History Wrestling / Rikishi

** Fatu with [[Wrestling/XPac 1-2-3 Kid]], Davey Boy Smith, [[Wrestling/ScottHall Razor Ramon]] and Sionne as "The Bad Guys", though it did not last.
** Fatu was also in "The Dark Side" with Savio Vega, Henry O Godwin, and Wrestling/TheUndertaker, which also did not last.

* WrestlingFamily: Part of the Anoa'i family through his mother's side. Nearly every Anoa'i and their father (quite literally) has been part of WWE at some point in the last 20 years. More directly, though, his twin sons wrestle for WWE as the Usos and his daughter-in-law Naomi, formerly of the Funkadactyls.

* RealSongThemeTune: The Samoan Swat Team used Bobby [=McFerrin=]'s "Don't Worry Be Happy" in the AWA and Creator/JohnCarpenter's "''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' Theme" in the NWA/WCW.

Solofa Fatu Jr. (born October 11, 1965) is a UsefulNotes/{{Samoa}}n-[[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates American]] {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er best known for his work in Wrestling/{{WWE}} in the 1990s and early 2000s as Fatu, The Sultan and, especially, as Rikishi. He debuted in 1985 in the International Wrestling territory in UsefulNotes/{{Montreal}} as Alofa the Polynesian Prince. He switched to the Fatu name when he and his cousin Samu started teaming in the World Wrestling Council promotion in Puerto Rico as the Samoan Swat Team. They would go on to compete in World Class, [[Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation the AWA]], Wrestling/{{WCW}} and many other promotions. In 1992, they arrived in WWE and were renamed the Headshrinkers. This lasted until Samu left in 1994 and was replaced by [[Wrestling/TheBarbarian Sionne (The Barbarian)]], who left in 1995. Fatu was repackaged with a gimmick based on his own life, as a street-smart, tough Samoan who had survived getting shot and wanted to use that to send an anti-drugs/anti-violence message. He was billed as "Make a Difference" Fatu. In late 1996, [[Wrestling/BobBacklund Mr. Bob Backlund]] brought back Wrestling/TheIronSheik as the co-manager for Sheiky's new discovery, the Sultan. This gimmick had Fatu wearing a mask and not speaking. He jobbed a lot in this gimmick and he disappeared in early 1998. He returned in late 1999 as Rikishi Phatu (shortened to just Rikishi after a couple months), doing a dancing sumo gimmick, which got over far more than anything he had done before. He had a brief heel run from late 2000-mid 2001 after he claimed to have been the one who had run over Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin at ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 1999''. He suffered an injury that put him on the shelf for a while and when he came back he was a {{face}} and his previous heel run was never acknowledged. He left WWE in 2004 and would go on to compete in Wrestling/{{TNA}} as Junior Fatu and for numerous independent promotions. Among his in-ring achievements, he is a former [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/ic.html WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion]], a former 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Champion]] (1x w[=/=]Samu and 1x w[=/=]Wrestling/{{Rico|Constantino}}), a former [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-t.html WWE [=SmackDown!=] Tag Team Champion]] w[=/=]Scotty 2 Hotty, and in 2000 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' gave him their "Comeback of the Year" Award.

* ActionDad: He has four children including Wrestling/TheUso.

Solofa Fatu Jr. (b. 1965) is a UsefulNotes/{{Samoa}}n-[[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates American]] {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er best known for his work in Wrestling/{{WWE}} in the 1990s and early 2000s as Fatu, The Sultan and, especially, as Rikishi. He debuted in 1985 in the International Wrestling territory in UsefulNotes/{{Montreal}} as Alofa the Polynesian Prince. He switched to the Fatu name when he and his cousin Samu started teaming in the World Wrestling Council promotion in Puerto Rico as the Samoan Swat Team. They would go on to compete in World Class, [[Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation the AWA]], Wrestling/{{WCW}} and many other promotions. In 1992, they arrived in WWE and were renamed the Headshrinkers. This lasted until Samu left in 1994 and was replaced by [[Wrestling/TheBarbarian Sionne (The Barbarian)]], who left in 1995. Fatu was repackaged with a gimmick based on his own life, as a street-smart, tough Samoan who had survived getting shot and wanted to use that to send an anti-drugs/anti-violence message. He was billed as "Make a Difference" Fatu. In late 1996, [[Wrestling/BobBacklund Mr. Bob Backlund]] brought back Wrestling/TheIronSheik as the co-manager for Sheiky's new discovery, the Sultan. This gimmick had Fatu wearing a mask and not speaking. He jobbed a lot in this gimmick and he disappeared in early 1998. He returned in late 1999 as Rikishi Phatu (shortened to just Rikishi after a couple months), doing a dancing sumo gimmick, which got over far more than anything he had done before. He had a brief heel run from late 2000-mid 2001 after he claimed to have been the one who had run over Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin at ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 1999''. He suffered an injury that put him on the shelf for a while and when he came back he was a {{face}} and his previous heel run was never acknowledged. He left WWE in 2004 and would go on to compete in Wrestling/{{TNA}} as Junior Fatu and for numerous independent promotions. Among his in-ring achievements, he is a former [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/ic.html WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion]], a former 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Champion]] (1x w[=/=]Samu and 1x w[=/=]Wrestling/{{Rico|Constantino}}), a former [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-t.html WWE [=SmackDown!=] Tag Team Champion]] w[=/=]Scotty 2 Hotty, and in 2000 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' gave him their "Comeback of the Year" Award.

