The Headshrinkers
Encyclopedia
The Headshrinkers were a professional wrestling
tag team
in the World Wrestling Federation
that consisted of Fatu and Samu
. They previously competed under the name The New Wild Samoans in the National Wrestling Alliance
(NWA), and as The Samoan Swat Team in World Championship Wrestling
(WCW), World Class Championship Wrestling
(WCCW), World Wrestling Council
(WWC) and the American Wrestling Federation
(AWF). They started out as heels
.
The Headshrinkers portrayed a pair of Samoa
n savages, often displaying uncivilized behavior such as biting into a turkey
carcass during a match and dragging each other by their hair. They were also billed as having hard heads that were impervious to pain; any attack that targeted a Headshrinker's head would have no effect, and an opponent who tried to headbutt one of them would end up hurting himself. Having hard heads went with typical professional wrestling portrayals of Samoan wrestlers.
While Samu and Fatu are the "Original" team members several other Samoans have at one time replaced one of the two.
Afa
and Solofa Fatu is the nephew of Afa as well as both of them being the nephews of Sika
and part of the Anoa'i family
.
and Dino Bravo
’s "International Wrestling" territory based in Montreal
, which was the first time he worked in the same territory as his cousin Fatu. When the Montreal territory closed up the two cousins signed with the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico and became "The Samoan Swat Team": Samu and Fatu. The team adopted the "Samoan savage" gimmick that had made their fathers so well known and feared throughout the wrestling world, working barefoot and never speaking English on camera. The team became the first ever WWC Carrribean Tag-Team Champions
on November 7, 1987 when they beat Invader I
and Invader III. The duo held the titles for just over a month before dropping them to Mark Youngblood
and Chris Youngblood
before leaving the promotion.
Samu and Fatu next appeared in Texas, working for Fritz Von Erich
’s World Class Championship Wrestling
promotion. The storyline was that Buddy Roberts
brought the team in to fight his fights against the Von Erich Family
and former Fabulous Freebirds
partner Michael Hayes
. The SST was given a big push right away; presented as an unstoppable force the team was even allowed to beat hometown heroes Kerry
and Kevin Von Erich
for the WCCW Tag-Team Titles
on August 12, 1988. The Samoans remained undefeated in WCCW until they came up against Roberts’ former partner Michael Hayes and Hayes new partner, "Do It To It" Steve Cox on September 12. The duo was not without the gold for long as they recaptured the titles only 4 days. Hayes and Cox would beat the Samoan Swat Team for the titles once again on October 15, 1988 but this time they only held the gold for two days before they lost it back to the SST. On September 12, 1988 The Samoan Swat Team become double champions as they beat "Hollywood" John Tatum
and Jimmy Jack Funk for the WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship
. The Samoan Swat Team made their pay-per-view
debut at AWA Superclash III, the first (and only) PPV that the American Wrestling Association
ever presented. The Samoans successfully defended their WCCW Tag-Team titles against Michael Hayes and Steve Cox. In the beginning of 1989, the Samoans left WCCW, forcing both tag-team titles to be vacated due to the sudden departure.
The Samoan Swat Team signed with Jim Crockett Promotions
and was brought in as manager Paul E. Dangerously’s
replacements for the "Original" Midnight Express who had left the promotion. The Samoans also took over the "Original" Midnight Express’ feud with the Midnight Express beating the team at Clash of the Champions VI on April 2, 1989. At The 1989 Great American Bash the Samoans teamed with former rival Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy
and Jimmy Garvin
losing a War Games Match
to The Road Warriors, the Midnight Express and Steve Williams. In the fall of 1989 Paul E. Dangerously was phased out and the Samoans were given a new manager: "The Big Kahuna" Oliver Humperdink
. Their ranks were also bolstered by the addition of The Samoan Savage
who is Fatu’s brother. The Samoans started to lose more and more matches as 1989 drew to a close, but their fortunes appeared to be changing due to the injury to Sid Vicious
. Because Vicious was injured the Skyscrapers
had to pull out of the "Iron Team Tournament" at Starrcade 1989
. The Samoan Swat Team, now using the name The New Wild Samoans (a reference to the "original" Wild Samoans
) were chosen to be their replacements – Fatu and the Samoan Savage with no explanation of why the more experienced Samu was not chosen. For the remainder of the Samoan Swat Team’s time in WCW Fatu and the Samoan Savage competed under the name New Wild Samoans, while Samu made a few singles appearances. After leaving WCW in the summer of 1990 the Samoan Swat Team worked for a number of independent promotions in the US, Europe and Japan, often teaming up with family member Rodney Anoa'i
who competed as "Kokina Maximus".
