Sika Anoa’i, the Corridor of Fame skilled wrestler who was half of the Nineteen Eighties famous person tag workforce the Wild Samoans and father of W.W.E.’s greatest present star, Roman Reigns, died on Tuesday. He was 79.
Anoa’i’s demise was introduced on Instagram by his nephew, Jahrus Anoa’i. Worldwide Wrestling Leisure additionally confirmed Sika Anoa’i’s demise in an announcement. No trigger or place of demise was given.
Sika Anoa’i is a part of an extended line of grapplers generally known as the Samoan Dynasty that has been known as the best wrestling household of all time. Not all of them are biologically associated. The progenitor was Excessive Chief Peter Maivia, grandfather of Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, who turned a “buddy” to the Anoa’i household. Sika and his brother, Afa “Arthur” Anoa’i, would type the Wild Samoans, thought-about one of the vital influential duos in wrestling historical past.
Sika’s son Roman Reigns, born Leati Joseph Anoa’i, is the undisputed W.W.E. champion and has headlined WrestleMania a file seven occasions. Reigns and his cousins, Jonathan Solofa Fatu and Joshua Samuel Fatu, who carry out as Jey and Jimmy Uso, captivated wrestling followers with a narrative line generally known as The Bloodline, that featured Reigns because the “Tribal Chief” and got here to incorporate the Rock.
Sika Anoa’i, who was born and raised in American Samoa however whose household finally moved to San Francisco, was working as a longshore man when his brother Afa started teaching him in wrestling. Afa had been educated by Maivia.
Over 30 years, the Wild Samoans received 21 tag workforce titles throughout Canada and the U.S., in keeping with a biographical video of their induction into the W.W.E. Corridor of Fame in 2007. Their opponents included different powerhouse groups like Tony Garea and Rick Martel, Bob Backlund and Pedro Morales, the Strongbows and Rocky Johnson, father of the Rock, and his teammate Tony Atlas.
They obtained their begin in Canada in Calgary’s Stampede Wrestling within the Nineteen Seventies, the place they received two Stampede Worldwide Tag Titles, and in addition carried out within the Nationwide Wrestling Alliance and the Worldwide Wrestling Affiliation of Japan, in keeping with Crossbody of Work, a podcast about wrestlers’ careers.
They burst onto the W.W.F. scene at Madison Sq. Backyard in January 1980, the place they confronted off towards Tito Santana and Ivan Putski for the tag workforce championship.
But it surely wasn’t till April 1980 that the Wild Samoans received their first world tag workforce title. They went on to win two extra world tag workforce championships, however their reign ended after they have been defeated by the elder Johnson and Atlas in 1983.
