The pro wrestling industry has seen performers from all over the globe break out as major stars across various promotions over the years. But it is undeniable that certain parts of the world produced more wrestlers than the others, and we have seen numerous wrestlers of Samoan origin make their presence felt in the business.
While most of the well-known Samoan wrestlers came from the legendary Anoa'i family, there are other wrestlers from the region who tried their luck in the sport and had mixed results in their efforts. With that said, let's take a look at five Samoan wrestlers who achieved great success in the business, and five who flopped.
10 Flopped - Lloyd Anoa'i
Lloyd Anoa'i is one of the seven children of the legendary WWE Hall of Famer and one half of the Wild Samoans Afa Anoa'i. He made his pro-wrestling debut in 1987 and tried to follow his family's footsteps in the business.
He had a brief stint in WWE between 1993 and 1996 and performed under the names Tahitian Savage, Fred Williams, and Lloyd Lanu during his time with the company. However, he couldn't make a name for himself in the promotion and had to explore the independent circuit, where he had some decent success and is still competing in sporadic matches.
9 Succeeded - Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe is one of the few wrestlers of Samoan descent not from the Anoa'i family to achieve great success in the pro wrestling industry. He has competed across various promotions throughout his career and made a name for himself, competing for Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor.
He had a decent stint in WWE between 2015 and 2022, where he became a 3-time NXT Champion and 2-time United States Champion. He is also a former ROH World Champion, Impact World Champion, and Impact X-Division Champion. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling and performs for both AEW and its sister promotion ROH, and is the current reigning ROH World Television Champion in his first run.
8 Flopped - Deuce
Former WWE superstar Deuce is the son of legendary Hall of Famer Jimmy Snuka, and is of part Samoan descent from his mother, Sharon Snuka. He made his in-ring debut in 1999 and explored the independent circuit in the beginning before signing with WWE in 2005. He was with the company until 2009 and is mostly known for being a tag team alongside his partner Domino, with whom he held the tag team title on one occasion.
Following his tag team run, WWE changed Deuce's name to Sim Snuka and put him in a brief storyline with Randy Orton's Legacy faction, but he soon disappeared from WWE television and got released in 2009. He returned to the indies following his WWE release but didn't enjoy much success and hasn't stepped inside a ring since his last match in March 2014.
7 Succeeded - Yokozuna
The late WWE Hall of Famer Yokozuna is one of the most successful members of the legendary Anoa'i family and set the standards for his successors by dominating the main event scenes in WWE for the most of his career.
He is a former 2-time WWE Champion, 2-time Tag Team Champion and was the winner of the 1993 Royal Rumble. He could've achieved more success with the company if he had some control with his weight, which eventually ended his WWE career in 1998.
6 Flopped - Tamina
After his son Deuce, Jimmy Snuka's daughter Tamina also broke out into the pro wrestling business and made her in-ring debut in 2009. She trained at the Wild Samoan Training Center before signing a contract with WWE in 2010.
She debuted as a heel alongside The Usos in 2010 and feuded against The Hart Dynasty. However, she couldn't make it as a main event star in the WWE women's division and continued to work in the lower tier for the most of her career.
She had some moments to shine during the 24/7 Championship segments and held the title on nine occasions, and apart from a solitary women's tag team title run with Natalya, Tamina's WWE career never reached the next level.
5 Succeeded - The Usos
Being the sons of legendary WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi, Jimmy and Jey Uso looked to follow in their family's footsteps and broke out into WWE in 2010. They gradually established themselves as a main stay in the tag team division and went on to capture the tag team titles on numerous occasions.
Their involvement in The Bloodline storyline elevated their careers to the next level as they dominated the main event picture with their cousin Roman Reigns and went on to become the longest-reigning tag team champions in WWE history. The brothers broke up for the first time after Jimmy Uso turned on Jey during the latter's Tribal Combat against Roman Reigns at SummerSlam 2023, and it will be interesting to see how the storyline develops from there.
4 Flopped - Samu
Samu Anoa'i is one of the sons of WWE Hall of Famer Afa Anoa'i of the Wild Samoans. He made his pro-wrestling debut in 1981 and was an active in-ring performer until September 2021.
He looked to make a name for himself in promotions like WWE, WCW, ECW, and New Japan Pro Wrestling but couldn't find any success. He was part of the Headshrinkers tag team with Rikishi in WWE, but he couldn't replicate the success of his family members and floundered across the independent scenes for the most of his career.
3 Succeeded - Roman Reigns
After he couldn't make it big in pro-football, Roman Reigns decided to follow his family's footsteps in professional wrestling and signed with WWE in 2010. He made his main roster debut as part of The Shield alongside Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose at Survivor Series 2012, and the rest is history as he went on to become one of the most decorated superstars in WWE history.
While he did have some initial struggles getting along with the fans during his babyface run, Reigns has gained the fans' respect with his work as the heel Tribal Chief character, and he's reaping the rewards of his hard work by enjoying a 1000+ day title run at present.
2 Flopped - Manu
Manu is the third son of WWE Hall of Famer Afa Anoa'i and is mostly known for his short run in WWE between 2007 and 2009. He was a part of the Legacy storyline with Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, and Ted DiBiase but couldn't become a long-time member of the faction.
Following his exit from the company in 2009, Manu went on to compete in the independent circuit and had some decent success in the Florida-based World Xtreme Wrestling promotion, but couldn't do much to make a name for himself in the business.
1 Succeeded - The Rock
After Yokozuna, The Rock was the next member of the Anoa'i family to become a world champion in WWE. While he did have a mixed start to his WWE career after his Rocky Maivia character didn't work out with the fans, he reinvented himself with a heel turn and established himself as The Rock, and went on to become the face of the company for many years, and held nine world championships in his first run.
He also made a successful transition to Hollywood and is one of the highest-paid actors in the world. Wrestling fans are anticipating a feud between The Rock and Roman Reigns in the future, but only time will tell us if it will come to fruition.
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