, managed by Samu’s father Afa. The team changed their name to "the Headshrinkers" but their gimmick remained the same, Samoan wildmen. Rodney Anoa'i also signed with the WWF but he was repackaged as "Yokozuna" and the family ties between him and the Samoans were not mentioned on air. The team first made their presence known when they helped Money Inc.
beat the Natural Disasters
to win the WWF World Tag Team titles.. Early in their run with the WWF the Headshrinkers feuded with the Natural Disasters and the recently formed High Energy
Between 1992 and the early parts of 1994, the Headshrinkers maintained a position in the middle of the tag-team division, occasionally challenging for the titles and making sporadic PPV appearances feuding with teams like The Smokin' Gunns
and Men on a Mission
. The Headshrinkers assisted their relative Yokozuna in a casket match against The Undertaker at the 1994 Royal Rumble
. In April 1994 the Headshrinkers turned face and challenged then tag-team champions The Quebecers
, with the addition of manager Lou Albano
the team won the gold on April 26, 1994. At King of the Ring 1994
on June 19 the Headshrinkers successfully defended their tag-team titles against Yokozuna and Crush
. Their run with the titles came to a surprising end on an untelevised card on August 28 where they lost the titles to Shawn Michaels
and Diesel
. The title change happened just one day before they were scheduled to defend against Irwin R. Schyster and Bam Bam Bigelow. Soon after the title change Samu left the WWF to recover from injuries and was replaced by Sionne
, as he and Fatu formed the "New Headshrinkers".
reason given to Samu’s departure was that he "ate some bad fish and got a disease" and was not coping well with manager Lou Albano’s attempts to civilize the Headshrinkers, especially wearing boots. For the first time ever, one half of the Samoan Swat Team/Headshrinkers was not a member of the Anoa'i nor a Samoan as Sionne was from the island of Tonga
. The New Headshrinkers made only one Pay Per View appearance as a team which was at the 1994 Survivor Series
where they were quickly eliminated. The only other notable appearance of the New Headshrinkers was as part of the tournament to crown new WWF tag-team champions in late 1994, early 1995. The New Headshrinkers lost to Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka
in the Semi Finals. By July the New Headshrinkers ended as Sionne signed with WCW. By the time Sionne left the WWF the team was used to put over new teams such as The Blu Brothers
were known as "The Samoan Gangster Party" with Samu being known as "Sammy the Silk" and Lloyd being "LA Smooth". Their cousin Matt Anoa'i (son of Sika) became known as "Big Matty Smalls", and joind Samu as The Samoan Gangstas. The two men did not wrestle for the WWF but watched Fatu from afar as the former Headshrinker tried to turn himself into a positive rolemodel for kids on the street. The angle never went anywhere as the Samoan Gangster party never got in the ring or confronted Fatu before he was repackaged and the whole angle was dropped. In 1996 they worked for Extreme Championship Wrestling
feuding mainly with The Gangstas
in a short but intense war.
After leaving Samu has worked for a number of independent organizations both as a singles wrestler and alongside his brother Lloyd who worked under names such as"Headshrinker" Alofa, "Headshrinker" Ruopa and "The Tahitian Warrior" winning titles in WWC and ISPW.
Kokina, Fatu and Samoan Savage
Samu and Lloyd Anoa'i
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
in the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
that consisted of Fatu and Samu
Samula Anoa'i
Samula Anoa'i is a professional wrestler best known as one half of The Headshrinkers/Samoan Swat Team under the name Samu. His father is Afa Anoa'i who trained Samula for his professional wrestling debut....
. They previously competed under the name The New Wild Samoans in the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
(NWA), and as The Samoan Swat Team in World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW), World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
(WCCW), World Wrestling Council
World Wrestling Council
The World Wrestling Council is one of Puerto Rico's two main professional wrestling promotions, the other one being the International Wrestling Association....
