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- It seems like the entire WWE has rotated around the Samoan Dynasty for the last few years. Roman Reigns has held the world title longer than anyone since the days when Hulkamania was running wild, The Usos have been major parts of the Bloodline storyline, and seem to even have big stories to play outside of it, and even The Rock made a recent appearance in a highly rated episode of WWE SmackDown. Meanwhile, Samoa Joe has been a champion in Ring of Honor and Jacob Fatu remains the most intriguing member of the family not to work for one of the two major American wrestling companies.
The Samoan Dynasty is one of the largest families in professional wrestling history. It goes back to the '60s and '70s, with the Wild Samoans. Over the years, children and grandchildren have all started working in professional wrestling, and many of them achieved high levels of success.
Many Samoan wrestlers are now WWE Hall of Fame stars, and several of them have worked some of the biggest events in WWE history. With Roman Reigns among the new breed of Samoan superstars and others around the world, it doesn't appear that the Samoan Dynasty is slowing down anytime soon.
UPDATE: 2023/10/24 13:56 EST BY SHAWN S. LEALOS
It seems like the entire WWE has rotated around the Samoan Dynasty for the last few years. Roman Reigns has held the world title longer than anyone since the days when Hulkamania was running wild, The Usos have been major parts of the Bloodline storyline, and seem to even have big stories to play outside of it, and even The Rock made a recent appearance in a highly rated episode of WWE SmackDown. Meanwhile, Samoa Joe has been a champion in Ring of Honor and Jacob Fatu remains the most intriguing member of the family not to work for one of the two major American wrestling companies.
25 Manu
Manu got a huge opportunity in WWE that he never could follow throughout. The son of Afa (real name Afa Anoa'i Jr), he was part of Legacy in the Ruthless Aggression Era of WWE. This was a stable of second (and third) generation stars where he worked with Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted DiBiase Jr. Out of all the members, he did the least in that run. His debut in Legacy was in September 2008 and WWE released him in February 2009. After working on the independent circuit for a few years, he started his own promotion in Pennsylvania called BattleField Pro Wrestling.
24 Reka Tehaka
Reka Tehaka is a 31-year-old independent wrestler who made her in-ring debut in 2019. With the nickname "The Samoan Savage," she has mostly worked in Women of Wrestling, although she has also competed in AEW on episodes of Dark. Her last match in AEW before the company shuttered Dark was a tag team match where she was on the losing side. She didn't win a single match in AEW (her first appearance there was a loss to Jade Cargill in 2021). Most recently, she worked in Viral Pro Wrestling.
23 Ava Raine
Ava Raine is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's daughter. Real name Simone Johnson, Ava works for NXT and has been part of the Schism faction since she made her on-screen debut. Ava signed with WWE in 2020 and trained at the WWE Performance Center before making her debut two years later on NXT.
She has since worked mostly as a manager-type figure with Schism, but she has also started working her way into a wrestling role as well. She has only six matches listed on Cagematch.net and is 1-1 as a singles wrestler as of August 2023.
22 Samu
Samu is Samula Anoa'i, the son of Afa of the Wild Samoans. His career started in WWE in 1983 where he immediately teamed with his father as a member of the Wild Samoans when Sika was injured. After that, he set out to make his own way in the business but kept his family heritage in his gimmick as he teamed with his cousin Fatu as the Samoan Swat Team in Puerto Rico, World Championship Wrestling, and later in WCW.
When he made it back to WWE, it was 1992 and he and Fatu changed their name to the Headshrinkers. He also worked in ECW and his son Lance Anoa'i is now also wrestling.
21 Sonny Siaki
Sonny Siaki is a former member of TNA Wrestling and he was part of the infamous SeX (Sports Entertainment Xtreme) stable led by Vince Russo. While Siaki held the X-Division Championship during that time, he never reached the heights of other members of the faction, such as Christopher Daniels, Low-Ki, and Elix Skipper.
He got his major break in WCW before the company closed its doors, and while he was a TNA original, he was gone from the company by 2006. He tried to make it with WWE in 2007, but they didn't sign him after a tryout match. He finally retired in 2009.
20 Rosey
Matthew Anoa'i is best known for his time in WWE as the superhero Rosey alongside Hurricane Helms. He is also the son of Sika and the brother of Roman Reigns. Rosey trained with his cousin Eddie Fatu (Umaga) and they worked together as a tag team when they entered into the business.
