HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Papali'itele Max Amata Taogaga (born 28 April 1949) is a Samoan retired
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 ...
. He is best known for his appearances with the
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 va ...
(WWF) in the late-1980s under the
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projectin ...
Siva Afi.


Early life

Max Taogaga was born in Samoa on 28 April 1949. He attended Avele Agricultural College in
Apia Apia () is the capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. Th ...
. As a young man, he relocated to New Zealand where he worked in a slaughterhouse.


Professional wrestling career


Early career (1975–1978)

After deciding to become a professional wrestler, Taogaga went to Steve Rickard and
Peter Maivia Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia (born Fanene Pita Anderson; April 6, 1937 – June 13, 1982) better known as Peter Maivia was a Samoan-American professional wrestler. Maivia was the maternal grandfather of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and was also part o ...
who trained him for two years. In his debut match in 1975, Taogaga defeated one of New Zealand's top light heavyweights, Del Adams. For the next four years Taogaga continued to work his way up through the ranks, wrestling the majority of foreign visitors to the country. Finally in 1978 he earned his big break, defeating Big John Da Silva in the final of an elimination tournament to decide the new, New Zealand Heavyweight Champion. Over the next few months, Taogaga successfully defended the title before heading to the U.S. at the end of 1978.


International appearances (1978–1986)

For the next seven years Taogaga split his time between the U.S., New Zealand, Australia and Japan. However, it was in Hawaii that Taogaga would be the most successful. It was here, in 1985, where he wrestled
Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...
to a one-hour time limit draw for the
NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is ...
in front of 12,000 people.


World Wrestling Federation (1986–1988)

In January 1986, Taogaga signed with
Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...
's World Wrestling Federation (WWF), making his debut on 23 January at a house show in Anaheim, CA in a win over Tim Patterson. He would later make his debut on Prime Time Wrestling, where he was billed as "'Superfly' Afi" and deemed to be the cousin of
Jimmy Snuka James Reiher Snuka (born James Wiley Smith; May 18, 1943 – January 15, 2017) was a Fijian American professional wrestler. He is better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Snuka wrestled for several promotions from the 1970s to 201 ...
. On the 8 March episode of
The Body Shop The Body Shop International Limited, trading as The Body Shop, is a British cosmetics, skin care and perfume company. Founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick, the company currently has a range of 1,000 products sold in about 3,000 stores, divid ...
, Afi was introduced to viewers of WWF All Star Wrestling as Snuka's cousin. Afi was undefeated initially, albeit against lower-level competition such as
Rene Goulet Robert Bédard (July 12, 1932 – May 25, 2019) was a Canadian professional wrestler. better known by his ring name, the "Number One Frenchman" Rene Goulet. Early life Robert Bedard was born on July 12, 1932 in Quebec City and played hock ...
,
Barry O Randal Berry Orton (May 28, 1958 – March 19, 2021) was an American professional wrestler and actor. He was the son of professional wrestler Bob Orton, brother of professional wrestler Bob Orton Jr., and uncle of professional wrestler Randy Or ...
, Ron Shaw, and
Matt Borne Matthew Wade Osborne (July 27, 1957 – June 28, 2013), known professionally as Matt Borne, was an American professional wrestler. Osborne was a second generation wrestler, the son of Tony Borne, and is best known as being the first wrestler to ...
. On 6 March 1986 he gained his first significant victory when he pinned
Bret Hart Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling back ...
at a house show in Buffalo, NY. Afi's undefeated streak ended three days later when he lost to Hart's partner
Jim Neidhart James Henry Neidhart (February 8, 1955 – August 13, 2018) was an American professional wrestler known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, where he was a two-time WWF Tag ...
in Landover, MD, but he continued to be pushed. Afi gained victories in April over
Hercules Hernandez Raymond Constantine Fernandez (May 7, 1956 – March 6, 2004) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Hercules Hernandez, or simply Hercules. Fernandez began his career in 1979, primarily wrestling in Florida and ...
and
Paul Roma Paul Centopani (born April 29, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Paul Roma. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling between 1984 an ...
. However fans were unaccepting of Afi as the replacement for the departed Jimmy Snuka, and openly heckled him in matches. He began to slide down the card, losing that spring to Bret Hart,
Don Muraco Don Muraco (born September 10, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler and podcaster. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1981 to 1988, where he held the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Cham ...
, and
Jake Roberts Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955), better known by the ring name Jake "The Snake" Roberts, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs as manager to Lance Archer. He is b ...
. By the summer all momentum had ceased. Now billed as "Sivi Afi", he became a near enhancement talent and lost to the likes of Bret Hart,
Randy Savage Randall Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wres ...
,
Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federati ...
and
Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE working in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship ...
. In the summer of 1986, he was briefly referred to as "Toma". He formed a short-lived tag-team with
King Tonga Tonga 'Uli'uli Fifita (born 10 February 1959) is a Tongan professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as Haku. He is also known for his time in World Champ ...
, but the duo was generally unsuccessful. Toagaga entered 1987 firmly established as an upper-level enhancement star, losing regularly to Hercules and others but continuing to gain victories against other opening-level talent such as Frenchy Martin and Terry Gibbs. He was used frequently as a substitute when other wrestlers could not make house shows, teaming with others such as Raymond Rougeau. In the summer of 1987, he entered a lengthy losing streak, falling to preliminary competition such as
Steve Lombardi 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 promo ...
and Frenchy Martin. Following a loss to Ted Dibiase on 9 December at a Wrestling Challenge taping in Fort Myers, Toagaga went on a hiatus. In 1988, after teaming for a short time with Haku as one half of The Islanders, he also wrestled in six-man tags with the original Islanders, Haku and Tama. He debuted a new gimmick, that of "High Chief Afi", a Samoan chieftain. As part of his gimmick, Taogaga had gotten his legs and abdomen heavily tattooed (ala High Chief Peter Maivia). Unfortunately for Taogaga, it was all for naught; Tama would shortly thereafter depart from the WWF and Haku was repackaged as "King Haku" to replace the injured Harley Race, leaving Taogaga without a team or manager. His last match came on 27 August 1988 in Burlington, VT against
S. D. Jones Conrad Efraim (March 30, 1945 – October 26, 2008) was an Antiguan professional wrestler best known by his ring name, Special Delivery Jones or S. D. Jones (sometimes referred to as S. D. "Special Delivery" Jones) from his time (1974–1990) in ...
. Taogaga left the WWF and went on to work for
Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as '' ...
as a stuntman and bodyguard.


