Athletes - Sione Vailahi

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	Athletes - Sione Vailahi

Sione Vailahi is a professional wrestler best known under the name of The Barbarian. He was known for his flying headbutts and for his incredible strength. He could press a 220 lb (100 kg) wrestler over his head with both hands, remove one hand, and hold him there for quite some time.

Life and career

Growing up in Tonga, Sione was one of five teenagers sent by the King of Tonga to Japan to study Sumo wrestling. He was known in sumo circles as Yokinoshima.

After migrating to the United States, he trained in professional wrestling under the tutelage of Rolland 'Red' Bastien. In 1980, he made his debut, wrestling Killer Karl Krupp in Modesto, California.

He wrestled as King Konga in several NWA regional territories in 1981. He soon went to the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions where he teamed up with Ron Garvin as a face.

Seeing the "heel" potential in a huge, intimidating man with surprising agility, Jim Crockett, Jr. changed him into Konga the Barbarian, and he joined the stable of Paul Jones. From 1985 to 1987, he wrestled as part of "Paul Jones' Army" and teamed with Pez Whatley, Teijho Khan and Baron Von Raschke. It was during this time that "Konga" was dropped from his name and he became simply The Barbarian.

In late 1987, he formed a team with Ivan Koloff, who was also his "coach." By early 1988, he was paired with The Warlord as The Powers of Pain. They feuded heavily with another team of big men, The Road Warriors, Animal and Hawk. They injured Animal's eye during a weight lifting contest and won the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Titles, along with Ivan, from the Road Warriors and Dusty Rhodes.

In April 1988, Crockett decided he wanted the feuding tag teams to have a series of scaffold matches, which neither team wanted because they felt that they were too large to safely participate. This was especially so for the Powers, who were scheduled to lose the matches and thus take the falls off the scaffolding. Barbarian and Warlord decided to leave for the WWF. The NWA announcers explained that the Road Warriors had run them off, even though they still held the Six-Man Titles.

Upon arriving in the WWF, they were paired as faces with Baron Von Raschke, simply called "The Baron". They started a feud with Demolition, Ax and Smash, over the Tag Team Titles. They soon dumped the Baron and took Demolition's manager Mr. Fuji, a double turn which made them heels and the increasingly-popular Demolition faces.

After a long feud in which they failed to win the titles, the Powers were split up and The Barbarian went under the management of Bobby Heenan. He briefly wrestled in singles competition, defeating Tito Santana at WrestleMania VI and facing the Big Bossman at Royal Rumble 1991 as part of the Heenan Family's feud with the correctional officer. Shortly after, he joined fellow Family member Haku in a tag team that would return in WCW.

When he signed with WCW in early 1992, he initially formed a heel stable with Tony Atlas and Cactus Jack. Atlas soon left the promotion, and they were joined briefly by Jake Roberts. They feuded with then-World Champion Ron Simmons, who Barbarian challenged at Halloween Havoc 1992, and they also faced off against Sting, Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes and Nikita Koloff. He briefly won the WCW United States Tag Team Titles with Dick Slater, but the belts were retired two days later.

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