(WWC) and the American Wrestling Federation
American Wrestling Federation
The American Wrestling Federation was a national professional wrestling federation founded by Paul Alperstein.-History:Alperstein, a promoter from Chicago, founded the AWF in 1994 and was on-air president of the company....
(AWF). They started out as heels
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
.
The Headshrinkers portrayed a pair of Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
n savages, often displaying uncivilized behavior such as biting into a turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
carcass during a match and dragging each other by their hair. They were also billed as having hard heads that were impervious to pain; any attack that targeted a Headshrinker's head would have no effect, and an opponent who tried to headbutt one of them would end up hurting himself. Having hard heads went with typical professional wrestling portrayals of Samoan wrestlers.
While Samu and Fatu are the "Original" team members several other Samoans have at one time replaced one of the two.
Career
Samula Anoa'i is the son of Wild SamoansWild Samoans
The Wild Samoans was the professional wrestling tag team of Afa and Sika in Mid-South Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation . The Samoans held 21 tag team championships around the world.-Gimmick:...
Afa
Afa Anoa'i
Arthur "Afa" Anoa'i, Sr. is a Samoan American retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager. Since retiring in the 1990s, he has operated the World Xtreme Wrestling promotion and trained wrestlers at the Wild Samoan Training Facility.-Early life:Anoa'i was born in Samoa, but...
and Solofa Fatu is the nephew of Afa as well as both of them being the nephews of Sika
Sika Anoa'i
Leati "Sika" Anoa'i is a former professional wrestler and a member of the Anoa'i family.-Career:Sika teamed with his brother Afa to form the tag team the Wild Samoans. They teamed in various promotions including WWF and Mid-South. In 1979, they signed with the World Wrestling Federation...
and part of the Anoa'i family
Anoa'i family
The Anoa'i family, originating from American Samoa, is a family of professional wrestlers. Family members have comprised several tag teams and stables within a variety of promotions.-Family members:...
.
The Samoan Swat Team
In 1985, Samu joined Gino BritoGino Brito
Louis Gino Acocella , better known by his ring name Gino Brito is a Canadian professional wrestler. He was a popular wrestler in Montreal, and was one of the promoters in the city in the 1980s...
and Dino Bravo
Dino Bravo
Adolfo Bresciano was an Italian-born Canadian professional wrestler, best known for his work as Dino Bravo, self-proclaimed as "Canada's Strongest Man".-Territories:...
’s "International Wrestling" territory based in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, which was the first time he worked in the same territory as his cousin Fatu. When the Montreal territory closed up the two cousins signed with the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico and became "The Samoan Swat Team": Samu and Fatu. The team adopted the "Samoan savage" gimmick that had made their fathers so well known and feared throughout the wrestling world, working barefoot and never speaking English on camera. The team became the first ever WWC Carrribean Tag-Team Champions
WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship
WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship was a third-string Tag Team title that was defended in the World Wrestling Council.-Title history:...
on November 7, 1987 when they beat Invader I
Jose Gonzalez (wrestler)
José Huertas González, better known as Invader #1, is a former professional wrestler who wrestled in the United States and around the world, especially in Puerto Rico, and the man who killed, allegedly in self-defense, Frank Goodish, also known as Bruiser Brody.-Wrestling career:Since 1973, he has...
and Invader III. The duo held the titles for just over a month before dropping them to Mark Youngblood
Mark Youngblood
Mark Romero is a retired American second generation professional wrestler better known by his ring name Mark Youngblood.-Career:...
and Chris Youngblood
Chris Romero
Chris Romero is a semi-retired second-generation American professional wrestler who is better known as Chris Youngblood. He is the son of Ricky Romero and the brother of Mark and Jay Youngblood.-Rise to Fame:...
before leaving the promotion.
Samu and Fatu next appeared in Texas, working for Fritz Von Erich
Fritz Von Erich
Jack Barton Adkisson was an American professional wrestler under the ring name Fritz Von Erich, better known today as a wrestling promoter and the patriarch of the Von Erich family...
