Professional wrestling legend Afa Anoa’i passed away this week, his family announced.
He was 81 years old.
His daughter, Vale Anoa’i, confirmed the news via X, writing, “Today all of our lives have changed irrevocably. I love you so much, Dad. No words can express it.”
Anoa’i and his brother Sika, who died in June at age 79, were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2012.
As the Wild Samoans, they won the WWE Tag Team Titles three times in the early 1980s.
Afa is the uncle of Roman Reigns, the current face of WWE, who made his return to the airwaves at SummerSlam this month after holding the longest WWE title reign in the modern era.
Sika is the father of Reigns and former WWE star Rosey (Matt Anoa’i), who passed away in 2017 at the age of 47.
Many people, including Rains, reacted to the news. WWE Chief Content Officer Triple Ha longtime wrestler; Former WWE Women’s Champion Natalyla.
“Our family has suffered another great loss with the passing of my uncle, WWE Hall of Famer Gataivasa Afa Amituanai Anoa’i,” Reigns said on X. “I thank everyone for their support and take solace in the fact that he is now resting in peace.”
He later added, “Rest in peace Wild Samoan.”
Not only was Anoa’i known for his work in WWE, but he and Sika, The Wild Samoans, held tag team titles in 12 different organizations, including Detroit’s version of the NWA World Tag Team Championships, which they won multiple times and held for a record-breaking total of 407 days.