* {{Acrofatic}}: As Rikishi, he's a 425 lb fat guy who could fly off the top of cages.

** FatBastard: As a heel.

* TheWorfEffect: The Sultan repeatedly lost to put over Wrestling/MarkHenry, not that Henry's resulting pushes ever went anywhere but to in turn serve as the "Worf" for someone else. Yeah, Sultan wasn't too high on the WWF pecking order.

* WrestlingFamily: Part of the Anoa'i family through his mother's side. Nearly every Anoa'i and their father (quite literally) has been part of WWE at some point in the last 20 years. More directly, though, his twin sons wrestle for WWE as the Usos and his daughter-in-law Naomi, formerly of the Funkadactyls.

Inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015.

* {{Acrofatic}}: As Rikishi, he's a 350 lb fat guy who could fly off the top of cages.

As usual, you can find the basics at [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rikishi_(wrestler) The Other Wiki]].

!!! "Back That Trope Up!":

'''Solofa Fatu Jr.''' (b. 1965) is a UsefulNotes/{{Samoa}}n-[[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates American]] {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er best known for his work in Wrestling/{{WWE}} in the 1990s and early 2000s as '''Fatu''', '''The Sultan''' and, especially, as '''Rikishi.''' He debuted in 1985 in the International Wrestling territory in UsefulNotes/{{Montreal}} as '''Alofa the Polynesian Prince.''' He switched to the Fatu name when he and his cousin Samu started teaming in the World Wrestling Council promotion in Puerto Rico as the Samoan Swat Team. They would go on to compete in World Class, [[Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation the AWA]], Wrestling/{{WCW}} and many other promotions. In 1992, they arrived in WWE and were renamed the Headshrinkers. This lasted until Samu left in 1994 and was replaced by [[Wrestling/TheBarbarian Sionne (The Barbarian)]], who left in 1995. Fatu was repackaged with a gimmick based on his own life, as a street-smart, tough Samoan who had survived getting shot and wanted to use that to send an anti-drugs/anti-violence message. He was billed as "Make a Difference" Fatu. In late 1996, [[Wrestling/BobBacklund Mr. Bob Backlund]] brought back Wrestling/TheIronSheik as the co-manager for Sheiky's new discovery, the Sultan. This gimmick had Fatu wearing a mask and not speaking. He jobbed a lot in this gimmick and he disappeared in early 1998. He returned in late 1999 as Rikishi Phatu (shortened to just Rikishi after a couple months), doing a dancing sumo gimmick, which got over far more than anything he had done before. He had a brief heel run from late 2000-mid 2001 after he claimed to have been the one who had run over Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin at ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 1999''. He suffered an injury that put him on the shelf for a while and when he came back he was a {{face}} and his previous heel run was never acknowledged. He left WWE in 2004 and would go on to compete in Wrestling/{{TNA}} as Junior Fatu and for numerous independent promotions. Among his in-ring achievements, he is a former [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/ic.html WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion]], a former 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Champion]] (1x w[=/=]Samu and 1x w[=/=]Wrestling/{{Rico|Constantino}}), a former [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-t.html WWE [=SmackDown!=] Tag Team Champion]] w[=/=]Scotty 2 Hotty, and in 2000 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' gave him their "Comeback of the Year" Award.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tziKnlqEG8 Look at how he sells this clothesline.]]

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tziKnlqEG8 Look at how he sells this clothesline.]]