They even got a chance to work in ECW as the Samoan Gangster Party in 1996. His big break came in 2002 in WWE when he changed his name to Rosey and he and Eddie teamed as 3-Minute Warning. By 2003, he was in the superhero gimmick with Hurricane and they won tag team gold. Sadly, Rosey died in 2017 of congestive heart failure.
19 Lance Anoa'i
Lance Anoa'i is a third-generation Samoan Dynasty star, the son of Samu, and grandson of Afa. He got his start on the independent circuit in 2010 working in the NWA territories and later in House of Hardcore. While he has family connections, he has received three different tryouts with WWE, although he never got signed to a deal.
His biggest moment in WWE was when Shane McMahon and Drew McIntyre beat him down after a match on Raw in 2019. He has mostly worked in MLW. He has teamed with his father there and more recently with Juicy Finau as The Samoan Swat Team, where they became MLW tag team champions.
18 Nia Jax
The idea of Nia Jax showing up on this list at all may be anathema to many wrestling fans, but she was a prominent WWE star for about five years, so she’s certainly worth evaluating. Well-booked and protected in NXT, Jax — who’s a real-life cousin of The Rock — found herself out of her element on the main roster. Her size made her a suitable monster heel, but her in-ring abilities didn’t stack up in fans’ eyes, with many deeming her an “unsafe worker” after accidentally injuring several wrestlers, including breaking Becky Lynch’s nose.
Her recent WWE return has seen the company lean into her reputation as a dangerous wrestler and it's clear that the company has big plans for her, with her rumored to be a favorite to win the 2024 Royal Rumble.
17 Tamina Snuka
While Tamina Snuka’s father, WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, hails from the island of Fiji, Tamina’s mother Sharon was a member of the Anoa’i pro wrestling family that produced many of the stars listed below. In the early years of Tamina’s WWE career, she even managed her cousins, The Usos, but that relationship has since been downplayed. While she’s never been a singles champion thus far, Tamina’s often functioned very well as a no-nonsense enforcer character for smaller performers like AJ Lee.
16 Tonga Kid (a.k.a. Tama)
One of the more underrated Samoan wrestlers of the 1980s, Sam Fatu is the twin brother of Rikishi, older brother of Umaga, and father of Jacob Fatu. When he debuted in the early 1980s,
Fatu was presented as The Tonga Kid, a kayfabe cousin of Jimmy Snuka, and helped Snuka in his rivalry with Roddy Piper. After a few years, however, he found success as a tag team specialist, first “Tama” of The Islanders with Haku and later in WCW as part of the Samoan Swat Team in WCW alongside Rikishi and Samu.
15 Cocoa Samoa
Over the years, Cocoa Samoa worked under many names including Sabu The Wildman and Tami (or Tama) Samoa, but chances are this Samoan wrestler is largely unknown to modern fans. Wrestling from 1976 to 1997, Cocoa Samoa is one of those Samoan wrestlers who isn’t part of the Anoa’i family but is nevertheless worth knowing about. A territory wrestler at the height of his career, Cocoa Samoa was a regional champion in not only the Pacific Northwest, but also Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association, where he defeated Jerry Lawler for the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship.
14 Solo Sikoa
Upon debuting on NXT in 2021, Solo Sikoa was presented as the black sheep of the Anoa’i family, having gone his own way as the “Street Champion of the Island” as opposed to advertising the fact that his older brothers are Jimmy and Jey Uso. However, by helping Roman Reigns beat Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle, the family relationship was made explicit, as Sikoa was made part of the Bloodline.
As part of the Bloodline, Sikoa has been the muscle of the group, serving as an enforcer who takes out enemies of Reigns and company with Umaga’s old Samoan Spike finisher. Sikoa’s career is just getting started, but it’s easy to see his potential.
13 Dakota Kai
At this point, Dakota Kai is approaching a decade and a half in the wrestling game, with half a decade spent in WWE’s developmental promotion, NXT, where she’s proven to be an expert striker and experienced tag team success with Raquel Gonzalez. However, fans might be surprised to know that she’s Samoan, as it’s not “advertised” and she’s not part of the Anoa’i family.
In one notable instance in the indies, Dakota Kai made her heritage known in a violently entertaining manner. Absorbing a series of headbutts from Jinny, Dakota Kai screamed “I’M SAMOAN!” and returned a devastating headbutt to her opponent in response.