’s World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
promotion. The storyline was that Buddy Roberts
Dale Hey
Dale Hey is a retired professional wrestler better known as Buddy Roberts.-Professional wrestling career:Dale Hey grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. He started wrestling in 1965 as Dale Valentine, the "brother" of Johnny Valentine...
brought the team in to fight his fights against the Von Erich Family
Von Erich family
The Von Erich family is a professional wrestling family. Their actual birth names are "Adkisson", but every member of the family who went into the wrestling business used the ring name "Von Erich", after the family patriarch, Fritz ....
and former Fabulous Freebirds
Fabulous Freebirds
The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team that attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed under the Freebirds name.-History:The Fabulous...
partner Michael Hayes
Michael Hayes (wrestler)
Michael Seitz is a retired American professional wrestler and former musician. Seitz is best known for leading The Fabulous Freebirds under the ring name Michael "P.S." Hayes and for his role as the announcer Dok Hendrix in the World Wrestling Federation...
. The SST was given a big push right away; presented as an unstoppable force the team was even allowed to beat hometown heroes Kerry
Kerry Von Erich
Kerry Gene Adkisson was an American professional wrestler under the ring names Kerry Von Erich, The Modern Day Warrior, and The Texas Tornado and was part of the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers...
and Kevin Von Erich
Kevin Von Erich
Kevin Ross Adkisson is a retired professional wrestler under the ring name Kevin Von Erich of the Von Erich Family. He is the last surviving son of wrestler Fritz Von Erich and had four brothers that wrestled, David, Kerry, Mike and Chris, as well as an older brother, Jack, Jr., who died in...
for the WCCW Tag-Team Titles
WCWA Tag Team Championship
The WCWA World Tag Team Championship was the major tag team title in World Class Championship Wrestling. It started out as the NWA American Tag Team Championship in 1966 when the promotion was known as NWA Big Time Wrestling...
on August 12, 1988. The Samoans remained undefeated in WCCW until they came up against Roberts’ former partner Michael Hayes and Hayes new partner, "Do It To It" Steve Cox on September 12. The duo was not without the gold for long as they recaptured the titles only 4 days. Hayes and Cox would beat the Samoan Swat Team for the titles once again on October 15, 1988 but this time they only held the gold for two days before they lost it back to the SST. On September 12, 1988 The Samoan Swat Team become double champions as they beat "Hollywood" John Tatum
John Tatum (wrestler)
John Frankel III , known by his ringname "Hollywood" John Tatum, is a retired American professional wrestler who competed in North American regional promotions including World Class Championship Wrestling, Universal Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance as well as independent...
and Jimmy Jack Funk for the WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship
WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship
The WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship was the secondary tag team championship in World Class Championship Wrestling, originally known as the NWA Texas Tag-Team title until 1981 where they were abandoned. The titles were brought back in 1987 as the WCWA Texas Tag-Team titles but once the WCWA joined...
. The Samoan Swat Team made their pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
debut at AWA Superclash III, the first (and only) PPV that the American Wrestling Association
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
ever presented. The Samoans successfully defended their WCCW Tag-Team titles against Michael Hayes and Steve Cox. In the beginning of 1989, the Samoans left WCCW, forcing both tag-team titles to be vacated due to the sudden departure.
The Samoan Swat Team signed with Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
and was brought in as manager Paul E. Dangerously’s
Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....
replacements for the "Original" Midnight Express who had left the promotion. The Samoans also took over the "Original" Midnight Express’ feud with the Midnight Express beating the team at Clash of the Champions VI on April 2, 1989. At The 1989 Great American Bash the Samoans teamed with former rival Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy
Terry Gordy
Terry Ray 'Bam Bam' Gordy, Sr. was a professional wrestler who was best known in North America for being a member of the Fabulous Freebirds.-Career:...
and Jimmy Garvin
Jimmy Garvin
James Williams is a retired American professional wrestler. He is best known by his ring name "Gorgeous" Jimmy "Jam" Garvin and as a member of the legendary Fabulous Freebirds....
losing a War Games Match
WarGames match
The WarGames match was a gimmick match used originally in the National Wrestling Alliance and later held annually in World Championship Wrestling , usually at their Fall Brawl pay-per-view event in September.-History:...
to The Road Warriors, the Midnight Express and Steve Williams. In the fall of 1989 Paul E. Dangerously was phased out and the Samoans were given a new manager: "The Big Kahuna" Oliver Humperdink
Oliver Humperdink
John Sutton , better known by his ring name Oliver Humperdink, was a professional wrestling manager who worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, Florida Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation.-Career:...
