Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has issued a public statement on the passing of his uncle and WWE Hall of Famer, Afa Anoa’i.
Afa Anoa’i passed away on Friday at the age of 81. His brother and his Wild Samoans tag team partner, Sika Anoa’i, passed away in June. The Rock took to Instagram on Sunday to say that Afa was finally at peace along with his brother.
Rock captioned his post with:
“Rest in Love Uncle Afa ❤️🕊️ Uncle Afa Anoa’i is finally at peace with his brother, Uncle Sika Anoa’i.
‘The Wild Samoans’ were trailblazers in the world of professional wrestling. Multi-time @WWE tag team champions and eventually, bestowed their rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame.
The last picture is one of my all time favorites- it’s my uncles Afa and Sika with my grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia – and I believe that’s Professor Toru Tanaka.
What I love about this picture is you can SEE & FEEL the LOVE & MANA amongst these smiling, loving men.
You can also see and feel that this wasn’t a table you wanted to f*ck with 😂💪🏾
I love you uncle and I’ll never forget what you did for our family in ‘87. “Come to me” Nashville to Bethlehem.
Give my grandpa and my dad a kiss and a hug from me.”
Roman Reigns also paid tribute to his uncle Afa shortly after his passing. He wrote:
“Our family has suffered another great loss with the passing of my uncle and WWE Hall of Famer, Gataivasā Afa Amituana’i Anoa’i,” he wrote. We thank everyone for their support and are comforted by the fact that he now rests in peace. Afa and my father, Pola’ivao Leati Sika Anoa’I were loving brothers, the greatest tag team of their generation, and now they’re reunited together in heaven. Rest in Power Wild Samoans.”
Afa’s daughter, Vale Anoa’i, responded to WWE’s tribute to Afa that aired on SmackDown, writing:
“Deeply touched and grateful for the absolutely beautiful tribute video @WWE put together for my Dad. That was perfect. My heart is full of love. Thank you so much”
Deeply touched and grateful for the absolutely beautiful tribute video @WWE put together for my Dad. That was perfect. My heart is full of love. Thank you so much. pic.twitter.com/RiqOhjpg6l
The wrestling world is paying tribute to Afa Anoa’i.
Afa, who was part of the legendary Wild Samoans tag team with his brother Sika, passed away on Friday at the age of 81, just weeks after Sika passed away in June. On Friday’s WWE SmackDown, the company aired a tribute highlighting his career.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWMGjJrdcWw
Afa’s daughter, Vale Anoa’i, responded to the tribute on X.
“Deeply touched and grateful for the absolutely beautiful tribute video @WWE put together for my Dad. That was perfect. My heart is full of love. Thank you so much,” she wrote.
Deeply touched and grateful for the absolutely beautiful tribute video @WWE put together for my Dad. That was perfect. My heart is full of love. Thank you so much. pic.twitter.com/RiqOhjpg6l
“Our family has suffered another great loss with the passing of my uncle and WWE Hall of Famer, Gataivasā Afa Amituana’i Anoa’i,” he wrote. We thank everyone for their support and are comforted by the fact that he now rests in peace. Afa and my father, Pola’ivao Leati Sika Anoa’I were loving brothers, the greatest tag team of their generation, and now they’re reunited together in heaven. Rest in Power Wild Samoans.”
Our family has suffered another great loss with the passing of my uncle and WWE Hall of Famer, Gataivasā Afa Amituana'i Anoa'i. We thank everyone for their support and are comforted by the fact that he now rests in peace. Afa and my father, Pola’ivao Leati Sika Anoa’I were…
Son Afa wrote on Facebook: “I’ve lost my Best Friend, My Biggest Fan, my Mentor, my Hero, my Trainer, my Influence, my world, my Father!!! Nothing can prepare for this part of life. I’m devastated! Rest Easy Dad! Give uncle a big hug for me! #Anoai”
Rikishi, Lance Anoa’i, and Reno Anoa’i also posted on X:
AEW, TNA, and other figures in pro wrestling posted on social media in the hours following the announcement of his passing:
AEW and the wrestling world mourn the passing of the legendary Wild Samoan Afa. Our thoughts are with his family, his friends and his fans. pic.twitter.com/053EKcrAVm
TNA is saddened to learn of the passing of Afa Anoa’i Sr., one-half of the legendary Wild Samoans tag team. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the Anoa’i family, his friends and fans during this time. pic.twitter.com/6mww2L7dcw
The wrestling world mourns the loss of a great legend, Afa Anoaʻi, but we choose to celebrate his life and the memories he leaves behind. All of us here at the CAC stand with his family, friends, and fans worldwide in their time of grief and offer our heartfelt condolences. pic.twitter.com/hIn4UyKlr0
The Hart family has so much love for your family. Reflecting on the incredible life Afa lived and what an amazing family man he was. May The Wild Samoan’s legacy in wrestling burn brightly FOREVER. https://t.co/lZc4YI52nQpic.twitter.com/1mE2hYX5He
My thoughts & condolences go out to the families, friends & loved ones of both Afa & Sika. May these 2 trailblazers rest in peace & power. These 2 gentlemen built the foundation that the Samoan Dynasty would be built upon. Godspeed! pic.twitter.com/SGu6CjnL85
Godspeed, Afa. Your contributions are unquestioned and legacy will live forever. My heart goes out to his family, friends, and all he touched. Rest well, sir. 🙏 https://t.co/89vSuDDgID
In the 1970s and 80s, The Wild Samoans were a dominant part of the WWE’s tag team divsion, winning the titles three times. They were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007, and their legacy lives on with The Bloodline stable, a prominent part of WWE programing.