Late career (1988–1997)

Taogaga made his return to New Zealand in 1990 to appear for Steve Rickard's "
The Main Event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
". Taogaga defeated all comers during the short-lived show, becoming the new Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion in the process. After the cancellation of "The Main Event", Taogaga resumed touring the world appearing in areas as far flung as
Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...
,
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
and
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. in 1991 Siva found Jeff Miller aka The Metal Maniac, realizing his gift of Gab and athletic ability Siva broke Metal Maniac into pro wrestling, training him in the basics and securing a spot to travel and work with Superfly Jimmy Snuka. In 1997, after over 23 years on the road, Taogaga retired from the sport, wrestling his final match in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
.


Personal life

Upon receiving a traditional pe'a Taogaga adopted the honorific Papali'itele. In October 1997, Taogaga was indicted by the Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Grand Jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a ...
for acting as the "
getaway driver A crime scene getaway is the act of fleeing the location where one has broken the law. It is an act that the offender(s) may or may not have planned in detail, resulting in a variety of outcomes. A :crime scene is the "location of a crime; e ...
" for a robbery, burglary and kidnapping carried out in January 1996. He was subsequently convicted of one count of aggravated burglary, two counts of aggravated robbery, and seven counts of kidnapping, and sentenced to 15 to 40 years' incarceration. Following a series of appeals against his original sentence, Taogaga was released from the North Central Correctional Institution in 2007 and deported back to Samoa. In 2008, Taogaga published his autobiography, "Dance with Fire".


Bibliography

* "Dance with Fire" (2008)


Championships and accomplishments

*
50th State Big Time Wrestling 50th State Big Time Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Hawaii or Mid-Pacific Promotions) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Ha ...
**
NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship The NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and is defended in the US state of Hawaii. The title, which is still currently defended, began in 1935. From February ...
(1 time) ** NWA Pacific International Championship (1 time, final) **NWA Polynesian Pacific Heavyweight Championship (1 time, first) *All Star Pro Wrestling ** NWA British Empire/Commonwealth Championship (1 time) *
National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...
**
NWA North American Heavyweight Championship The NWA North American Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance in 1994 after World Championship Wrestling withdrew from the NWA. There were various regional versions of the Nort ...
(1 time) *
NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgen ...
New Zealand ** NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...
'' **PWI ranked him # 384 of the 400 best singles wrestlers of the PWI's WWE Top 400 in 2003 *United States Wrestling League **USWL Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with King Kaluha


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Afi, Siva 1949 births Converts to Christianity Living people Samoan evangelicals Samoan professional wrestlers Samoan emigrants to New Zealand Samoan emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from Apia Stampede Wrestling alumni The Heenan Family members 20th-century professional wrestlers