12 The Rock
|
Real Name |
Dwayne Johnson |
|
Years Active |
1996-2019 |
|
Samoan Dynasty Connection |
Son of Rocky Maivia |
|
Major Accomplishments |
8-time WWE Champion, 2-time WCW Champion, 2-time Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion |
Easily the most successful and popular Samoan wrestler in history is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. While he claims the family ties to the Anoa'i family, his relationship to them is not blood. His grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, is a blood-brother of the Anoa'i family, though. The Rock's father Rocky Johnson is also a former professional wrestler. Over his career, The Rock won 10 World Titles, two Intercontinental Titles, and five World Tag Team Titles. He is also one of Hollywood's top stars, his movies making hundreds of millions of dollars regularly.
11 Yokozuna
|
Real Name |
Agatupu Rodney Anoaʻi |
|
Years Active |
1985-1999 |
|
Tag Team Partners |
Owen Hart |
|
Major Accomplishments |
2 Time WWE Champion, 2 Time WWE Tag Team Champion, Royal Rumble 1993 Winner |
WWE chose to change the nationality of the character of Yokozuna. The company used him as an evil heel character from Japan and had his gimmick mimic the classic Japanese sumo wrestlers. With Mr. Fuji as his manager, Yokozuna won the World Title twice and the Tag Titles twice. However, Yokozuna was not Japanese. He was a Samoan wrestler who was the cousin of Roman Reigns, Umaga and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Yokozuna was the son of Afoa Anoa'i and a blood member of the Anoa'i Samoan wrestling dynasty. Yokozuna tragically died in 2000.
10 Rikishi
Rikishi is a WWE Hall of Fame superstar and was one of the most popular stars of the Attitude Era. Most fans remember Rikishi dancing around the ring with Too Cool after matches and was a huge fan favorite during that era. He is also the father of The Usos.
However, Rikishi was very popular before he became a dancing big man. The son of Fatu of the Wild Samoans, he followed in his father's footsteps by taking on the name Fatu and working as part of the Samoan Swat Team in WCW and Headshrinkers in WWE with his cousin Samu.
9 Jimmy Uso (The Usos)
Rikishi's sons are The Usos, Jimmy and Jey, and they have become one of the hottest tag teams in WWE today. The Usos made their debut in WWE in 2010 and quickly became fan favorites. Over the years, they have proven to be well-rounded and work the heel roles as well as they did the babyface roles. Whether you consider Jimmy or Jey the better of the two performers, the brothers as a unit have definitely left their mark on the industry.
Jimmy Uso is currently odds with his twin brother, with a rumored WrestleMania 40 match up against Jey on the horizon.
8 Jey Uso (The Usos)
Over the years, both Jey and Jimmy have been incredibly successful in the WWE tag team division. They won the WWE World Tag Team Championship two times and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship five times. Their nearly 600 combined days as SmackDown Tag Team Champions is the most out of anyone. Ever since forming the Bloodline with their cousin Roman Reigns, their stardom has boomed and at this point, it's hard to imagine the brothers ever splitting up as a team.
Jey famously split from the Bloodline in 2023 and challenged his cousin Roman Reigns in the main event of SummerSlam 2023 in a losing effort. A match with his twin brother Jimmy Uso is rumored for WrestleMania 40.
7 "High Chief" Peter Maivia
High Chief Peter Maivia is one of the earliest successful Samoan wrestlers in the industry. He was born as an Ali'i family member but became a blood brother to Amituanai Anoa'i, who was the father of the Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika). This means that Peter Maivia and his descendants are regarded as members of the family. Over his wrestling career, Peter Maivia won several titles, all in the NWA. He was a two-time Texas Heavyweight Champion, held the NWA New Zealand British Empire Commonwealth Title twice, and numerous others. He entered the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.
6 Samoa Joe
Unlike most Samoan wrestlers on this list, Samoa Joe is not related in any way to the Anoa'i family. Joe was born in Orange County, California, and spent his childhood in Hawaii. His family even started a Polynesian dance troupe and performed at the 1984 Summer Olympics when Joe was just five.
While Samoa Joe is not part of the Anoa'i family, it is clear he is proud of his heritage based on his name. Over his career, Joe was the longest reigning ROH World Champion at one time, won the TNA World Title once, and has been a two-time NXT Champion and two-time US Champion in WWE. He is currently a free agent and any wrestling company would be wise to pick him up.