For the second time this summer, the Anoa'i-Fatu family has lost one of its true luminaries in WWE Hall of Famer Afa Anoa'i, who has sadly passed away at 81, almost two months after the passing of his brother and fellow Wild Samoan Sika Anoa'i.
Beginning his professional wrestling career after his exit from the Marine Corps in the 1970s alongside his brother, the duo formed the Wild Samoans on the indies, first for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling and then for the NWO before landing in WWE in 1979, where they were managed by Hall of Famer Lou Albano. From there, the duo bounced around the wrestling world, holding the WWE World Tag Team Championship belts three times and securing gold around the world in their international pursuits, too, easily establishing themselves as one of the top tag teams of their era.
After largely retiring from in-ring action, Afa turned his attention to helping the next generation of wrestling stars, managing the Headshrinkers, Samu and Rikishi, to their own Tag Team Title reign for Vince McMahon's company, while helping to raise the next generation of WWE Superstars like his nephew Roman Reigns, and Rikishi's sons, Solo Sikoa and The Usos.
Taking to social media to say goodbye to Afa, Reigns celebrated all of his accomplishments and hoped that he and his brother would see each other again on the other side.
“Our family has suffered another great loss with the passing of my uncle and WWE Hall of Famer, Gataivasā Afa Amituana'i Anoa'i,” Reigns wrote on social media. “We thank everyone for their support and are comforted by the fact that he now rests in peace. Afa and my father, Pola’ivao Leati Sika Anoa’I were loving brothers, the greatest tag team of their generation, and now they’re reunited together in heaven. Rest in Power Wild Samoans.”
Natalya commented on Afa's passing, too, recalling her family's connection to the Wild Samoans and the impact he's had on the wrestling world.
Even Paul “Triple H” Levesque commented on Afa's passing too, wishing farewell to the Wild Samoan well before releasing a touching tribute on WWE.com and on SmackDown too.
Though neither Afa nor Sika were on WWE television regularly over the past few years, with their final major appearances coming in the feud between Jey Uso and Reigns, their impact has been on the promotion more so than any other golden era tag team, as there would be no Bloodline without two of the foundational fixtures of the faction.
WWE wishes a fond farewell to Afa Anoa'i
While Levesque and WWE were quick to say goodbye to Afa on social media, they released a much longer tribute to the Hall of Famer on WWE.com and ran through just how impressive his career was for the fans who missed out on it or who simply wanted to take a trip down memory lane.
Anoa’i was best known for teaming alongside his brother Sika Anoa’i as the legendary tag team The Wild Samoans. The siblings began teaming up in the 1970s, collecting accolades and championships in Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling promotion and the National Wrestling Alliance before debuting in WWE in 1979. The brothers dominated WWE in the 1980s, capturing the World Tag Team Championship three times and becoming known as one of the most feared teams in WWE history.
Afa returned to WWE in 1992 as the manager for The Headshrinkers, a team comprised of his son Samu and nephew Fatu, aka Rikishi, before retiring from WWE in 1995.
Afa and Sika later opened The Wild Samoan Training Facility, where the legendary duo would train future generations of WWE Superstars, including Batista. In 2007, The Wild Samoans were bestowed with the highest honor in sports-entertainment when they were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, where they will be forever enshrined as one of the greatest tag teams of all time.
Though the Wild Samoans haven't wrestled a match as a tag team since all the way back in 1997, well before The Usos became arguably the most prolific tag team in WWE history, their impact has been impossible to ignore over the past 20-plus years, with every big man monster team in WWE, AEW, NJPW, and beyond drawing influence from the Anoa'i brothers. Even if the duo are both gone, their influence will live on forever.
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