. Their ranks were also bolstered by the addition of The Samoan Savage
Sam Fatu
Samuel Larry Anoa'i Fatu is a professional wrestler best known under the name of The Tonga Kid, or Tama.-Professional wrestling career:...
who is Fatu’s brother. The Samoans started to lose more and more matches as 1989 drew to a close, but their fortunes appeared to be changing due to the injury to Sid Vicious
Sid Eudy
Sidney Raymond "Sid" Eudy is an American professional wrestler, best known as Sid Vicious in World Championship Wrestling, and as Sid Justice and Sycho Sid in the World Wrestling Federation...
. Because Vicious was injured the Skyscrapers
Skyscrapers (professional wrestling)
The Skyscrapers were a professional wrestling tag team in World Championship Wrestling in 1989 and 1990 in six distinct forms with members ”Psycho” Sid Vicious, ”Dangerous” Dan Spivey, "Mean" Mark Callous with The Masked Skyscraper making a one night appearance.-Career:In early 1989 Teddy Long was...
had to pull out of the "Iron Team Tournament" at Starrcade 1989
Starrcade (1989)
Starrcade '89 was the seventh annual Starrcade professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced under the National Wrestling Alliance banner. It was the second Starrcade event produced by World Championship Wrestling , and it took place on December 13, 1989 at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia.The...
. The Samoan Swat Team, now using the name The New Wild Samoans (a reference to the "original" Wild Samoans
Wild Samoans
The Wild Samoans was the professional wrestling tag team of Afa and Sika in Mid-South Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation . The Samoans held 21 tag team championships around the world.-Gimmick:...
) were chosen to be their replacements – Fatu and the Samoan Savage with no explanation of why the more experienced Samu was not chosen. For the remainder of the Samoan Swat Team’s time in WCW Fatu and the Samoan Savage competed under the name New Wild Samoans, while Samu made a few singles appearances. After leaving WCW in the summer of 1990 the Samoan Swat Team worked for a number of independent promotions in the US, Europe and Japan, often teaming up with family member Rodney Anoa'i
Rodney Anoa'i
Rodney Agatupu Anoa'i was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation where he wrestled under the ring name Yokozuna. The term yokozuna refers to the highest rank in professional sumo wrestling in Japan...
who competed as "Kokina Maximus".
The Headshrinkers
In 1992, Samu and Fatu signed up with the World Wrestling FederationWorld Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
, managed by Samu’s father Afa. The team changed their name to "the Headshrinkers" but their gimmick remained the same, Samoan wildmen. Rodney Anoa'i also signed with the WWF but he was repackaged as "Yokozuna" and the family ties between him and the Samoans were not mentioned on air. The team first made their presence known when they helped Money Inc.
Money Inc.
Money Inc. was a heel professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation from February 1992 to August 1993. The team consisted of "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster . They held the WWF Tag Team Championship three times, defeating the Legion of Doom, The Natural...
beat the Natural Disasters
The Natural Disasters
The Natural Disasters were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Earthquake and Typhoon who competed in the World Wrestling Federation between 1991 and 1993...
to win the WWF World Tag Team titles.. Early in their run with the WWF the Headshrinkers feuded with the Natural Disasters and the recently formed High Energy
Between 1992 and the early parts of 1994, the Headshrinkers maintained a position in the middle of the tag-team division, occasionally challenging for the titles and making sporadic PPV appearances feuding with teams like The Smokin' Gunns
The Smokin' Gunns
The Smoking Gunns was a professional wrestling tag team of kayfabe brothers Billy Gunn and Bart Gunn . They portrayed cowboys in the World Wrestling Federation from 1993 to 1996...
and Men on a Mission
Men on a Mission
Men on a Mission was the World Wrestling Federation name for the pairing of wrestlers Nelson Frazier, Jr. and Robert Horne, who wrestled as Mabel and Mo respectively...
. The Headshrinkers assisted their relative Yokozuna in a casket match against The Undertaker at the 1994 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (1994)
Royal Rumble was the seventh annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on January 22, 1994 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The main event was the Royal Rumble match, a battle royal in which...
