Rikishi

Real Name - Solofa Fatu Jr.

Birthdate - 10/11/65

6'1" 421 lbs. - San Francisco, CA

Athletic Background - n/a

Teacher(s) - Wild Samoans

Professional Background - Indies(`85), IWA[Montreal](`85-`86), WWC(`87), WCCW(`88-`89), WCW(`89-`90), Indies(`90-`92), UWA(`91), WWF(`92-`94), Indies(`95), WWF/WWE(`96-`04), NWE[Italy](`05-`06), All Japan(`07), AAA(`07), TNA(`07)

Aliases - Tonga Kid Afola, Alopha, Tonga Kid, Fatu, the Sultan, Summo, J.R. Smooth, Rikishi Phatu, Kishi, SUMO RIKISHI, Junior Fatu

Groups - Hawaiian Beasts, Too Cool, La Legion Extranjera

Peak Years - `99-`01

Finisher(s) - 

- Rikishi Driver (Thunder Fire Driver)

- Rump Shaker / Banzai Drop

- Flying Splash

- Camel Clutch

Favorites -

- Stinkface

- Running Sitdown Splash

- Samoan Drop

- Belly-to-Belly

- Superkick

Ringwork Rating - 

Intangibles Rating - 

Place in History - The Anoa’i family have given rise to a generation of Samoan wrestlers who have found success in many different promotions throughout the world.  When looking down the list of family members, it is a diverse group and only a handful really reached a high echelon in pro-wrestling.  The man best known as Rikishi had worked for over a decade before he got his big break.  As the territories were dying out, Fatu and his cousin Samu were emerging as a hot heel tag team working the same act as the original Wild Samoans.  The Samoan Swat Team (also known as the Headshrinkers in the WWF) were an effective pair who pulled off the island savage gimmick while incorporating athleticism into their act.  The SST were excellent at killing jobbers, working with any babyface tag team and yet they were never quite pushed into a top slot.  As time wore on, Samu wore down from injuries, leaving Fatu as a singles wrestler with seemingly no future.  The company made him over as a babyface from the hood who talked about his real-life experience of surviving a drive-by shooting.  Then they masked him and made him a Middle Eastern heel.  Finally, they gave him an off-the-wall gimmick as a bleach blond sumo with a hip side.  This new character, Rikishi, was the ultimate byproduct of the Attitude Era.  A fat man in a thong who danced and buddied up with two hip hop whiteboys.  The act got over strongly though and Too Cool became a big hit in the midcards.  Unfortunately, the WWF wanted to take him to another level and it never worked.  He was revealed as the man who hit Steve Austin with a car, he feuded with the Rock and none of it made him a strong heel.  Like Val Venis, The Godfather, Mr. Ass and other characters from the Attitude Era, Rikishi was typecast and was never able to reinvent himself.  So, he just stuck with it and can still pop a crowd with a Stinkface or some post-match dancing.  Rikishi’s twin sons, the Usos, carry on the Anoa’i legacy and he has been able to return a few times to be with them.  The legacy of Fatu / Rikishi is unlike any of his predecessors in that he had a good career working tags as a heel, but then became an outrageous babyface gimmick wrestler at a time when pro-wrestling was at its popularity peak.  His character will be forever remembered by fans.