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88-412: The original Samoan SWAT Team primarily comprised Fatu and Samu , but various iterations alternatively included Great Kokina , Big Matty Smalls , Samoan Savage , and Sione . They competed in promotions including New Japan Pro-Wrestling , World Wrestling Council , World Class Championship Wrestling , and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The team also appeared in

176-672: A coconut years ago on Piper's Pit . At Backlash , Piper's protege Sean O'Haire defeated Rikishi after Piper got hit with a coconut by Rikishi giving O'Haire time to hit the Widowmaker on Rikishi. Rikishi eventually formed a tag team with Scotty 2 Hotty, and the duo defeated the Basham Brothers for the WWE Tag Team Championship on the February 5, 2004 episode of SmackDown! , holding them for two and

264-620: A rap gimmick where he started dying his hair blonde and wore sunglasses. He defeated Michael Hayes for the PPW Heavyweight Championship . He would feud with Kurt Angle and dropped the title to Angle on July 24. After training at Funk's and working in the independents, Fatu returned on October 5, 1999, for a dark match for Sunday Night Heat defeating Crash Holly . On the November 13, 1999 episode of WWF Metal as Rikishi Fatu, beating Julio Fantastico. Rikishi

352-521: A 2021 interview that he had died for three minutes in the emergency room before being revived. He spent two months in the hospital, after which his mother, fearing for his safety, sent him out of state to live with her brothers Afa and Sika Anoaʻi , with whom he trained to become a professional wrestler. Fatu began his wrestling career in 1985, working for Gino Brito and Dino Bravo 's Lutte Internationale promotion in Montreal as Prince Alofa ,

440-596: A Mission . The Headshrinkers assisted their relative Yokozuna in a casket match against The Undertaker at the 1994 Royal Rumble . In March 1994 the Headshrinkers turned face and challenged then tag-team champions The Quebecers , with the addition of manager Lou Albano the team won the gold on May 2, 1994. (Taped April 26, 1994). At King of the Ring 1994 on June 19 the Headshrinkers successfully defended their tag team titles against Yokozuna and Crush . Their run with

528-484: A Stink Face from Rikishi, said, "It was the worst smell I ever smelt in my life." 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

616-740: A Triple Threat match against Samoa Joe and Sterling James Keenan at Ballpark Brawl VIII in Buffalo, New York . On November 17, wrestling as Rikishi once again, Fatu defeated Mike Rollins at a Heavy on Wrestling event in Duluth, Minnesota . His recent match was on March 23, 2019, Grind City Wrestling in Memphis, Tennessee at halftime of the Memphis Grizzlies vs. Minnesota Timberwolves NBA game teaming with Jerry Lawler to defeat The Steiner Brothers ( Rick Steiner & Scott Steiner ) for

704-573: A garment there!". On November 22, 1999, on Monday Night Raw , Rikishi helped Too Cool from being attacked by the Mean Street Posse. It was the first time Rikishi's character debuted on Raw , and the first time Too Cool and Rikishi were in the ring together. Rikishi briefly feuded with Viscera before forming a wildly popular alliance with the duo Too Cool ( Grand Master Sexay and Scotty 2 Hotty ). One night, during Too Cool's traditional post-match dance routine, Rikishi joined them. As

792-503: A half months before losing them to Charlie Haas and Rico on the April 22 episode of SmackDown! . Fatu, however, was released by WWE on July 16, 2004, for not following up with clearance from an injury that had him out of action since the April 22 Smackdown . After WWE, Fatu continued to wrestle on the independent circuit . In October 2005, he shortened his ring name to Kishi after being notified by WWE legal representatives that WWE owned

880-860: A high-flying babyface . He often teamed with the territory's top faces. Fatu also worked for International Championship Wrestling in New York City in that same year. He and his cousin Samula Anoaʻi became the Samoan Swat Team (Samu & Fatu) in 1986 for New Japan Pro Wrestling . In 1987, they signed with the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico and they used the "Samoan savage" gimmick their relatives The Wild Samoans successfully used by working barefoot, never publicly speaking English, and no-selling attacks to

968-402: A match and dragging each other by their hair. They were also billed as having hard heads that were impervious to pain; any attack that targeted a Headshrinker's head would have no effect, and an opponent who tried to headbutt one of them would end up hurting himself. Having hard heads went with typical professional wrestling portrayals of Samoan wrestlers. Most members of the team were members of

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1056-469: 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's WWF Championship defense against Kurt Angle, but "accidentally" kicked the champ, allowing Angle to Angle Slam them both and win

1144-458: A non-title match with Austin. On May 20, at Judgment Day , he injured his shoulder in the opening bout with William Regal , which caused him to miss much of the year and the entire Invasion angle. Rikishi returned on December 6, 2001, delivering a Stink Face to Vince McMahon and solidifying his face 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

1232-724: A number of independent promotions in the US, Europe, Mexico and Japan, often teaming up with family member Rodney Anoaʻi who competed as "Kokina Maximus". The trio wrestled for the Universal Wrestling Association as the "Hawaiian Beasts", where they won the UWA World Trios Championship . In 1992, Samu and Fatu signed up with the World Wrestling Federation , managed by Samu's father Afa. The team changed their name to

1320-721: 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 2012 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony to induct his cousin Yokozuna . He then made an in-ring appearance on Raw on July 16, 2012, defeating Heath 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

1408-562: A red masked wrestler with curved shoes who never spoke, ostensibly because his tongue was cut out. He was managed by The Iron Sheik and Bob Backlund . He unsuccessfully challenged Rocky Maivia for the WWF Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 13 . The Sultan vanished in January 1998, and Fatu left to train at Dory Funk 's Funking Conservatory wrestling school. He would work from 1998 to 1999 in

1496-700: A rematch on the June 6 episode of SmackDown! . In early 2002, Hulk Hogan was booked to face Rikishi in Hogan's first match back since leaving the WWF to go to rival WCW in the 1990s. Hogan won the match, but Rikishi was able to deliver a Stink Face to Hogan after the conclusion of the match. Rikishi was not featured much in late 2002 and early 2003. He feuded with John Cena , Bill DeMott , and The Full Blooded Italians on SmackDown! . The return of Roddy Piper led Rikishi to challenge him as Piper had hit Jimmy Snuka with

1584-443: A storyline in which Tatum lost a "Valet For A Day Match" to The Missing Link after interference by Gilbert (on behalf of Tatum). Shortly thereafter, Tatum began feuding with Gilbert with Hyatt siding with Gilbert after hitting him from behind with a "loaded" Gucci handbag (considered to be one of the more unusual "heel turns" in wrestling at the time ). However, as a result of a real-life affair between Hyatt and Gilbert, Tatum left

1672-676: A stretcher), resulted in several TV stations cancelling its USWA broadcasts. In 1991, Tatum reunited with Rod Price as the "California Connection" / the "Coast to Coast. Connection" in the Global Wrestling Federation winning the GWF Tag Team Championship twice and competed in the GWF North American Heavyweight Championship tournament, before leaving the promotion in November 1993. During his stint in

1760-518: A trademark on the name "Rikishi". Fatu, as Kishi, would go on to work for Nu-Wrestling Evolution, a professional wrestling promotion based in Turin Italy . On February 17, 2007, Fatu competed as SUMO RIKISHI in a tag team contest at an All Japan Pro Wrestling event, as he was brought in by Keiji Mutoh to feud with Akebono . On August 12, 2007, Fatu competed in an 8-man tag, as Rikishi, at AAA 's TripleMania event. On August 23, Fatu competed in

1848-499: A tribute to his deceased brother Umaga and cousin Yokozuna, respectively. After the match, he danced with his sons Jimmy Uso and Jey Uso . He then reappeared on the 1,000th episode on July 23 with other Legends to help Lita take down Slater. Rikishi next appeared on the January 6, 2014 episode of Raw , where he reunited with Too Cool to defeat 3MB in a six-man tag team match. On the February 9, 2015 episode of Raw , Rikishi

