Rikishi (wrestler)

Rikishi
Fatu in 2017
Birth nameSolofa Fatu Jr.
Born (1965-10-11) October 11, 1965 (age 59)
San Francisco, California, U.S.[1]
Spouse(s)
Talisua Fuavai-Fatu
(m. 1985)
Children8 (including Jonathan, Joshua and Joseph)
FamilyAnoaʻi
Websiterikishifatu.com
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Alofa the Polynesian Prince[1]
Fatu[1]
Headshrinker Fatu[1]
Hustle Rikishi[1]
J.R. Smooth[1]
Junior Fatu[1]
Kishi[1]
"Make a Difference" Fatu[1]
Rikishi[1]
Riki-Shi[2]
Rikishi Phatu[1]
Solofa Fatu Jr.[1]
The Sultan[1]
Sumo Rikishi[1]
Billed height6 ft 1 in (185 cm) [3]
Billed weight425 lb (193 kg)[3]
Billed from"The Isle of Samoa"[3]
"The streets of San Francisco by way of Stamford" (as "Make a Difference" Fatu)[3]
"The Middle East" (as The Sultan)[3]
Debut1985[1]

Solofa Fatu Jr.[1] (born October 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring names Rikishi and Fatu with the WWE and also competed under the variety of names in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Born in San Francisco, Fatu debuted in the professional wrestling business in 1985 as Prince Alofa and later competed with the Samoan SWAT Team in Japan and multiple wrestling promotions across the United States. In 1992, Fatu made his debut for the World Wrestling Federation, he had employed multiple gimmicks during his early run. He returned to the WWF in 1998 where he was repackaged as a sumo wrestler character named Rikishi Phatu, in which he dropped his last name when he began teaming with the popular Too Cool tag team. During his tenure with the company, Fatu has held the Intercontinental Champion, two-time World Tag Team Champion, and one-time WWE Tag Team Champion. After leaving the WWE in 2004, he would appear in the independent circuit, along with a short stint in TNA as Junior Fatu in 2007. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015.

Fatu is the father of Jimmy Uso, Jey Uso, and Solo Sikoa. As a prominent member of the Anoaʻi family of Samoan wrestlers, he is the brother of Sam Fatu and Umaga, uncle of Jacob Fatu and the cousins of Rosey and Roman Reigns.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Online World of Wrestling". Retrieved March 13, 2008.
  2. ^ "Riki-Shi". Inoki Genome Federation (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference WWEBio was invoked but never defined (see the help page).