Afa Anoa'i

Afa Anoa'i

1942-11-21 – 2024-08-16 (age 81) Western Samoa Trust Territory
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Biography

Afa Amituana'i Anoa'i was a retired Samoan professional wrestler and manager, who appeared as one of Kenneth Togaru's henchmen that killed Charles Symington and Ali Ferrand in the episode "By Hooker by Crook" of the series Miami Vice.

Anoai got into professional wrestling in the early 1970s, trained by Rocky Johnson and Peter Maivia (father and grandfather of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson), then made his debut in 1971, and brought in his brother Sika Anoa'i (born 1945) and formed The Wild Samoans, a tag team that won three WWWF (precursor to today's WWE) Tag Team Championships (twice in 1980 and once in 1983), managed by Capt. Lou Albano for all of their reigns. They also held the NWA National Tag Team titles in 1982 and several other regional titles during their career. In 1983 Sika was injured and Afa brought in his son Samu, and would remain a team until 1984. The Wild Samoans broke up soon after, but Afa returned to the WWF as manager of Samu and Afa's nephew Fatu and they formed The Samoan Swat Team (in World Classโ€”WCCW, and the NWA) before moving to the WWF and becoming The Headshrinkers, which won the WWF Tag Team Titles once before Afa retired in 1994. He then trained new pro wrestlers at the Wild Samoans Academy, and in 2007 he and Sika were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Anoa'i's only acting credits besides Vice was in the movies Body Slam and Mr. Nanny.

Anoa'i married his wife Lynn in 1970, and have five children; their three sons, Samula "Samu", Afa, Jr. "Manu", and Lloyd "L.A. Smooth", all became pro wrestlers, and two daughters, Monica and Lynn.

Photos

Known For

Beyond the Mat
Beyond the Mat

1999

as Self

Mr. Nanny
Mr. Nanny

1993

as Afa 'Alfa' Anoai

WWE SummerSlam 1994
WWE SummerSlam 1994

1994

as Himself (Manager)

WWE Survivor Series 1992
WWE Survivor Series 1992

1992

as Afa (Manager)

WWE King of the Ring 1993
WWE King of the Ring 1993

1993

as Afa (Manager)

Body Slam
Body Slam

1986

as The Samoans

Andre the Giant
Andre the Giant

1985

as Afa (Archive footage)

WWE WrestleMania IX
WWE WrestleMania IX

1993

as Afa (Manager)

WWE Hell in a Cell 2020
WWE Hell in a Cell 2020

2020

as Afa (Appearance)

WWE U.K. Rampage 1993
WWE U.K. Rampage 1993

1993

as Afa (Manager)

WWE Survivor Series 1993
WWE Survivor Series 1993

1993

as Afa (Manager)

WWE Hall of Fame 2007
WWE King of the Ring 1994
WWE King of the Ring 1994

1994

as Afa (Manager)

WWE Paul Bearer's Hits From the Crypt
WWE Survivor Series Showdown 1992
WWE SummerSlam 1993
WWE SummerSlam 1993

1993

as Himself (Manager)

WWE The Brawl to End it All
WWE The Brawl to End it All

1984

as Wild Samoan Afa