh to feud withAkebono.[54] On August 12, 2007, Fatu competed in an 8-man tag, as Rikishi, atAAA's TripleMania event. On August 23, Fatu competed in a Triple Threat match againstSamoa Joe andSterling James Keenan at Ballpark Brawl VIII inBuffalo, New York. On November 17, wrestling as Rikishi once again, Fatu defeated Mike Rollins at a Heavy on Wrestling event inDuluth, Minnesota.
His recent match was on March 23, 2019, Grind City Wrestling in Memphis, Tennessee at halftime of theMemphis Grizzlies vs.Minnesota Timberwolves NBA game teaming withJerry Lawler to defeatThe Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner &Scott Steiner) for the inaugural GCW Tag Team Championship.
On the September 13, 2007 episode ofImpact!, Fatu debuted inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Junior Fatu. On the September 20 episode ofImpact!, Fatu lost toChristian Cage in his first match due to a distraction by Christian's partnerA.J. Styles. On the October 4 episode ofImpact!, Fatu,Samoa Joe andThe Latin American Xchange defeated Christian, Styles,Senshi andChristopher Daniels. On the October 11 episode ofImpact!, Fatu and LAX lost a six-man tag team match toKurt Angle andTeam 3D. AtBound for Glory, Fatu competed in the Fight for the Right Reverse Battle Royal which was won byEric Young. On the October 25 episode ofImpact!, Fatu defeatedRobert Roode in aFight for the Right Tournament match after interference by Samoa Joe. On October 30, however, it was reported that Fatu had been released from TNA, because he and TNA management failed to reach an agreement about a pay raise.Chris Harris took Fatu's spot in the Fight for the Right semi-final match.
Rikishi appeared with his family at the 2012WWE Hall of Fame ceremony to induct his cousinYokozuna. He then made an in-ring appearance onRaw on July 16, 2012, defeatingHeath Slater. During the match, he used the Samoan Spike and the Banzai Drop (the latter having been used as a finishing move since his 1999 repackaging as Rikishi) as a tribute to his deceased brotherUmaga and cousin Yokozuna, respectively. After the match, he danced with his sonsJimmy Uso and Jey Uso.[55] He then reappeared on the 1,000th episode on July 23 with other Legends to helpLita take down Slater.
Rikishi next appeared on the January 6, 2014 episode ofRaw, where he reunited withToo Cool to defeat 3MB in a six-man tag team match.[56]
On the February 9, 2015 episode ofRaw, Rikishi was announced as the newest member to be inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame Class of 2015. His sons, who wrestle as Jimmy and Jey Uso, inducted him into the Hall of Fame on March 28, 2015.
Rikishi appeared on WWE for the Raw Reunion show on July 22, 2019.[57]
On November 22, 2020, he made an appearance atSurvivor Series during The Undertaker's retirement ceremony.[58]
Rikishi is a playableDLC character in theAttitude Era-themed video gameWWE '13. He also appeared inWWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role,WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It,WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth,WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain,WWE 2K16,WWE 2K17,WWE 2K18,WWE 2K19,WWE 2K22,WWE 2K23 ,WWE 2K24 andWWE 2K25. Outside of themain series, he is featured inWWF No Mercy,WWF Raw,WWE Raw 2,WWE WrestleMania X8 andWWE WrestleMania XIX.
Fatu appeared in the Italian comedy filmNatale a Miami.[59] He also guest starred on theNickelodeon showVictorious, as a sumo wrestler in the episode "Brain Squeezers."
Fatu appeared in the Netflix original filmSandy Wexler.
Fatu appeared in "The Big Party" episode ofThe Big Show Show.
Fatu under his "Rikishi" ring name is the Samoan judge in the "Wall Of The World" on theCBS showThe World's Best.
Fatu appeared in the film Kingdom of Gladiators: The Tournament along with his nephew Jacob Fatu
Fatu is a member of theAnoaʻi family, who had a presence in professional wrestling since the mid-twentieth century. He is the brother ofSam "Tonga Kid" Fatu and the older brother ofEddie "Umaga" Fatu.[60] Fatu's unclesSika Anoaʻi andAfa Anoaʻi wrestled asThe Wild Samoans. Many of his cousins wrestled including:Rodney "Yokozuna" Anoaʻi,Afa “Manu" Anoa’i Jr.,Samula "Samu" Anoaʻi,Matt "Rosey" Anoaʻi,Joe "Roman Reigns" Anoaʻi,Lance Anoaʻi, andLloyd "L.A. Smooth" Anoaʻi. His father, Solofa Fatu Sr., died of complications related toCOVID-19 on October 4, 2020.[61][62]
Fatu and his wife Talisua Fuavai-Fatu have eight children, seven sons and one daughter includingJoseph Yokozuna and twinsJoshua Samuel and Jonathan Solofa.[63][64] Joshua Samuel, Jonathan Solofa and Joseph Yokozuna are currently signed toWWE where Joshua performs on theRaw brand and Jonathan and Joseph perform on the Smackdown brand asJey Uso,Jimmy Uso, and Solo Sikoa, respectively. His third son, Jeremiah, appeared on an episode of Raw in 1997 and has kept out of the industry since. His fourth son, Thamiko, made his professional wrestling debut in 2023 competing under his real name.[65]
Ted Dibiase & IRS (w/ Jimmy Hart) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions the Natural Disasters to win the titles when Dibiase locked Earthquake in the Million $ Dream after the Headshrinkers interfered
June 4, 1995: Jacob & Eli Blu defeated the New Headshrinkers
(translated from German) Akebono & Toru Owashi defeated Sumo Rikishi & Johnny Dunn (Nobutaka Araya) (9:37)
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