– Afa Anoa’i just passed away today at the age of 81. He had a number of serious health issues in recent months. This comes less than two months since the death of brother and tag team partner Sika. We send our best to the family. We are also apologetic for reporting this yesterday on X. Afa & Sika were a legendary tag team in the 70s and early 80s and part of one of the largest pro wrestling families in history, which include WWE stars Roman Reigns, The Usos, Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu and countless others including Umaga, Rikishi, Yokozuna, Tonga Kid, Afa Jr., Black Pearl, Zilla Fatu, Rosey and Gary Albright. What a week with the deaths of Kevin Sullivan and Dennis Brent.
– Garrett Gonzales and I will be doing our week in review show today. If you have any questions for the show on topics in the current issue you can send them to [email protected] and in particular anything on Kevin Sullivan. The weekend show with Bryan Alvarez will be tomorrow night.
– The new issue of the Wrestling Observer is up on the site right now. We have a giant story on the life and career of Kevin Sullivan. It’s one of the biggest stories we’ve done in recent years covering this very unique person who wore a lot of hats in the industry and had a lot of very significant influence on aspects of the genre.
Among the other topics covered:
Tony Khan announces the second AEW stadium show for 2025 and we talk about reports of a third one as well.
Previewing All In
Update on Bash in Berlin including a new main event not announced yet and the latest on the planned stipulation
Bryan Danielson talks about his life and career
AEW and Triller doing PPV bundles
U.S. Olympic wrestling roundup as well as Hiroshi Tanahashi wants to recruit three Olympians
Update on G-1 Climax tournament and all the bouts of the past week
A look at the career of Yoshinari Ogawa who retired this past week
A look at Dennis Brent, who passed away, a behind-the-scenes figure who was very close to many insiders in the wrestling community and had worked for and with World Class, Mid South, WCW, JCP and WWE before a tragic case of MS ended him in wrestling.
Update on legal wranglings involving Janel Grant, Vince McMahoin and Dr. Carlon Colker
The most detailed look at the TV ratings from the past week, weekly rankings, comparisons with a year ago, segment-by-segment, nightly placings competition and more
Rundown from another big show at Arena Mexico
More on the CMLL Grand Prix show featuring wrestlers from all over the world
Return date announced for one of the biggest international stars
Exactly what the issues are with AAA and Penta & Fenix and why their talent isn’t allowed to appear on the same shows in Mexico
Update on the Stardom Five Star Grand Prix
Dragon Gate Dangerous Gate update
N-1 tournament update
What WWE NXT star is getting over in Japan
Grandson of one of the biggest wrestling stars of all-time now training to wrestle
El Hijo del Santo retirement tour update and he talks about when he was negotiating to go full-time with WWE
MJF vs. Michael Oku match story and angle with Ospreay
GCW hits Japan
PPV updates for recent pro wrestling and boxing events
Tony Khan talks more on big announcements
Update on Young Bucks
Penta & Fenix update
Behind the making of MJF vs. Oku in England
Advances for upcoming WWE & AEW shows
Streaming numbers and international TV numbers
Update on Conor McGregor fighting
Former MMA fighter involved in a shooting death of a man who was friends with the person who was accused of kidnapping his son
Heyman talks his ECW run
Ronda Rousey on Vince McMahon
Jesse Ventura and his attempt to unionize wrestlers
– Cain Velasquez pleaded no contest in his attempted murder case today in San Jose. His trial was scheduled to start in three weeks. The plea bargain agreement was that the charge of premeditated attempted murder was dropped. If he had been convicted of that charge he would face mandatory life in prison, although with the possibility of parole. Judge Arthur Bocanegro will decide on his punishment at a date to be determined. The District Attorney in the case did say Velasquez would be facing prison time. What hurt Velasquez in this case is that a search of his phone found he was looking up searches for “sexual assault case where the victims family fights back” and “sexual assault cases where victims family retaliates,” which showed this was not a momentary rage but something he had been looking up before he chased down Harry Goularte, who was accused of molesting his young son at a daycare center. Velasquez chased a car with Goularte in it for 11 miles and fired shots which hit Goularte’s stepfather, Paul Bender in the arm. He was arrested and spent eight months in jail before being released on bail. After release he did one pro wrestling match for AAA and had been training fighters at the AKA School in San Jose.
