Sika Anoa'i
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| Leati Anoa'i | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | Sika |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Billed weight | 298 lbs |
| Born | April 5, 1945 [1] Leone, American Samoa[1] |
| Resides | Pennsylvania[2] |
| Billed from | Samoa |
| Trained by | Afa Anoa'i[3] |
| Debut | 1974 |
Leati "Sika" Anoa'i[4] (born April 5, 1945 in Leone, American Samoa)[1] is a member of the famous Anoa'i family and is a former professional wrestler. He and his brother Afa are related to heavyweight boxer David Tua.[5]
One of 4 children, Sika moved to the United States when he was 14. His father was a pastor and was transferred to San Francisco.[1] To help feed his family, Sika joined the Merchant Marine.[1] Eventually, he followed Afa's lead and began wrestling professionally.[1]
Sika has two sons, Matt and Joe.[6][7] Matt is a professional wrestler, who recently wrestled in WWE under the name "Rosey". He currently works out of All Japan Pro Wrestling. Joe played college football for Georgia Tech from 2003-2006.[8]
Contents |
[edit] Career
Sika teamed with his brother Afa to form the tag team the Wild Samoans.[4] They teamed in various promotions including WWF and Mid-South. In 1979, they signed with the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment).[7] Along with Afa, Sika held the WWF Tag Team Championship on three occasions.[9] They won their first title in the WWF by defeating the team of Ivan Putski and Tito Santana on April 12, 1980.[10] The Wild Samoans held the belts for almost four months before losing them to Bob Backlund and Pedro Morales on August 9.[10] The title was vacated the following day, however, because Backlund already held the WWF Championship and could not defend both titles. A tournament was held to select the new champions, and The Wild Samoans defeated Tony Garea and Rene Goulet to regain the belts.[10][11]
After losing the title to Garea and Goulet, the Wild Samoans left the WWF to compete in Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling. They won the tag team championship three times before leaving the promotion to wrestle in the National Wrestling Alliance's Mid-Atlantic territory.[11] While there, the Wild Samoans defeated the Fabulous Freebirds to win the NWA National Tag Team Championship.[11] Sika and Afa soon left the promotion and vacated the championship.[11]
Following their stint in the NWA, the Wild Samoans returned to the WWF. They won their third and final WWF Tag Team Championship on March 8, 1983 by defeating Jules Strongbow and Chief Jay Strongbow.[10] Four days later, Sika sustained an injury during a match. As a result, he was forced to take time off while his nephew Samula Anoa'i helped defend the title in his place.[12] After Afa left the WWF, Sika teamed with Kamala and was managed by King Curtis Iaukea until Mr. Fuji took over management of the team.[13] Sika also headlined a Saturday Night's Main Event on September 23, 1987 against Hulk Hogan[14]. On March 27, 1988 Sika was a part of the battle royal at WrestleMania IV, but he did not win.[15]
Anoa'i also appeared alongside Roddy Piper and other WWF wrestlers in the 1987 film Body Slam.[4][7] In 1988, Sika teamed up with another relative, Kokina (better known as Yokozuna). The pair wrestled as a tag team in Continental Wrestling Federation and were managed by Alan Martin.[16]
On the March 23, 2007 edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown!, it was announced that Afa and Sika would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2007.[17] On March 31, 2007, the Wild Samoans were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Afa's son, Samu, and Sika's son, Matt.[18]
Sika and Afa now run The Wild Samoan Training Center, a wrestling school that has produced such alumni as Umaga and Batista.[2] In March of 2002, Sika suffered head and facial injuries when a beer truck hit his car near Pensacola, Florida.[4]
In 2002, Sika started up a small indy promotion in Milton, Fl. There, he had former WWE talnet such as, Granmaster Sexay, Rikishi, Jon Heidenrich,& Black Pearl. He also had a few up and comming stars that are rising up in the gulfcoast such as, The Future Legend D.J Pringle, Jerry Reiner, Sirus Lavaye, Brutal Joe Gibson, BTY Colby Godwin, 610 Kid, James Ryker, The Master of Devestation Cameron Frost, Billy Rayz & Scotty Rayz, and Cameron Thomas just to name a few.
[edit] In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
- Managers
- General Skandor Akbar[11]
- Lou Albano[19]
- Ole Anderson
- Brother Ernest Angel[20]
- Abdullah Farouk, Jr.
- Mr. Fuji[13]
- King Curtis Iaukea[13]
- Ernie Ladd[11]
- Alan Martin[16]
- Dr. V
- Saul Weingeroff[21]
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
-
- AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Afa[22]
-
- NWA National Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Afa[23]
-
- NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Afa[24]
- International Wrestling Alliance
-
- IWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Afa[4]
-
- Mid-South Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Afa[4]
-
- NWA Detroit World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Afa[4]
-
- Stampede International Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Afa[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f Sutter, Frederic Koehler (1989). The Samoans: A Global Family. Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 195. ISBN 0824812387.
- ^ a b Wild Samoans: Tag Team Legends. Spasifik. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ Ten Questions With Afa the Wild Samoan. Wrestling Clothesline. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Online World of Wrestling - Sika Anoai. Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
- ^ David Tua. The Wild Samoan Training Center. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
- ^ Wild Samoan Sika. The Wild Samoan Training Center. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ a b c Biography: The Wild Samoans. World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ Player Bio: Joe Anoai. Ramblin Wreck. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
- ^ a b History of the World Tag Team Championship. World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ a b c d WWWF/WWF/WWE World Tag Team Title. Wrestling Titles. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
- ^ a b c d e f Tag Team Profiles: The Wild Samoans. Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
- ^ WWF World Tag Team Title History. Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
- ^ a b c Wrestler Profiles: Curtis Iaukea. Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
- ^ WWE Saturday Night's Main Event results - September 23, 1987. Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
- ^ WWE WrestleMania IV results - March 27, 1988. Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
- ^ a b Eddie Gilbert Page 2. Kayfabe Memories. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
- ^ WWE SmackDown results - March 23, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
- ^ Hall of Fame 2007. Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2007-09-08.
- ^ Biography: Captain Lou Albano. World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
- ^ Continental Wrestling: November 1987 - May 1988. Retrieved on 2001-10-12.
- ^ Memphis/CWA #3 Page #2. Kayfabe Memories. Retrieved on 207-10-12.
- ^ N.W.A. (Mid-America)/A.W.A. Southern Tag Team Title. Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
- ^ N.W.A. National Tag Team Title. Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
- ^ Gulf Coast Tag Team Title. Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
- ^ The Wild Samoans. World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years. Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 100 Tag Teams of the PWI Years. Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
