The Anoaʻi family ( ) is a family of
professional wrestlers
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 ...
originating from
American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...
. Family members have comprised several tag teams and stables within a variety of
promotions. Famous members of the family include
Rosey,
WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi
A , or, more colloquially, , is a professional sumo wrestler. follow and live by the centuries-old rules of the sumo profession, with most coming from Japan, the only country where sumo is practiced professionally. Participation in official t ...
,
Umaga, WWE Hall of Famer
Yokozuna
, or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments.
This is the on ...
,
Roman Reigns
Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoa'i (born May 25, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Roman Reigns. He is the leader of The B ...
,
The Usos
The Usos (born August 22, 1985) are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of twin brothers Joshua Samuel Fatu and Jonathan Solofa Fatu, who are known professionally by their respective ring names Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They ar ...
(Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso),
Solo Sikoa, and WWE Hall of Fame brothers the
Wild Samoans (
Afa Afa or AFA may refer to:
Mythology and religion
*Afa (mythology), in the Polynesian mythology of Samoa
* Afá, a West African religion, also known as Ifá in some languages
Governmental
* Agence française anticorruption, the French Anti-Corrupti ...
and
Sika Anoaʻi).
Peter Maivia and his grandson
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...
are considered Legend members.
Reverend Amituana'i Anoaʻi and Peter Maivia were
blood brother
Blood brother can refer to two or more men not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is in modern times usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where each person makes a small cut, usually on a finger, hand or ...
s, a connection that continued with Afa and Sika, who regard Peter as their uncle. Peter married
Ofelia "Lia" Fuataga, who already had a daughter named Ata, whom he adopted and raised as his own. Ata married wrestler
Rocky Johnson
Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; August 24, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Among many National Wrestling Alliance titles, he was the first Black Georgia Heavyweight Champion as well as the NWA Televisi ...
, and the couple became the parents of Dwayne Johnson, who wrestled as "Rocky Maivia" and "The Rock" before establishing himself as an actor. Peter's first cousin Joseph Fanene was the father of Savelina Fanene, who was formerly known in WWE as
Nia Jax
Savelina Fanene (born May 29, 1984) is an Australian-born American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Nia Jax from 2014 to 2021 and became a one-time Raw Women's Champion and tw ...
. Savelina also has a younger brother, Hin Hins Man. Trinity Fatu, known in WWE as
Naomi
Naomi or Naomie may refer to:
People and biblical figures
* Naomi (given name), a female given name and a list of people with the name
* Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth
* Naomi (Romanian singer) (bor ...
, married into the family by marrying Jimmy Uso.
Anoaʻi Family tree
Other members
Hollywood stuntman
Tanoai Reed
Tanoai Reed (born February 10, 1974) is an American stuntman and actor. He is the cousin and stunt double of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
Reed was born in Honolulu, Hawaii of Samoan and Norwegian, Swedish, Irish descent. After the separation o ...
(known as Toa on the
new ''American Gladiators'') is the great nephew of wrestling promoter Lia Maivia (Peter Maivia's wife), while professional wrestler
Lina Fanene (Nia Jax) is Dwayne Johnson's second cousin once removed. Johnson's daughter Simone performs in
WWE's developmental league
NXT
NXT may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010
** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory
* ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...
as Ava Raine, a member of The Schism, a
villainous stable led by
Joe Gacy.
Sean Maluta
Sean Maluta (born September 30, 1988) is an American professional wrestler currently competing on the independent circuit. He made a number of appearances with WWE and took part in the first Cruiserweight Classic.
Professional wrestling career
...
, nephew of Afa Anoaʻi, was a participant in WWE's first
Cruiserweight Classic
The Cruiserweight Classic, formerly the Global Cruiserweight Series, was a professional wrestling tournament and WWE Network event produced by WWE. All participants were billed at a weight of 205 lbs or less to determine the inaugural WWE Cruis ...
tournament. Zilla Fatu, son of the late Eddie “Umaga” Fatu, has begun training at Booker T's Reality of Wrestling.
Tag teams and stables
The Wild Samoans
The Samoan SWAT Team/The Headshrinkers
3-Minute Warning
In
WWE from 2002 to 2003
Matt Anoaʻi and
Eddie Fatu
Edward Smith Fatu (March 28, 1973 – December 4, 2009) was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) under the ring name Umaga. Prior to Umaga, Fatu was also notable for his time with Al ...
formed a tag team using the names Rosey and Jamal, respectively. 3-Minute Warning acted as
enforcers for
Raw brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
General Manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
Eric Bischoff. The team was used to
squash
Squash may refer to:
Sports
* Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets
* Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling
* Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...
any activity in the ring that Bischoff deemed "boring". Bischoff would often cue the team's surprise entrances by uttering the phrase "three minutes."
Samoan Gangstas
Samoan Gangstas was a
tag team
Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...
in the
independent promotion
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor league for pro wres ...
World Xtreme Wrestling
World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) is a Florida-based independent professional wrestling promotion which has held events across the United States and toured in Japan, the Middle East and South Pacific region including American Samoa and Guam.
The pr ...
(WXW).
The tag team consisted of members from the Anoaʻi family.