** Fatu was also in "The Dark Side" with Savio Vega, Henry O Godwin, Wrestling/TheUndertaker, which also did not last.

* {{Badass}}[=/=]{{Determinator}}: He got ''shot'' and was ''clinically dead'' for three minutes. What more do you need?
** BadassGrandpa: [[Wrestling/TheUsos Two of his sons]] have children.

On February 9, 2015, he was announced as one of this year's inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame.

* WrestlingFamily: Part of the Anoa'i family through his mother's side. Nearly every Anoa'i and their father (quite literally) has been part of WWE at some point in the last 20 years. More directly, though, his twin sons wrestle for WWE as the Usos and his daughter-in-law Naomi of the Funkadactyl.

* [[AngryBlackMan Angry Samoan Man]]: He claimed that he ran over Austin because of how Samoan wrestlers had been mistreated by WWE. This flopped because he had never shown any signs of this in the whole time he had been doing the Rikishi gimmick...Though, it was later revealed (or retconned) that he had [[HijackedByGanon been working for Triple H the whole time]], so this may have been a lie, or at best an excuse.

* [[AngryBlackMan Angry Samoan Man]]: He claimed that he ran over Austin because of how Samoan wrestlers had been mistreated by WWE. This flopped because he had never shown any signs of this in the whole time he had been doing the Rikishi gimmick.

'''Solofa Fatu Jr.''' (b. 1965) is a UsefulNotes/{{Samoa}}n-[[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates American]] {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er best known for his work in Wrestling/{{WWE}} in the 1990s and early 2000s as '''Fatu''', '''The Sultan''' and, especially, as '''Rikishi.''' He debuted in 1985 in the International Wrestling territory in UsefulNotes/{{Montreal}} as '''Alofa the Polynesian Prince.''' He switched to the Fatu name when he and his cousin Samu started teaming in the World Wrestling Council promotion in Puerto Rico as the Samoan Swat Team. They would go on to compete in World Class, [[Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation the AWA]], Wrestling/{{WCW}} and many other promotions. In 1992, they arrived in WWE and were renamed the Headshrinkers. This lasted until Samu left in 1994 and was replaced by [[Wrestling/TheBarbarian Sionne (The Barbarian)]], who left in 1995. Fatu was repackaged with a gimmick based on his own life, as a street-smart, tough Samoan who had survived getting shot and wanted to use that to send an anti-drugs/anti-violence message. He was billed as "Make a Difference" Fatu. In late 1996, [[Wrestling/BobBacklund Mr. Bob Backlund]] brought back Wrestling/TheIronSheik as the co-manager for Sheiky's new discovery, the Sultan. This gimmick had Fatu wearing a mask and not speaking. He jobbed a lot in this gimmick and he disappeared in early 1998. He returned in late 1999 as Rikishi Phatu (shortened to just Rikishi after a couple months), doing a dancing sumo gimmick, which got over far more than anything he had done before. He had a brief heel run from late 2000-mid 2001 after he claimed to have been the one who had run over Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin at ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 1999''. He suffered an injury that put him on the shelf for a while and when he came back he was a face and his previous heel run was never acknowledged. He left WWE in 2004 and would go on to compete in Wrestling/{{TNA}} as Junior Fatu and for numerous independent promotions. Among his in-ring achievements, he is a former [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/ic.html WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion]], a former 2x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-world-t.html WWE World Tag Team Champion]] (1x w[=/=]Samu and 1x w[=/=]Wrestling/{{Rico|Constantino}}), a former [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-t.html WWE [=SmackDown!=] Tag Team Champion]] w[=/=]Scotty 2 Hotty, and in 2000 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' gave him their "Comeback of the Year" Award.

** Fatu with [[Wrestling/XPac 1-2-3 Kid]], Davey Boy Smith, [[Wrestling/ScottHall Razor Ramon]] and Sionne as "The Bad Guys", though it did not last.

* PowerStable: The International Squad of Terror, in the late 1990s version of Wrestling/{{N|ationalWrestlingAlliance}}WA Mid-Atlantic.

* PowerStable: The International Squad of Terror, in the late 1990s version of NWA Mid-Atlantic.

* CutShort: In WWC, he(Fatu) and Samu Wrestled Invader #1 and Bronco #1 to an indecisive finish four times in August of 1991. This series never did have a truly decisive winner, as though Invader and Bronco won, it was only after Samu had to be replaced with Wild Samoan Savage.

* UnstoppableForceMeetsImmovableObject: "The Battle Of The Big Men" bout during the World Wrestling League's 2013 Dream Matches Tour in the Dominican Republic pitting "Rikichi" against “El Leon” Apolo.