Sonny Siaki

Sonny Siaki
File:Siaki.jpg
Born	July 23, 1974 Pago Pago, American Samoa
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Hawaiian GQ Money Sonny Siaki Cocky Siaki
Billed height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Billed weight	242 lb (110 kg)
Trained by	Paul Orndorff WCW Power Plant Dusty Rhodes
Debut	March 1999

Sonny Siaki is an American professional wrestler, currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment in the Deep South Wrestling developmental territory. Siaki was born in Pago Pago, American Samoa, but when he was three his family moved to Hawaii, then California in the United States of America before settling in Wilmington, North Carolina when Siaki was four years old. Unlike many Samoans in professional wrestling, he is not part of the large Anoa'i family.

Career

Sonny Siaki graduated from East Carolina University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in health and fitness. While attending university, he played football as an inside linebacker until a serious stinger injury forced him to stop playing football, preventing him from pursuing a career within the National Football League.

After his school friend Lodi notified Siaki that the WCW Power Plant was holding tryouts in early 1999, Siaki attended the tryout and was awarded a WCW developmental contract. He graduated after seven months and wrestled his first televised match on WCW Saturday Night against Alan Funk. Siaki largely appeared on Saturday Night and faced other Power Plant graduates, though he did make several appearances on Thunder and Nitro. Siaki eventually left WCW, unhappy with the way he was being utilized.

In 2003, in VPW Baltic Brawl he had a match with him teaming up with Elix Skipper against Alan Funk and Mike Sanders.

Siaki moved on to the Urban Wrestling Alliance in California, where he was known as Money. After nine months, the UWA folded and Siaki joined Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling where he received further training from the TCW owner, Dusty Rhodes.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

On June 19 2002 Siaki debuted on the first Total Nonstop Action Wrestling pay-per-view as one-third of the Flying Elvises with Jimmy Yang and Jorge Estrada. The Elvises were a comedy heel stable who impersonated Elvis Presley. The Elvises eventually split, with Siaki defeating Yang in a singles bout on August 21, 2002.

Siaki was then given a valet, Desire, a fellow TCW graduate. He also joined Vince Russo's Sports Entertainment Xtreme faction.

On December 11 2002 Siaki defeated Jerry Lynn for the TNA X Division Championship. He held the belt until February 12, 2003 when he lost to Kid Kash.

In July 2003 Siaki began a feud with D'Lo Brown, who he defeated in a Casket Match. In October 2003 he formed a tag team with Ekmo, which split when Ekmo began working for All Japan Pro Wrestling.

Siaki eventually became a face, and in April 2004 he and Simon Diamond began feuding with Glenn Gilberti and Johnny Swinger. After Siaki and Diamond were victorious in a tag match, their opponents were forced to wear Irish and Samoan native dress respectively, punishing Gilberti and Swinger for the ethnic jokes they had made in the preceding weeks.

File:ApoloSiaki.jpg

Apolo & Sonny Siaki

Siaki formed a tag-team with Apolo. On April 24, 2005 at TNA Lockdown he and Apolo defeated Lance Hoyt and Chris Candido in a steel cage tag match. This was Candido's last match, as he would later die after undergoing surgery to repair an injury sustained during this match.

Throughout mid-2005 Siaki and Apolo feuded on a casual basis with the Diamonds in the Rough.

In December 2005, Siaki's contract with TNA expired, and he declined to re-sign, instead leaving the promotion on good terms.

Deep South Wrestling

In late December 2005, Siaki signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment. He debuted in the WWE developmental territory Deep South Wrestling on February 2, 2006, suffering a minor injury in the process.

On February 23, 2006, Sonny returned to Deep South Wrestling as a heel having a match with Damien Steele. Now going by the moniker Cocky Siaki, he and Eric Perez (as Urban Assault) would win the Deep South Tag Team Titles on November 30, 2006.

Wrestling facts

File:FlippingNeckbreaker.jpg

Siaki performs a front flip neckbreaker on Chris Candido during an episode of TNA iMPACT!

Finishing and signature moves

• Siakalypse / Siaki Drop (modified swinging neckbreaker)
• Siakopolis (Rolling cutter)
• Siakalypse Now (pumphandle reverse piledriver)
• Samoan Pop (scoop slam into cutter)
• Flip Mode (somersault legdrop)
• Double knee backbreaker
• Reverse Russian legsweep (in UWA)
• Superplex

Managers

• Desire
• Robert Fuller
• Monopoly Man

Nicknames

• "The Ace In The Hole"
• "Mr. Number One"
• "Cocky Siaki"

Championships and accomplishments

• Deep South Wrestling

• Deep South Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Eric Perez

• Great Championship Wrestling

• GCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• GCW Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with David Young and The Wrestler

• Independent Professional Wrestling Alliance

  IPWA North American Championship (1 time)

• NWA Wrestle Birmingham

• NWA Wrestle Birmingham Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Elix Skipper

• Swiss Wrestling Federation

• SWF Powerhouse Championship (1 time)

• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

• TNA X Division Championship (1 time)

• Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling

• TCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jorge Estrada

References

• Interview with Steve Gerweck

External links

• The official website of Sonny Siaki
• DSW Profile