. In April 1994 the Headshrinkers turned face and challenged then tag-team champions The Quebecers
The Quebecers
The Quebecers were a heel professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation from mid-1993 to mid-1994 and again in 1998 that consisted of Jacques Rougeau and Pierre...
, with the addition of manager Lou Albano
Lou Albano
Louis Vincent "Captain Lou" Albano was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969, then he became a manager, until 1995....
the team won the gold on April 26, 1994. At King of the Ring 1994
King of the Ring (1994)
King of the Ring was the second annual King of the Ring professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on June 19, 1994 at the Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. "King of the Ring" is also the name of the tournament that was the focus of...
on June 19 the Headshrinkers successfully defended their tag-team titles against Yokozuna and Crush
Brian Adams (wrestler)
Brian Keith Adams was an American professional wrestler. Adams gained fame in the 1990s while performing for the World Wrestling Federation , under the name Crush, and for World Championship Wrestling under his given name.Trained in Japan by Antonio Inoki, Adams was a two time WCW World Tag Team...
. Their run with the titles came to a surprising end on an untelevised card on August 28 where they lost the titles to Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
and Diesel
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...
. The title change happened just one day before they were scheduled to defend against Irwin R. Schyster and Bam Bam Bigelow. Soon after the title change Samu left the WWF to recover from injuries and was replaced by Sionne
Sione Vailahi
Sione Havea Vailahi is a professional wrestler best known in wrestling as The Barbarian.-Life and career:Born and raised in Tonga, Sione was one of five teenagers sent by the King of Tonga to Japan to study Sumo wrestling in the mid 1970s. Tonga Fifita was one of the other teenagers...
, as he and Fatu formed the "New Headshrinkers".
The New Headshrinkers
The kayfabeKayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
reason given to Samu’s departure was that he "ate some bad fish and got a disease" and was not coping well with manager Lou Albano’s attempts to civilize the Headshrinkers, especially wearing boots. For the first time ever, one half of the Samoan Swat Team/Headshrinkers was not a member of the Anoa'i nor a Samoan as Sionne was from the island of Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
. The New Headshrinkers made only one Pay Per View appearance as a team which was at the 1994 Survivor Series
Survivor Series (1994)
Survivor Series was the eighth annual Survivor Series pay-per-view professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on Thanksgiving Eve, November 23, 1994 at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas...
where they were quickly eliminated. The only other notable appearance of the New Headshrinkers was as part of the tournament to crown new WWF tag-team champions in late 1994, early 1995. The New Headshrinkers lost to Bam Bam Bigelow and Tatanka
Chris Chavis
Christopher "Chris" Chavis , is a Native American professional wrestler best known for his work with World Wrestling Entertainment as Tatanka from 1991 to 1996 and from 2005 to 2007...
in the Semi Finals. By July the New Headshrinkers ended as Sionne signed with WCW. By the time Sionne left the WWF the team was used to put over new teams such as The Blu Brothers
Independent Headshrinkers
After being away from the spotlight for a while Samu returned to the WWF in 1995. Samu along with his brother Lloyd Anoa'iLloyd Anoa'i
Lloyd Anoa'i is a Samoan American professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager who has performed under numerous ring names. He is one of the three sons of professional wrestling patriarch Afa Anoa'i, and a member of the Anoa'i family.-Career:...
were known as "The Samoan Gangster Party" with Samu being known as "Sammy the Silk" and Lloyd being "LA Smooth". Their cousin Matt Anoa'i (son of Sika) became known as "Big Matty Smalls", and joind Samu as The Samoan Gangstas. The two men did not wrestle for the WWF but watched Fatu from afar as the former Headshrinker tried to turn himself into a positive rolemodel for kids on the street. The angle never went anywhere as the Samoan Gangster party never got in the ring or confronted Fatu before he was repackaged and the whole angle was dropped. In 1996 they worked for Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
feuding mainly with The Gangstas
The Gangstas
The Gangstas was a professional wrestling tag team and stable, most notably consisting of New Jack and Mustafa Saed in Extreme Championship Wrestling...
in a short but intense war.
