WELCOME TO WWF SUPERSTARS | home
for more
Rikishi Phatu comes from a long line of wrestling stars of Samoan descent. He is the brother of the Tonga Kid, the nephew of the legendary Afa the Wild Samoan, and the cousin of the likes of Samu, Yokozuna and The Rock. He gained his first wrestling notoriety at an early age when he began wrestling for the Montreal-based International Wrestling under the name of Alofa the Polynesian Prince in 1986. Alofa wrestled in various parts of Canada at this time, and held the International Wrestling Television Title for a time.
It was in tag team competition that Phatu enjoyed the most success. He teamed with brother the Tonga Kid on the indy circuit (known as the Islanders) and entered World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Fatu, along with the Tonga Kid and Samu to form the Samoan Swat Team (SST). Samu and Fatu in particular formed a phenomenal team, and captured the Texas-based World Class tag team titles a record four times.
In 1992, Fatu and Samu made their way to the WWF under the name of the Headshrinkers, along with Captain Lou Albano and Fatu's uncle (and Samu's father) Afa. The two were extremely successful, capturing the WWF tag team titles on more than one occasion. Samu would leave the WWF, and was replaced in the Headshrinker team briefly by Seone, better known as the Barbarian.
In late 1996 after a few year hiatus, Fatu returned to the WWF in singles action. This time, he donned a mask, had Bob Backlund and the Iron Sheik as his handlers, and portrayed the Iranian character, the Sultan. The Sultan's biggest achievement was earning a shot at the Intercontinental title at Wrestlemania 13 against his cousin, The Rock. The Sultan was unsuccessful in his attempt, and left the WWF again before the end of 1997. For the next two years, Fatu primarily worked the independent circuit and trained in preparation for a WWF return. And return he did, in late 1999 as Rikishi Phatu. Almost immediately he donned a striking resemblance to his cousin Yokozuna. He also formed a partnership almost immediately with Too Cool (Scott Taylor and Brian Christopher). The three became a popular WWF attraction, especially with their post-match ritual of dancing in the ring. Phatu though also became known for his wrestling, including an awesome standing piledriver and in a move reminiscent of Yokozuna, the butt drop