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1936-756: Is an American professional wrestler , best known under the ring names Rikishi and Fatu with the WWE and also competed under the variety of names in New Japan Pro-Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . Born in San Francisco, Fatu debuted in the professional wrestling business in 1985 as Prince Alofa and later competed with the Samoan SWAT Team in Japan and multiple wrestling promotions across

2024-575: Is an American retired professional wrestler , better known by his ring name , "Hollywood" John Tatum . Tatum is best known for his appearances with the Texas -based promotion World Class Championship Wrestling in the 1980s. Frankel was born in Mobile, Alabama, but was raised in Pensacola, Florida. He was a childhood friend of wrestlers Robert Gibson , Percy Pringle and Michael Hayes . Frankel

2112-414: 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 hair blonde , and wore a mawashi . Per Vince McMahon 's request and Fatu's own willingness to honor sumo tradition, nothing

2200-619: The "Original" Midnight Express who had left the promotion. The Samoans also took over the "Original" Midnight Express’ feud with the Midnight Express beating the team at Clash of the Champions VI on April 2, 1989. At The 1989 Great American Bash the Samoans teamed with former rival Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy and Jimmy Garvin losing a War Games Match to The Road Warriors , the Midnight Express and Steve Williams . In

2288-461: The 1989 Great American Bash , losing a WarGames match to The Road Warriors , The Midnight Express, and Steve Williams . 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 when Sid Vicious

2376-485: The 1994 Survivor Series , where they were eliminated from their ten-man tag match, but helped their team win and at the 1995 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 and Tatanka in the semi-finals. For the first half of 1995, they worked with Jacob & Eli Blu , usually putting them over . Their final match

2464-498: The Anoaʻi family . Samula "Samu" Anoa'i is the son of Wild Samoan Afa Anoa'i and Solofa Fatu is the nephew of Afa as well as both of them being the nephews of Sika Anoa'i and part of the Anoaʻi family . In 1985, Samu joined Gino Brito and Dino Bravo 's Montreal -based Lutte Internationale promotion, which was the first time he worked in the same territory as his cousin Fatu. When

2552-716: The Attitude Era -themed video game WWE '13 . He also appeared in WWF 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 and WWE 2K24 . Outside of the main series , he is featured in WWF No Mercy , WWF Raw , WWE Raw 2 , WWE WrestleMania X8 and WWE WrestleMania XIX . Fatu appeared in

2640-641: The California Kick . Tatum drew huge controversy in a July 6, 1990 match at the Dallas Sportatorium , whereas Tatum was slapped by Tessa, who became Dundee's valet. As Tessa turned away, Tatum knocked her unconscious with a superkick , resulting in her being carried out of the Sportatorium on a stretcher. This incident and another controversial incident involving Steve Austin and Toni Adams (which led to Toni also being carried out on

2728-642: The MLW World Tag Team Championship at Blood and Thunder by defeating EJ Nduka and Calvin Tankman . On April 6, 2023, Jacob Fatu defeated John Hennigan for the MLW National Openweight Championship at War Chamber On October 29, 2023, Anoaʻi and Finau announced on X that they have been granted their release from MLW. Fatu (wrestler) Solofa Fatu Jr. (born October 11, 1965)

Samoan SWAT Team - Misplaced Pages Continue

2816-517: The Raw brand and Jonathan and Joseph perform on the Smackdown brand as Jey 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. John Tatum (wrestler) John Frenkel III (born July 18, 1959 )

2904-551: The Universal Wrestling Association in 1991, where they won the UWA Trios Tag Team Championship and held it for just under two months. They headlined the UWA's 16th anniversary show, losing the title to Dos Caras , El Canek , and Mil Máscaras . After Samu and Fatu joined the World Wrestling Federation , they were renamed The Headshrinkers , but their savage gimmick remained. Kokina Maximus also joined

2992-664: The Von Erich family and former Fabulous Freebirds partner Michael Hayes . The SST were given a big push right away; presented as an unstoppable force, they beat hometown heroes Kerry and Kevin Von Erich for the WCWA World Tag Team Championship on August 12, 1988. They remained undefeated in WCCW until they dropped the belts to Hayes and his new partner, Steve Cox, on September 12. They recaptured

