Rocky Iaukea is a retired

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, known by his ringname Prince Iaukea, who competed in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

and

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

with the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

during the 1980s, and in

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during the early 1990s. From 1987 to 1990, he wrestled as Abbuda Dein in

Pacific Northwest Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. T ...

winning the

NWA Pacific Northwest Television Championship The NWA Pacific Northwest Television Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also ...

twice and the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship three times with Mike Miller and The Grappler. A second-generation wrestler, he is the son of

Curtis Iaukea Colonel Curtis Piʻehu Iaukea (December 13, 1855 – March 5, 1940) served as a court official, army officer and diplomat of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He later became an influential official for the subsequent regimes of the Provisional Governme ...

and a cousin of

Maunakea Mossman Mauna Kea ( or ; ; abbreviation for ''Mauna a Wākea''); is a dormant volcano on the island of Hawaii. Its peak is above sea level, making it the highest point in the state of Hawaii and second-highest peak of an island on Earth. The peak is ...

Career

The son of King Curtis Iaukea, a popular wrestler in the United States and Japan during the 1960s and 1970s, Rocky Iaukea followed in his father's footsteps and became a wrestler himself. Making his debut in 1981, Iaukea spent much of his early career in

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

before coming back to the United States to wrestle for the

in the mid-1980s. On February 14, 1986, he unsuccessfully challenged

Kendall Windham Kendall Wayne Windham (born December 15, 1967) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is the son of Blackjack Mulligan and the brother of Barry Windham. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling. Professiona ...

for the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship at the Battle of the Belts II supercard held at the Eddie Graham Sports Arena in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. Shortly afterwards, Iaukea began wrestling for

under the name Abbuda Dein. His in-ring persona was that of an

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"heel" similar to

The Iron Sheik Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri ( fa, حسین خسرو علی وزیری, romanized: Hossein Xosrô 'Ali Vaziri; born March 15, 1942), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, is an Iranian retired professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and a ...

. Teaming with Mike Miller, they defeated Brady Boone and

Coco Samoa Ulualoaiga Onosai Tuaolo Emelio (March 9, 1945 – January 9, 2007) was an American Samoan professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Cocoa Samoa. Professional wrestling career He began his training by studying martial arts in Japan. ...

for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship in Madras, Oregon on June 25, then lost them to Boone and Ricky Santana in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

four months later. He and Miller regained the titles in Longview, Washington the following month before finally losing them to Ricky Santana and Coco Samoa in Portland on January 7, 1987. At the end of the year, Iaukea won the

from Art Barr in Portland on December 26, 1987. His time as champion was brief, however, as the title was vacated on January 30, 1988, following a controversial match against Coco Samoa. He briefly won back the title from

Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an a ...

on January 14, 1989, but dropped it to Carl Styles a little over two weeks later. Iaukea spent his last year in PNW feuding against Pacific Northwest Tag Team Champions

The Southern Rockers Well Dunn, also known as the Southern Rockers, was a professional wrestling tag team who competed in several promotions in the United States. The team was composed of Rex King and Steve Doll, and the team name "Well Dunn" was a play on the term ...

(Scott Peterson and

Steve Doll Steven Lyle Doll (December 9, 1960 – March 22, 2009) was an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as Steven Dunn in the tag team Well Dunn. Professional wrestling career Early caree ...

) with allies Matt Borne and The Grappler. He managed to win the tag team titles once more when he and The Grappler beat The Southern Rockers for the belts in Portland on October 29, 1988. After spending almost three months as champions, he and The Grappler lost the titles back to The Southern Rockers on January 7, 1989. That same year, he appeared for the

Bruiser Brody Memorial Show The Bruiser Brody Memorial Show was a professional wrestling supercard held by Giant Baba and All Japan Pro Wrestling as a tribute to wrestler Bruiser Brody at Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan on August 29, 1988. His wife and son were present at the eve ...

where he and The V lost a tag team match to Shinichi Nakano and Akira Taue at Tokyo's Budokan Hall on August 29, 1988. In early 1991, Iaukea joined the "Thunder Down Under" tour in

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with several

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

wrestlers including Jim Powers, The Genius, Don Muraco,

Angel of Death Angel of Death may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Aviation *"Angel of Death", AC130 gunship's nickname Fictional characters * Adam or Andrew, in ''Touched by an Angel'' * Azrael, in ''Lucifer'' * Loki, in the film ''Dogma'' * Jaff ...

Koko B. Ware James W. Ware, Jr. (born June 20, 1958), better known by his ring name Koko B. Ware is an American retired professional wrestler. He debuted in 1978 and became widely popular in 1986. He later went on to the World Wrestling Federation, where he ...

The Brooklyn Brawler Steven Kenneth Lombardi (born April 18, 1961) is an American professional wrestler and road agent, better known by his ring name, The Brooklyn Brawler. He worked for the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, as well as several independent promot ...

, The Nasty Boys ( Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags) and The Bushwhackers ( Butch and

Luke People *Luke (given name), a masculine given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke (surname) (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Luke the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of Luke. Also known as ...

). Wrestling under the name Mad Dog of Baghdad, he lost to Siva Afi in

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on March 31. He also accompanied Terry Gordy, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams,

Dan Kroffat Daniel Kroffat (born June 14, 1945) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling in the 1960s and 1970s, where he invented the ladder match. Professional wrestling career Stampede W ...

Doug Furnas Dwight Douglas Furnas (December 11, 1959 – March 2, 2012) was an American professional wrestler and powerlifter. He was an APF National and World Powerlifting Champion, who set multiple world records in the 275 pound weight class. As a wrestler, ...

, Joe Malenko, and Dean Malenko in a tour of Japan with

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

that same year. Iaukea eventually returned to Japan full-time where he wrestled for AJPW and WAR up until his retirement in 1996. He later started a charter boat service and he is the owner and captain of a catamaran boat which tours the beaches of

Waikiki Waikiki (; haw, Waikīkī; ; also known as Waikiki Beach) is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the south shore of the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Waikiki is most famous for Waikiki Beach, which is one of six beaches in the district ...

. In 2006, he was interviewed by Ken Hirayama and discussed his career and retirement. He also expressed his support for

Pro Wrestling Noah (stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left the ...

Championships and accomplishments

(2 times) ** NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (3 times) with Mike Miller and The Grappler *''Ring Around The Northwest Newsletter'' **Tag Team of the Year (1986) with Karl Steiner and Abudda Dein * World Wrestling Council **

WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship The WWC Puerto Rico Championship is the secondary professional wrestling championship that is defended in the World Wrestling Council based in Puerto Rico. The title was created in January 1974 and, as its name suggests, is defended exclusively wi ...

(1 time) ** WWC World Tag Team Championship (2 times) with Rip Rogers

References

External links

Abbuda Dein
at ObsessedWithWrestling.com
Abbuda Dein
at WrestlingData.com
Abbuda Dein
at Cagematch.net

at ProFightDB.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Iaukea, Rocky Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male professional wrestlers Sportspeople from Hawaii Native Hawaiian sportspeople 20th-century professional wrestlers WWC Puerto Rico Champions Native Hawaiian professional wrestlers