Sika Anoa’i, higher identified within the skilled wrestling world as Sika, has died at 79. The information was introduced by Jahrus Anoa’i on Tuesday.
Anoa’i rose to fame as one half of the tag group The Wild Samoans alongside his older brother Afa, who additionally served as his coach. The pair wrestled for nearly each notable territory in wrestling throughout the Nineteen Seventies and 80s, gaining notoriety for wild habits that included consuming uncooked fish within the ring.
The Wild Samoans debuted in WWF in 1980 the place they have been managed by “Captain” Lou Albano. That April they gained the WWF tag group championship, defeating Ivan Putski and Tito Santana. They might drop the titles in August and win them once more in September. After dropping the belts for the second time, they might return to varied territories, capturing extra championships, together with in Mid-South Wrestling and the Nationwide Wrestling Alliance.
The Samoans would make yet another run as WWF tag group champions in 1983, ultimately dropping them to the group of Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas. Johnson, father of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, was on the opposite department of the bigger Anoa’i wrestling household tree.
Anoa’i’d retire in 1988 however would stay an occasional presence in WWF/WWE, the place The Wild Samoans have been inducted into the WWE Corridor of Fame in 2007.
Anoa’i used to be additionally the daddy of Roman Reigns and briefly returned to WWE in 2020 to play a task in Reigns’ ascendance as “The Head of the Desk.” Each he and Afa appeared at that yr’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view to crown Reigns as “The Tribal Chief,” and would later be known as the household “elders” in a few of Reigns’ storylines.