3080-628: The WWF Brand Extension , Rikishi was drafted to the SmackDown! brand. At Judgment Day , he faced Billy and Chuck in a "secret partner" match. His partner turned out to be Rico , Billy and Chuck 's stylist. Despite Rico's best efforts to unfairly help Billy and Chuck, Rikishi and Rico won the match and became the WWE Tag Team Champions . Rico would later cause Rikishi to lose the titles back to Billy and Chuck in

3168-744: The World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE) as the Headshrinkers , in Extreme Championship Wrestling as the Samoan Gangster Party (also known as Gangstas in Paradise ), and in the Universal Wrestling Association as the Hawaiian Beasts . The Samoan SWAT Team portrayed a pair of Samoan "savages", often displaying uncivilized behavior such as biting into a turkey carcass during

3256-459: The "Headshrinkers" but their gimmick remained the same, Samoan wildmen. Rodney Anoaʻi also signed with the WWF but he was repackaged as "Yokozuna" and the family ties between him and the Samoans were not mentioned on air. The team debuted on an edition of Prime Time Wrestling defeating local jobbers being called The Samoans, however the team vanished quickly. As The Headshrinkers they first made their presence known when they helped Money Inc. beat

3344-674: The "Iron Team Tournament" at Starrcade 1989 . In late-1989, Fatu briefly teamed with the Samoan Savage as "The New Wild Samoans" (a reference to the "original" Wild Samoans ). For the remainder of the Samoan SWAT Team's time in WCW Fatu and the Samoan Savage competed under the name New Wild Samoans, while Samu made a few singles appearances. After leaving WCW in the summer of 1990 the Samoan SWAT Team worked for

3432-512: The "Samoan Gangster Party" (or "Gangstas in Paradise") with Samu being known as "Sammy the Silk" and his cousin Matt Anoaʻi (son of Sika) became known as "Big Matty Smalls", and joined Samu as The Samoan Gangstas. The two men did not wrestle for the WWF but watched Fatu from afar as the former Headshrinker tried to turn himself into a positive role model for kids on the street. The angle was dropped as

3520-666: The GWF, Tatum founded his own promotion in Dallas called Big D Pro Wrestling. In June 1992, Tatum replaced Skandor Akbar as booker, until being replaced by Gary Hart a month later. After leaving the GWF, Tatum continued wrestling on the Texas independent circuit for two years until his retirement in 1995 to take over his family's business at the Pensacola Interstate Fair in Pensacola, Florida. On November 26, 1986, Tatum

3608-663: The Headshrinkers working for his uncle's promotion World Xtreme Wrestling in Pennsylvania. Later that year he feuded with Billy Two Eagles for Elite 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 for Power Pro Wrestling as J.R. Smooth,

Samoan SWAT Team - Misplaced Pages Continue

3696-763: The Italian comedy film Natale a Miami . He also guest starred on the Nickelodeon show Victorious , as a sumo wrestler in the episode "Brain Squeezers." Fatu appeared in the Netflix original film Sandy Wexler . Fatu appeared in "The Big Party" episode of The Big Show Show . Fatu under his "Rikishi" ring name is the Samoan judge in the "Wall Of The World" on the CBS show The World's Best . Fatu appeared in

3784-441: The Natural Disasters to win the WWF World Tag Team titles . Early in their run with the WWF the Headshrinkers feuded with the Natural Disasters and the recently formed High Energy . Between 1992 and the early parts of 1994, the Headshrinkers maintained a position in the middle of the tag team division, occasionally challenging for the titles and making sporadic PPV appearances feuding with teams like The Smokin' Gunns and Men on

3872-514: The October 11 episode of Impact! , Fatu and LAX lost a six-man tag team match to Kurt Angle and Team 3D . At Bound for Glory , Fatu competed in the Fight for the Right Reverse Battle Royal which was won by Eric Young . On the October 25 episode of Impact! , Fatu defeated Robert Roode in a Fight 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

