The wrestling world has come together to pay tribute to the legendary Afa Anoa’i after his passing earlier on Friday.
The 81-year-old had been battling health issues for a while. He was hospitalized due to pneumonia earlier this year and suffered a mild heart attack while he was in the hospital.
He also underwent a couple of surgeries to replace his Aortic Valve and treat fractures in his back after an unfortunate fall in May.
Afa had once again been hospitalized earlier this month and the wrestling veteran’s son confirmed the news of his passing on social media. A number of Anoa’i family members including Roman Reigns have since taken social media to pay tribute to the late star:
The Legendary Run of The Wild Samoans
Afa Anoa’i was part of the legendary tag team The Wild Samoans with his brother Sika. The team was best known for their run in the World Wrestling Federation which they joined in 1979.
Managed by Lou Albano, the duo won the WWF Tag Team Championships three times during their multiple runs with the company. Though they had plenty of accomplishments outside of the promotion as well.
The tag team won over a dozen different tag titles while travelling across America and competing for various NWA territories such as NWA Mid-America, NWA Detroit and NWA All-Star Wrestling.
After their wrestling career, the brothers opened the Wild Samoan Training Facility. They were also inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007. Afa’s brother Sika passed away back in June this year.
Since the news of his passing became public companies such as AEW, TNA and MLP, alongside individuals like Triple H, Natayla, Matt Hardy and more have come together to pay tribute to the legend. You can check out some of their posts below:
