WWE Hall of Famer Afa Anoa’i Passes Away

Afa Anoa’i, best known for his WWE Hall of Fame run as a member of the Wild Samoans, has passed away. Afa’s son Samu announced on Facebook that his father had passed on Friday. He was 81 years old.

Anoa’i had been dealing with a host of health issues in recent months and Samu had said on Thursday night that his father was close to his “final journey home.” His statement on Friday read:

“It is with deepest regret that we announce the passing of my father Afa Anoai Sr. It was a peaceful transition and he was surrounded by loved ones. Please respect our privacy as we morn our father.”

Anoa’i was born in the Western Samoa Trust Territory and moved with his family to San Francisco when he was young. After a stint in the US Marines, he began his wrestling career training under his uncle Peter Maivia and cousin Rocky Johnson, and competed in his first match in 1971 in Phoenix. He formed a tag team with his brother Sika, a union that would be best known as the Wild Samoans. The two competed for Stampede Wrestling and several NWA territories in the 1970s and held the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Championship twice. They also had a run in Japan in 1978 for International Wrestling Enterprise, where they had a short reign as the IWA World Tag Team Champions in January of 1978.

The team joined the WWF in 1979, where they were paired with Captain Lou ALbano and didn’t speak, exhibiting “wild” behavior like eating raw fish in interviews. The team had three runs with the WWF Tag Team Championships, with their lengthiest run lasting 252 days from March to November of 1983 after they returned following a three year stint away in Mid-South Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions. Sika suffered an injury at one point and Samu joined the group, though his being Afa’s son was not acknowledged on TV. They stayed in the company until 1984.

Anoa’i returned to the company in 1992 and served as the manager for The Headshrinkers, which consisted of Sami and Fatu, now known as Rikishi. He would occasionally join them in tag team matches and worked his final match for WWE in May of 1994. He eventually left the company in 1995 and founded his own wrestling school with Sika, the Wild Samoan Training Facility. He served as the wrestling trainer on the acclaimed Darren Aronofsky film The Wrestler.

The Wild Samoans were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007, and Anoa’i came out of retirement in 2013 and 2014 to wrestle for his World Xtreme Wrestling company.

On behalf of 411, our condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Mr. Anoa’i.