3960-514: The SST left WCCW, vacating both championships. Swat Team signed with Jim Crockett Promotions , introduced as manager Paul E. Dangerously 's replacement for The Original Midnight Express ( Randy Rose and Dennis Condrey ), who had left the promotion. The SST took over the Express' feud with The Midnight Express ( Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane ), beating them at Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun on April 2, 1989. The SST teamed with former rival Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy , and Jimmy Garvin at

4048-614: The Samoan Gangster Party never got in the ring or confronted Fatu before he was repackaged. In 1996 they worked for Extreme Championship Wrestling , debuting in June at Fight the Power . They feuded mainly with The Gangstas in a short but intense war. From 2003 to 2006, Samu teamed with Mana as The Samoan Island Tribe. Samu and Tama teamed in Mexico as "Los Samoanos". In 2009, Samu and Nagumbo wrestled as "The New Samoans". The group returned at Major League Wrestling 's Kings of Colosseum led by Jacob Fatu with Lance Anoaʻi and Juicy Finau. On January 7, 2023, Anoaʻi & Finau won

4136-400: The Texas end of the USWA and later began an angle involving Bill Dundee both in Dallas and Memphis. Tatum introduced a new valet, known as "Tessa". However, unlike Missy Hyatt, Tessa was reluctant to interfere in his matches; and eventually she became a babyface manager, very similar to Sunshine . In addition, Tatum began using a thrust kick (similar to Chris Adams' superkick), which he called

4224-891: The Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling promotion by his friend Rick Hazzard. Hyatt came with him to Texas and eventually became his valet . In 1986, Tatum began a feud with Chris Adams , mocking him for being temporarily "blinded" (in reality, Adams wore an eye patch over his left eye while involved in a separate feud with Gino Hernandez earlier in the year). After the feud with Adams ended, he and Hyatt would feud with Scott Casey and his valet Sunshine, which resulted in several cat fights between Hyatt and Sunshine. Leaving WCCW in May 1986, Tatum and Hyatt joined Bill Watts ' Universal Wrestling Federation and teamed with Jack Victory against The Fantastics ( Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers ), before eventually joining Eddie Gilbert 's stable "Hot Stuff Inc." (later renamed "Hyatt & Hot Stuff International"). In 1987, Tatum and Hyatt began

4312-509: 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 popular Too Cool tag team. During his tenure with the company, Fatu has held the Intercontinental Champion , two-time World Tag Team Champion , and one-time WWE Tag Team Champion . After leaving

4400-431: The WWE in 2004, he would appear in the independent circuit, along with a short stint in TNA as Junior Fatu in 2007. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015. Fatu is the father of Jimmy Uso , Jey Uso , and Solo Sikoa . As a prominent member of the Anoaʻi family of Samoan wrestlers, he is the brother of Sam Fatu and Umaga , uncle of Jacob Fatu and the cousins of Rosey and Roman Reigns . Solofa Fatu

4488-432: The WWF in the Rumble, and he and Rikishi formed a tag team and feuded with The Brothers of Destruction , The Dudley Boyz then The Hardy Boyz . The team split while Rikishi was sidelined with an eardrum injury in March. He returned on the May 3 SmackDown! and fought The Undertaker to no-contest. On the next Raw , he turned face once again and gave the Stink Face to Stephanie McMahon after she distracted him and cost him

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4576-463: 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 help Money Inc. beat The Natural Disasters for the WWF World Tag Team Championship . Soon after, The Headshrinkers feuded with The Natural Disasters and the recently formed High Energy . Between 1992 and early 1994, The Headshrinkers occasionally challenged for

4664-439: 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. In January 2001, Rikishi won a Fatal Four Way match on SmackDown! for the #30 spot in the 2001 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. Haku returned to

4752-503: The car. While Austin began feuding with Triple H, Rikishi's tension with The Rock boiled over. Despite delivering a Stink Face to the Rock, Rikishi would lose to him in a match at Survivor Series . He then participated in a six-man Hell in a Cell WWF Championship match at Armageddon . 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

