Afa Anoa'i Jr.
| Afa Anoa'i, Jr. | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | October 6, 1984 Allentown, Pennsylvania |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Manu Afa Afa, Jr. Mai Tai Anoa'i |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 290 lb (130 kg; 21 st)[1] |
| Billed from | Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania[1] |
| Trained by | Afa Anoa'i[1] Lloyd Anoa'i Samula Anoa'i |
| Debut | August 28, 1998 |
Afa Anoa'i, Jr. (born October 6, 1984) is an Samoan professional wrestler, currently contracted to World Wrestling Entertainment and competing on its Raw brand under the ring name Manu.[1]
Career
World Xtreme Wrestling
Anoa'i began training as a wrestler under his father Afa and brothers Lloyd and Samula at the age of 13. He made his debut on August 28, 1998 at the age of 14, winning a battle royal in Austria.[2] He attended Freedom High School, in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania.
He wrestled for the family promotion, World Xtreme Wrestling, where he formed a stable with his brothers, Samu and L.A. Smooth, known as the Sons of Samoa. He went on to win numerous championships.
World Wrestling Entertainment
Developmental territories
In October 2006, Anoa'i received a try-out with World Wrestling Entertainment, held at the Deep South Wrestling development territory. Later that month, Anoa'i officially signed with WWE, going under his father's ring name, Afa. He went on to wrestle for the now-defunct Deep South Wrestling, LLC.[3] Initially performing as part of the Urban Assault stable, which dissolved when Afa and leader Sonny Siaki abandoned their partner Eric Perez during a match against Freakin' Deacon and former Urban Assault member G-Rilla. Siaki and Afa rechristened themselves The Samoan Fight Club.
Anoa'i then wrestled for WWE's new developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling, where he continued teaming with Siaki under their Samoan Fight Club name. Their team was disbanded, however, when Siaki was released from his contract due to family issues on September 15, 2007. In September, Afa Jr. began to work matches in Ohio Valley Wrestling, forming a tag team with fellow Samoan family member Matt Anoa'i and their team was dubbed the Sons of Samoa; which is also a stable that Afa Jr. formed while he still wrestled in World Xtreme Wrestling. In October 2007, Afa Jr. defeated Harry Smith by countout (he was touring in the UK at the time), to become the new FCW Heavyweight Champion.[4]
Raw
On November 19, 2007, Anoa'i made his debut on WWE television under the name Mai Tai Anoa'i in a losing effort against "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan at the Heat tapings.[5] Anoa'i was later suspended by WWE for 30 days, on March 20, 2008, for violating WWE's Wellness Policy.[6] At Unforgiven, Anoa'i made his debut on the full-time roster under the name Manu.[7] He aligned himself with Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, by attacking Cryme Tyme after their World Tag Team Championship match.[7] Later that night, the three of them helped Randy Orton attack the World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and Kofi Kingston.[7] On the September 8 edition of Raw Manu, Rhodes and DiBiase defeated Cryme Tyme and Kofi Kingston in a six man tag team match.[8] On the November 17 episode of Raw, he made his singles debut in a losing effort against Batista.
Personal life
Anoa'i is a member of the Anoa'i family, a Samoan family of wrestlers.[1] He is the son of Afa Anoa'i and the younger brother of Samula Anoa'i and Lloyd Anoa'i.[1] He is also the cousin of Umaga and Rikishi, and a distant relative of Dwayne Johnson. He has Samoan tattoos on his arms.[1]
Anoa'i attended Freedom High School, where Coach Jim Morgans described him as "the best defensive lineman I've coached." As a senior, Anao'i was named one of the 100 best football players in the United States by analyst Tom Lemming. Upon graduation from Freedom, Anoa'i attended Fork Union Military Academy as a post-graduate to study and play football. He played in the 2003 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. Upon graduating, Anoa'i played football with the University of Connecticut Huskies for a year.[1][9]
In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
- Frog splash – WXW
- High–angle diving headbutt
- Lights Out[1] (Belly to back suplex lift dropped into an elevated neckbreaker slam) – WWE
- Samoan Storm (Spinning fireman's carry dropped into a wheelbarrow facebuster) – FCW
- Storminator (Side slam)
- Belly to belly suplex
- Moonsault
- Samoan drop
- Spin–out powerbomb
- The Samoan Storm
- Relatives in wrestling
Championships and accomplishments
- Defiant Pro Wrestling
- DPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) [10]
- Independent Superstars of Professional Wrestling [11]
- ISPW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Jersey Championship Wrestling
- JCW Television Championship (1 time)
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "WWE Bio". WWE. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ Afa, Jr. at WildSamoan.com
- ^ WWE signs Afa's son
- ^ "October 16, 2007--Florida Championship Wrestling". Online World Of Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
- ^ "WWE Raw Results - November 19, 2007". Online World Of Wrestling. 2007-11-19. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ "Developmental performer suspended for 30 days". WWE. 2008-03-20. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ a b c Bishop, Matt (2008-09-07). "Scramble matches make for wild Unforgiven". SLAM! Sports. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
- ^ Sitterson, Aubrey (2008-09-08). "Dangerous liaisons". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-09-12.
- ^ Recruiting: Pitt pins lineman, lures Virginia FB
- ^ "Independent Wrestling Results - October 2006". onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
- ^ Afa, Jr. at Bodyslamming.com