Samoan Gangstas was a tag team made up of brothers from another mothers
Matt E. Smalls and
Sweet Sammy Silk (Matt and Samu Anoaʻi). Their tag team was formed in 1997 in WXW, the promotion of one half of
The Wild Samoans, Samu's father and Matt's uncle
Afa Anoaʻi
Afa Amituana'i "Arthur" Anoa'i (born November 21, 1942) is a Samoan-American retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager. Since retiring, he has operated the World Xtreme Wrestling promotion and trained wrestlers at the Wild ...
. The duo received success in WXW in the tag team division.
On June 24, they won their first
WXW Tag Team Championship by beating Love Connection (Sweet Daddy Jay Love and Georgie Love).
However, they were temporarily suspended and the title was declared vacant.
Matt was repackaged as Matty Smalls. They returned in the summer of 1997 and defeated Siberian Express (The Mad Russian and Russian Eliminator), on September 17 to win their second WXW Tag Team Championship.
Problems began between Smalls and Smooth. The two partners began feuding with each other and could not focus properly on their tag title. On March 27, 1998, Smooth defeated Smalls in a
Loser Leaves Town match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
. As a result of losing this match, Smalls was forced to leave the promotion.
He left WXW while Smooth focused on a singles career. After a short while, Smalls returned to WXW and the two partners reunited again as Samoan Gangstas and began teaming in the tag team division. They feuded with several tag teams in WXW and focused to regain the WXW Tag Team Championship. However, due to their family disputes and problems with each other, they did not take part in the tournament for the vacated tag title, and instead feuded with each other. Samoan Gangstas feuded with each other after their splitting until Smalls left WXW and began wrestling as Kimo. He began teaming with
Ekmo (Eddie Fatu) as
The Island Boyz and the duo worked in
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their ...
(FMW) before signing with
World Wrestling Entertainment
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 var ...
(WWE) and working in its developmental territories.
The Sons of Samoa
The Sons of Samoa are a tag team currently wrestling in the
Puerto Rican wrestling promotion
World Wrestling Council
The World Wrestling Council (WWC) (Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha"), is a Puerto-Rican professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón Sr., Victor J ...
and WXW. The team consists of
Afa Jr. and
L.A. Smooth.
The team was formed at WXW in 1998, briefly as a stable with
Samu. The team reformed in April 2009 at a WXW show with Afa Jr. and L.A. Smooth. In 2013, they began wrestling at the WWC promotion in Puerto Rico. At Euphoria 2013, they lost to
Thunder and Lightning. They won the
WWC World Tag Team Championship
The WWC World Tag Team Championship is the tag team title contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council.
History Abroad (2017)
On February 11, 2017, Thunder and Lightning defended the WWC World T ...
from Thunder and Lightning on February 9, before losing the titles back to Thunder and Lightning on March 30 at Camino a la Gloria. However, they won the titles on June 29, 2013, at Summer Madness.
The Usos
The Usos (born August 22, 1985) are a
Samoan American professional wrestling tag team consisting of twin brothers Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso, who appear in WWE where they are
three-time Raw Tag Team Champions (during their first two reigns, it was called the WWE Tag Team Championship). They are also
five-time SmackDown Tag Team Champions—their fifth reign is the longest reign for the title as well as the longest male tag team championship reign in WWE history.. The pair were previously managed by
Tamina Snuka and are
one-time FCW Florida Tag Team Champions
Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until ...
.
The Bloodline
The Bloodline is a villainous professional wrestling stable currently performing in WWE. The group is led by
Roman Reigns
Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoa'i (born May 25, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Roman Reigns. He is the leader of The B ...
, who currently is recognized as the
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion, as he concurrently holds both the
WWE and
Universal Championships. Also in the group are Reigns' cousins The Usos (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso), who are currently recognized as
Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship refers to both of the following:
* WWE Raw Tag Team Championship, the men's tag team championship of WWE's Raw brand
*WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship, the men's tag team championship of WWE's SmackDown bran ...
, as they concurrently hold both the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships. The Usos' younger brother
Solo Sikoa joined the group in September 2022 and is a former
NXT North American Champion
The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is primarily defended as the secondary men's championship of the NXT brand division, the promotion's developmenta ...
. The group is managed by
Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former promoter, photographer, and executive. He is currently signed to WWE, appearing on the SmackDown brand as manager for Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweig ...
while
Sami Zayn
Rami Sebei ( ar, رامي سبعي; born July 12, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sami Zayn, and is a member of The Bloodline.
Prior to jo ...
is an honorary member.
Championship and accomplishments
* Afa Anoaʻi
**
Championships and accomplishments
* Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
**
Championships and accomplishments
* Jacob Fatu
**
Championships and accomplishments
* Lance Anoaʻi
**
Championships and accomplishments
* Lloyd Anoaʻi
**
Championships and accomplishments
* Peter Maivia
**
Championships and accomplishments
* Rikishi
**
Championships and accomplishments
* Roman Reigns
**
Championships and accomplishments
* Rosey
**
Championships and accomplishments
* Sam Fatu
**
Championships and accomplishments
* Sika Anoaʻi
**
Championships and accomplishments
* Solo Sikoa
**
Championships and accomplishments
* Umaga
**
Championships and accomplishments
* The Usos
**
Championships and accomplishments
* Yokozuna
**
Championships and accomplishments
See also
*
List of family relations in professional wrestling
References
Further reading
*
External links
Samoan Dynasty
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anoaʻi family
Professional wrestling families
American families