4840-448: The dance routines became more frequent and longer, this popularity translated to a significant push. In the 2000 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. Rikishi also became known for his infamous signature maneuver – the Stink Face – as his buttocks were rubbed into

4928-458: The expense of Samoan wrestlers like Peter 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 then turned heel . Austin immediately set out for revenge, facing Rikishi in a No Holds Barred match at No Mercy . The match went to

5016-437: The faces of opposing wrestlers. 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. On an episode of Raw on May 15, 2000, Stephanie McMahon described Rikishi's buttocks as "bulbous", "smelly" and "sweaty" when describing the Stink Face. Kurt Angle , who received

5104-447: The fall of 1989, Paul E. Dangerously was phased out and the Samoans were given a new manager: "The Big Kahuna" Oliver Humperdink . Their ranks were also bolstered by the addition of The Samoan Savage who is Fatu's brother. The Samoans started to lose more and more matches as 1989 drew to a close, but their fortunes appeared to be changing due to the injury to Sid Vicious . Because Vicious was injured The Skyscrapers had to pull out of

5192-424: The fans. In May 2000, fan favorites Rikishi and Too Cool feuded with Edge , Christian and Kurt Angle , culminating in a victory at Judgment Day . After winning the Intercontinental Championship from Chris Benoit on the June 22 episode of SmackDown! , Rikishi qualified for the 2000 King of the Ring tournament . On June 25, at King of the Ring, he defeated Benoit in the quarterfinals and Val Venis in

5280-959: The film Kingdom of Gladiators: The Tournament along with his nephew Jacob Fatu Fatu is a member of the Anoaʻi family , who had a presence in professional wrestling since the mid-twentieth century. He is the twin brother of Sam "Tonga Kid" Fatu and the older brother of Eddie "Umaga" Fatu . Fatu's uncles Sika Anoaʻi and Afa Anoaʻi wrestled as The 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 , and Lloyd "L.A. Smooth" Anoaʻi . His father, Solofa Fatu Sr., died of complications related to COVID-19 on October 4, 2020. Fatu and his wife Talisua Fuavai-Fatu have eight children, seven sons and one daughter including Joseph Yokozuna and twins Joshua Samuel and Jonathan Solofa . Joshua Samuel, Jonathan Solofa and Joseph Yokozuna are currently signed to WWE where Joshua performs on

5368-441: The first (and only) PPV that the American Wrestling Association ever presented. The Samoans successfully defended their WCCW Tag-Team titles against Michael Hayes and Steve Cox. In the beginning of 1989, the Samoans left WCCW, forcing both tag-team titles to be vacated due to the sudden departure. The Samoan SWAT Team signed with World Championship Wrestling and was brought in as manager Paul E. Dangerously's replacements for

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5456-429: The gold on the May 2 episode of Monday Night RAW . At King of the Ring on June 19, they successfully defended the title against Yokozuna and Crush . Their title reign ended at a house show in Indianapolis on August 28, when they lost to Shawn Michaels and Diesel . This happened a day before they were scheduled to defend against Irwin R. Schyster and Bam Bam Bigelow at SummerSlam . The match went on without

5544-487: The head. They became the new WWC Caribbean Tag Team Champions (after a long vacancy) on November 7, 1987, in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico after defeating Invader I and Invader III. They held the title for just over a month before dropping it to Mark and Chris Youngblood before leaving the promotion. Samu and Fatu next appeared in Texas, working for Fritz Von Erich 's World Class Championship Wrestling . Storywise, Buddy Roberts brought them in to fight his fights against

5632-481: The inaugural GCW Tag Team Championship. On the September 13, 2007 episode of Impact! , Fatu debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Junior Fatu. On the September 20 episode of Impact! , Fatu lost to Christian Cage in his first match due to a distraction by Christian's partner A.J. Styles . On the October 4 episode of Impact! , Fatu, Samoa Joe and The Latin American Xchange defeated Christian, Styles, Senshi and Christopher Daniels . On

5720-425: The independent circuit. Originally ECW star Sabu 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 uncle The Original Sheik to be his manager but the WWF rejected the idea. After WWF, Fatu continued his Sultan gimmick in the independent circuit losing to Jimmy Snuka . He reunited with Samu as

