Athletes - Solofa Fatu

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	Athletes - Solofa Fatu

Solofa Fatu, Jr. (born October 11, 1966 in San Francisco, California, now resides in Pensacola, Florida), is an American professional wrestler who worked for World Wrestling Entertainment between 1992 and 2004. He is best known under the name Rikishi, although recent legal proceedings have forced him to shorten his ring name to Kishi.

Career

Fatu is a member of the extensive Samoan Anoa'i wrestling family, and the nephew of The Wild Samoans, Afa and Sika, who trained him in the 1980s. He is the younger brother of The Tonga Kid, who was part of The Islanders tag team with Haku in the WWF. Fatu teamed with his cousin Samu, the son of Afa, as The Samoan Swat Team. The Swat Team wrestled mainly in the south, winning titles in the Dallas-based World Class Wrestling Association.

In 1989 the Swat Team was hired by the National Wrestling Alliance. The Tonga Kid, now wrestling as Tama, was added to the Swat Team later that year. After a year with the NWA, the Swat Team left the promotion in 1990.

The duo was hired by the World Wrestling Federation in 1992, where they were known as The Headshrinkers winning the WWF World Tag Team Championships twice. At the 1994 Royal Rumble, Fatu was one of the heels who helped Fatu's cousin Yokozuna defeat The Undertaker in a Casket Match. In 1994, Samu left the WWF and was replaced by Sione "The Barbarian" Vailahi.

After spending over a decade as one half of a tag team, Fatu became a singles wrestler in 1995. He wrestled under several unmemorable gimmicks, including Phatu, The Sultan, Alofa the Polynesian Prince and J.R. Smooth before reappearing in late 1999 as Rikishi (literally, "strong man") Phatu. He had gained a great deal of weight, bleached his hair blonde and exchanged his long trousers for a revealing thong. The Rikishi character had a brief feud with Viscera before aligning with Too Cool, Grandmaster Sexay and Scotty Too Hotty. It was at this point that Fatu's popularity began to soar.

In the 2000 Royal Rumble, Fatu eliminated six opponents before being eliminated himself by several wrestlers working together. Fatu, Too Cool and Chyna began feuding with The Radicalz, with Chyna eventually siding with Eddie Guerrero. At WrestleMania 2000, Fatu and Kane defeated "The Road Dogg" Jesse James and X-Pac. After the match, Pete Rose (following a distraction by The San Diego Chicken) ran into the ring to attack Kane, but was chokeslammed by Kane and given a Stinkface by Fatu.

In May 2000, Fatu and Too Cool feuded with Edge, Christian and Kurt Angle (Team ECK), culminating in a victory at Judgment Day. After winning the Intercontinental Championship on the June 20 episode of SmackDown! from Chris Benoit, Fatu would go on to qualify for the 2000 King of the Ring tournament. On June 25 he defeated Benoit and Val Venis in the quarter- and semi-finals respectively, but both his opponents hit him with a steel chair after losing, weakening his shoulder and helping Kurt Angle defeat him in the Finals.

Stemming from Venis' attack at King of the Ring, Fatu faced Val Venis on July 6, and lost his title after Tazz hit him with a television camera. Fatu faced Val Venis in a Steel Cage rematch at Fully Loaded. In the course of the match, Fatu ascended the cage and, in a move reminiscent of his uncle Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, leapt from the top, splashing Venis. Fatu was defeated by Venis shortly after when Tazz once again hit him with a camera.

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