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From 'The Rock' to Roman Reigns, Samoan wrestling dynasty fashioned on the Gulf Coast

Posted: Jan 10th 2016 By: AL.com

When the massive Andre the Giant dispensed advice, people listened.

And so Sika Anoa'i paid attention when the wrestling legend approached him one day in the early 1970s.

"We were in Arizona and wanted to move on. Andre the Giant ... I can remember him telling me that you guys need to go to New York. That's where the money was at."

But to get to the glitz of Vince McMahon Sr.'s World Wrestling Federation (now Vince Jr.'s World Wrestling Entertainment), Sika and his brother, Afa, honed their mat skills while toiling in the wrestling territories of the 1970s. They had stops in Stu Hart's Canadian promotion before moving to organizations in Texas, Louisiana and then to Alabama and the Florida Panhandle where Lee Fields' Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling Federation roared in the mid-
1970s.

Nearly 40 years later, Sika will return to Mobile on Sunday to watch his youngest son, Joe, compete as Roman Reigns, the current holder of the industry's most prestigious
championship ? the WWE's heavyweight title.

The championship is yet another achievement in a family dynasty that Sika, a longtime Pensacola resident, has
nurtured.

"I feel good about that," said Sika, 70, who helps his son Matt operate the fledgling Epic Championship Wrestling in Pensacola and Milton, Fla. Matt once competed as Rosey
during a WWE stint about a decade ago.

"I'm very happy and proud," Sika said.

For Sika Anoa'i, a visit to the 51-year-old Mobile Civic Center to see his son wrestle could bring back some memories. Back when he competed for Fields' organization, Sika and Afa were known as "The Islanders." In 1977, they battled wrestlers like Big John, The Wrestling Pro, Sonny King, Eddie Sullivan and Ricky Fields.

And some of the wrestling events were held in Expo Hall, which is attached to the same Civic Center where Sunday's WWE event will be staged.

The action starts at 7 p.m.

Gulf Coast roots

"The Lee Fields family, they put in well over 100 percent of effort for the people here," Sika said. "They took care of this area. It was first class to me. I was here because they
treated my brother and I right."

As The Islanders, Afa and Sika were a special attraction of sorts. At the time, there weren't many ? if any ? Samoan wrestlers competing in the wrestling territories.

"Everywhere we went, they never saw anyone like me and my brother. We are from the Samoan Islands and they didn't even know where the islands were at," he said.

The Islanders claimed two tag team championships while wrestling in Fields' promotion, according to online history of the organization. The Islanders later defeated Ricky and
Bobby Fields for the tag team titles March 11, 1977. Sonny King and Eddie Sullivan would defeat Afa and Sika for the belts, but the Samoans argued interference from Rip Tyler
cost them the titles. A referee sympathized, and reversed the decision.

The Islanders wrestled in a promotion that included Gulf Coast mainstays such as "The Hippie" Mike Boyette, Don Fargo, "Cowboy" Bob Kelly and the Armstrong brothers.

At that time, the Islanders were the "heels" ? that's wrestling lingo for the villains ? who fans wanted to see defeated. But looking back, Sika has only fond memories of his brief time in the organization and its passionate fan
base.

"Montgomery, the people there love their wrestling," he said. "Dothan, they are crazy about it. It's grandfathers and kids and families, and that's what they looked forward
to seeing."

Onward and upward

Afa and Sika's time in Fields' promotion was relatively brief. The duo, after terrorizing opponents along the Gulf Coast and in Alabama, were soon called up to compete in
McMahon's worldwide promotion. The brothers became well-known for their grunts in a primitive dialect during interviews, and added the hated Capt. Lou Albano as their
manager.

Success followed.

The Wild Samoans dominated the WWF tag team scene during the early 1980s. Sika continued wrestling for McMahon into the late 1980s, and was even featured during a "Saturday Night's Main Event" match against then-WWF champion Hulk Hogan
during the promotion's most popular era.

"We made some money with that," Sika said.

The duo were enshrined in the company's Hall of Fame in 2007.

Terry Latham, a Mobile resident who wrestled from 1972-1982 and once held the Gulf Coast Wrestling Federation's heavyweight championship, said the Islanders might've been
the most famous of the Samoan wrestlers during his generation.

"You get a lot of Samoan wrestlers ... you have Jimmy ('Superfly') Snuka," Latham said. "But Afa and Sika are the most memorable."

Developing a dynasty

At no point during the duo's heyday did Sika want to physically move to the New York City vicinity, where WWF was headquartered. Instead, he opted to call the Gulf Coast area
home. He and his wife raised their family in Pensacola.

"The Fields ... they brought us over here and this is where I decided to live," Sika said. "It's a beautiful beach and a beautiful place. It was kind of a country area like the
islands. A paradise."

His two sons became local athletic standouts. Matt ? 15 years older than Joe ? was an offensive lineman alongside Emmitt Smith at Escambia High School. Joe, meanwhile, was a defensive lineman at Pensacola Catholic and Escambia high schools before heading to Georgia Tech University as a starter for the Yellow Jackets.

Both would go on to wrestle. Matt would win the WWE tag team championship with partner Shane "The Hurricane" Helms in 2005. Joe started wrestling in 2010. He won his title belt last month.

"(The WWE) has been testing him," Sika said about Joe's emergence as Roman Reigns and his Dec. 14 title win. "I felt good, relieved and proud. I say he earned that. They didn't
just give it to him. All of these fans and people of Pensacola, they all stand by him."

Matt and Joe are only a small part of the extended family, which consists of a who's-who in professional wrestling. Notable members of the Anoa'i family: Dwayne "The Rock"
Johnson, Rocky Johnson, Peter Maivia, The Tonga Kid, Haku, Rikishi, Yokozuna, Umaga, and Tama.

Eyeing the future

Matt these days is training wrestlers at Epic who want to someday compete with WWE.

"We're expanding every day and every month," said the 45-year-old, who hopes to put on shows in the Mobile area. "It's not going to be something that will happen very fast.
Of course, the ultimate goal is to go nationwide. But we have a great group of guys here. They are all young and eager and hungry."

As for Sika, his name has been dropped on recent editions of WWE's "Monday Night RAW" on the USA Network as Roman Reigns has begun a feud with the McMahon family ? Vince Jr., his daughter Stephanie, and her real-life husband and former wrestling champion, Triple H.

"I'm waiting for Vince McMahon to say, 'Come up,' " says Sika, with a slight grin, morphing into his old wrestling persona. "The way his daughter is slapping my son, well,
that's what I'm going to do to him. I want him to know that this Samoan shotgun will put him down. All he has to do is make the time."