5808-454: The messages of staying in school and saying no to drugs, 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 pinning Rad Radford on WWF Superstars , and then enjoyed a run of victories over enhancement talent for the remainder of the year. However, the character did not get over with fans, and in 1996 Fatu

5896-508: The promotion closed up two years later, the two cousins signed with the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico and were packaged as the "Samoan SWAT Team": Samu and Fatu. The team adopted the "Samoan savage" gimmick that had made their fathers so well known and feared throughout the wrestling world, working barefoot and never speaking English on camera. The team became the first ever WWC Caribbean Tag-Team Champions on November 7, 1987 when they beat Invader I and Invader III. The duo held

5984-409: The promotion with Jack Victory at the end of year. Returning to Dallas in December 1987, Tatum and Victory feuded over the World Class Wrestling Association Texas Tag Team and Wild West Wrestling Tag Team Championships with Steve and Shaun Simpson during the next year. In 1990, Tatum wrestled in the United States Wrestling Association . He was involved in a brief angle with Kevin Von Erich in

6072-412: The semis. Both opponents hit him with a steel chair after losing, weakening his shoulder and helping Kurt Angle defeat him in the final. Stemming from Venis' attack, Rikishi faced him on July 6 and lost the title after Tazz hit him with a television camera. They rematched in a steel cage at Fully Loaded . In this match, Rikishi climbed the cage and, in an allusion to Jimmy Snuka , splashed Venis from

6160-509: The tag title and made sporadic PPV appearances, feuding with The Smoking Gunns and Men on a Mission . Fatu would receive a WWF Championship match against Bret Hart on the March 1, 1993 episode of Monday Night RAW . Despite interference by Samu, Fatu was unsuccessful. The Headshrinkers helped Yokozuna win a casket match against The Undertaker at the 1994 Royal Rumble . In April, they turned face, took Lou Albano as their manager and challenged tag champions The Quebecers . They won

6248-498: The title four days later. Hayes and Cox beat them for the title again on October 15, and, two days later, lost it back again. On September 12, 1988, The Samoan Swat Team became double champions by beating "Hollywood" John Tatum and Jimmy Jack Funk for the WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship . They made their pay-per-view debut at AWA SuperClash III , the AWA's first and last PPV. They successfully defended their World Tag title against Michael Hayes and Steve Cox. In early 1989,

6336-428: The title, and The Headshrinkers lost by disqualification. Soon after, Samu left the WWF to recover from injuries and was replaced by Sione (formerly The Barbarian). They were called The New Headshrinkers. The storyline 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

6424-465: The title. 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, but swerved the audience by attacking him with a sledgehammer . Triple H then revealed he had masterminded the Survivor Series assault and hired Rikishi to drive

6512-408: The titles came to a surprising end on an untelevised card on August 28 where they lost the titles to Shawn Michaels and Diesel . The title change happened just one day before they were scheduled to defend against Irwin R. Schyster and Bam Bam Bigelow . Soon after the title change Samu left the WWF to recover from injuries and was replaced by Sione . The kayfabe reason given to Samu's departure

6600-526: The titles for just over a month before dropping them to Mark Youngblood and Chris Youngblood before leaving the promotion. Samu and Fatu next appeared in Texas, working for Fritz Von Erich 's World Class Championship Wrestling promotion. The storyline was that Buddy Roberts brought the team in to fight his fights against the Von Erich Family and former Fabulous Freebirds partners Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy . Rogers claimed that "SWAT"

6688-489: The titles four days later. Hayes and Cox would beat the Samoan SWAT Team for the titles once again on October 15, 1988, but lost it back two days later. On September 12, 1988 The Samoan SWAT Team become double champions as they beat "Hollywood" John Tatum and Jimmy Jack Funk for the WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship . The Samoan SWAT Team made their pay-per-view debut at AWA Superclash III ,