After leaving Samu has worked for a number of independent organizations both as a singles wrestler and alongside his brother Lloyd who worked under names such as"Headshrinker" Alofa, "Headshrinker" Ruopa and "The Tahitian Warrior" winning titles in WWC and ISPW.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Diving headbutt
- Diving splash
- Double diving headbutt
- Signature moves
- Double forward Russian legsweep
- Double headbutt
- Double savate kick
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Lou AlbanoLou AlbanoLouis Vincent "Captain Lou" Albano was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969, then he became a manager, until 1995....
- Buddy RobertsDale HeyDale Hey is a retired professional wrestler better known as Buddy Roberts.-Professional wrestling career:Dale Hey grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. He started wrestling in 1965 as Dale Valentine, the "brother" of Johnny Valentine...
- Paul E. DangerouslyPaul HeymanPaul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....
- Oliver HumperdinkOliver HumperdinkJohn Sutton , better known by his ring name Oliver Humperdink, was a professional wrestling manager who worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, Florida Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation.-Career:...
- Afa
- Lou Albano
- Entrance themesMusic in professional wrestlingMusic in professional wrestling serves a variety of purposes. The most common uses of music in professional wrestling is that of the entrance theme, a song or piece of instrumental music which plays as a performer approaches the ring...
- Theme from Halloween - NWA/WCW
Championships and accomplishments
Fatu and Samu- World Class Championship WrestlingWorld Class Championship WrestlingWorld Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
- WCWA Tag Team ChampionWCWA Tag Team ChampionshipThe WCWA World Tag Team Championship was the major tag team title in World Class Championship Wrestling. It started out as the NWA American Tag Team Championship in 1966 when the promotion was known as NWA Big Time Wrestling...
(3 times) - WCCW Texas Tag Team ChampionWCWA Texas Tag Team ChampionshipThe WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship was the secondary tag team championship in World Class Championship Wrestling, originally known as the NWA Texas Tag-Team title until 1981 where they were abandoned. The titles were brought back in 1987 as the WCWA Texas Tag-Team titles but once the WCWA joined...
(1 time)
- WCWA Tag Team Champion
- World Wrestling CouncilWorld Wrestling CouncilThe World Wrestling Council is one of Puerto Rico's two main professional wrestling promotions, the other one being the International Wrestling Association....
- WWC Caribbean Tag Team ChampionshipWWC Caribbean Tag Team ChampionshipWWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship was a third-string Tag Team title that was defended in the World Wrestling Council.-Title history:...
(1 time)
- WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship
- World Wrestling FederationWorld Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
- WWF World Tag Team Championship (1 Time)
Kokina, Fatu and Samoan Savage
- Universal Wrestling AssociationUniversal Wrestling AssociationThe Universal Wrestling Association was a Mexican Lucha Libre or professional wrestling promotion based in Naucalpan, Mexico State that operated from 1975 until 1995...
- UWA World Trios ChampionshipUWA World Trios ChampionshipThe UWA World Trios Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship created by the Mexican Universal Wrestling Association and defended there until the UWA closed in 1995....
(1 time)
Samu and Lloyd Anoa'i
- Independent Superstars of Pro-Wrestling
- ISPW Tag-Team Championship (1 time)
- World Wrestling CouncilWorld Wrestling CouncilThe World Wrestling Council is one of Puerto Rico's two main professional wrestling promotions, the other one being the International Wrestling Association....
- WWC Tag Team Championship (1 time) (As the Tahitian Warriors)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Worst Worked Match of the Year (1993) with Bastion BoogerMike ShawMike Shaw was a professional wrestler who was best known for his stint in World Championship Wrestling as Norman The Lunatic, and as Bastion Booger in the World Wrestling Federation...
and Bam Bam Bigelow vs. The BushwhackersThe BushwhackersThe Bushwhackers were a professional wrestling tag team that also competed as The Sheepherders during their long career. They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation and Jim Crockett Promotions as well as a nearly 40 year run on the independent wrestling circuit...
and Men on a MissionMen on a MissionMen on a Mission was the World Wrestling Federation name for the pairing of wrestlers Nelson Frazier, Jr. and Robert Horne, who wrestled as Mabel and Mo respectively...
at Survivor Series
- Worst Worked Match of the Year (1993) with Bastion Booger