6776-528: The top. Rikishi soon lost the match after Tazz again hit him with a camera. On the October 9 episode of Raw , Commissioner Mick Foley accused Rikishi of being the person who had run over Stone Cold Steve Austin almost a year earlier at Survivor 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

6864-521: Was a loss to Men on a Mission at a June 22 house show in London, England , after which Sione left for WCW and Fatu was removed from WWF television. After a brief hiatus, Fatu reappeared as a singles wrestler in July 1995 repackaged as a streetwise positive role model , for which he filmed several vignettes in his old San Francisco neighborhood touching on his real-life upbringing in the ghetto and preaching

6952-519: Was an acronym for "Samoans Will Annihilate Traitors" referring to Hayes and Gordy. The team was presented as an unstoppable force, and even allowed to beat hometown heroes Kerry and Kevin Von Erich for the WCCW Tag-Team Titles on August 12, 1988. The Samoans remained undefeated in WCCW until they came up against Roberts’ former partner Michael Hayes and Hayes new partner, "Do It To It" Steve Cox on September 12. The duo recaptured

7040-583: Was announced as the newest member to be inducted into the WWE 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. On November 22, 2020, he made an appearance at Survivor Series during The Undertaker's retirement ceremony. Rikishi is a playable DLC character in

7128-569: Was as part of the tournament to crown new WWF tag team champions in late 1994, early 1995. The Headshrinkers lost to Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka in the Semi Finals. By July, the Headshrinkers dissolved, as Seone left the WWF for WCW. By the time, the team was used to put over new teams such as The Blu Brothers . After being away from the spotlight for a while Samu returned to the WWF in 1995. Samu along with his cousin Matt Anoaʻi were known as

7216-488: 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 cousin The Rock an opportunity for stardom, insisting that Buddy Rogers , Bruno Sammartino , Bob Backlund , Hulk Hogan and Austin – "The Great White Hope" – had always been pushed , at

7304-633: Was born on October 11, 1965, in San Francisco to Solofa Fatu Sr. and Elevera Anoaʻi Fatu, and grew up in the Sunnydale Projects in the Visitacion Valley neighborhood, where his maternal grandparents were preachers. He attended Balboa High School , and competed on the wrestling team. In 1982, when he was seventeen years old, Fatu was wounded in a drive-by shooting that left him with a scar on his abdomen; he claimed in

7392-564: Was injured, leading his team, The Skyscrapers , to pull out of the "Iron Team Tournament" at Starrcade 1989 . Fatu and The Samoan Savage, rebranded as The New Wild Samoans, replaced them. For the rest of their WCW career, Fatu and Savage teamed, while Samu only wrestled singles matches. 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 cousin Kokina Maximus . The three worked for

7480-426: Was regularly booked to lose to stars such as Steve Austin , Vader , and Hunter Hearst Helmsley . Two men known as "The Samoan Gangster Party" (Fatu's cousins Samu and Matthew 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. In August 1996, Fatu was repackaged as a heel known as The Sultan,

7568-560: Was that he "ate some bad fish and got a disease" and was not coping well with manager Lou Albano's attempts to civilize the Headshrinkers, especially wearing boots. For the first time ever, one half of the team was neither a member of the Anoaʻi family nor a Samoan as Sione Vailahi was from the island of Tonga . The new combination made only one pay-per-view appearance as a team which was at the 1994 Survivor Series where they were quickly eliminated. The only other notable appearance of Fatu and Seone

7656-512: Was trained to wrestle by Michael Hayes , debuting in 1983. He initially performed under the ring name "Franklin Hayes", the storyline cousin of Michael Hayes. Tatum wrestled on the independent circuit before being recruited by the Charlotte, North Carolina -based Jim Crockett Promotions . During the early days of his career, Tatum began a relationship with Missy Hyatt . Tatum was recruited to

7744-580: Was worn underneath the mawashi 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. His ring gear gained immediate attention; on his televised debut with the gimmick on WWF Metal , play-by-play announcer Kevin Kelly responded that he was "a little concerned with, well, Rikishi Fatu's well...garment, or lack thereof," with color commentator Tom Prichard responding that "there isn't much of

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