– Kathleen Finch, the chairman and CEO of WBD’s U.S. networks, which include TBS and TNT, announced that she would be retiring at the end of this year. Channing Dungey, the Chairman and CEO of Warner Brothers Television Group, will be her successor. Finch was and is a big proponent of AEW and always talked positively publicly about the product and its ratings success. We are told that this is not expected to affect the contract negotiations for a new deal or AEW in general’s day-to-day business. Finch started as a programmer for the Food Network in 1999 after working 12 years as a reporter for CBS News.
– Tony Khan said that AEW will run a show in England in 2025. He said All In would be in Texas but they would have something in London as well. He didn’t specify the venue.
– We send our best wishes to Bobby Fulton of the Fantastics, who has been battling cancer on and off for years. Fulton had surgery on Tuesday to repair his throat from the years of cancer treatments and during the surgery had heart complications. He will be seeing a cardiologist shortly. He has been responding to people on Twitter wishing him the best.
– FuboTV’s lawsuit against ESPN, FOX, WBD and Hulu to block the debut of Venu, the streaming service that would have ABC, all the ESPN channels, TBS, TNT, TNT Sports, FOX, The Big 10 Network, FS1 and FS2 that was due to debut next week, won the first round today, blocking the launch of the service. ABC Disney, WBD and FOX have said that they will appeal this ruling.
– SmackDown tonight from Orlando, which will be sold out with more than 13,500 fans, has DIY vs. Street Profits with the winners getting a tag title shot, Kevin Owens vs. Grayson Waller, Andrade vs. Carmelo Hayes, Blair Davenport vs. Naomi, Tiffany Stratton throws a party for Nia Jax, and Roman Reigns appears.
– Rampage tonight on TNT at 10 p.m. has Mark Briscoe & Tomohiro Ishii & Orange Cassidy vs. The Butcher & The Outrunners, Nyla Rose vs. Erica Leigh, Nick Wayne vs. Kip Sabian and Top Flight vs. MxM Collection. This was taped Wednesday so Mansoor is not going to be in two places at the same time in real life. It’ll only appear that way, since he’s in the semi at Aena Mexico tonight as well.
– There are less than 30 tickets remaining for the Q&A show that I’m doing with Bryan Alvarez on the morning of All In. The event takes place at 11 a.m. at the Tattershall Castle steamship in downtown London across from the London Eye and a five minute walk from Big Ben and Parliament. For more info, click here.
–Nic Nemeth vs. Josh Alexander in a one hour Iron Man match for the TNA title headlines the 8/30 special from Louisville.
– We’re looking for reports from these weekend shows
SmackDown tonight in Orlando (non-Smackdown matches only)
AAA TripleMania tomorrow in Mexico City
WWE house show tomorrow in Lakeland, FL
AEW in Arlington, TX (matches not on Collision)
WWE house show Sunday in Estero, FL
We’re looking for results, finishes and highlights to [email protected]
– We’re doing weekend polls on both the Saturday and Sunday New Japan Sumo Hall G-1 semifinals and finals shows, so you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle, best and worst match for each show to [email protected].
– The start times for the New Japan G-1 semifinals with Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shingo Takagi and David Finlay vs. Yota Tsuji is 4 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning. The finals are 2 a.m. Eastern very late tomorrow night.
– Dana White announced today that Alex Pereira vs Khalil Rountree Jr. for the light heavyweight title will headline the 10/5 UFC PPV in Salt Lake City, UT. Rountree as the challenger was a big surprise, as most figured Magomed Ankalaev to be the top contender. Rountree is coming off a suspension after testing positive for the steroid androsterone, which was found to be something he accidentally ingested after they tested one of his supplements. Also announced was Raquel Pennington defending the women’s bantamweight title against Julianna Pena, Kayla Harrison vs. Ketlen Vieira, Mosvar Evloev vs. Aljamain Sterling, Mario Batista vs. Jose Aldo, Steven Wonderboy Thompson vs. Joaquin Buckley and Roman Dolidze vs. Kevin Holland.
– Harrison being booked on the show with a bantamweight title fight looks to lead to her, if she wins, getting a shot at the winner and making that clear that night.
– Mistico & Esfinge & Atlantis Jr. vs. Valiente & Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero headlines Arena Mexico tonight. Mansoor & Rocky Romero also face Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja.
– Tuesday in Guadalajara is the League of Nationals Cibernetico match with Barbaza, Dulce Gardenia, Elemental, Furia Roja, El Hijo de Villano III Jr., Zandokan Jr., Mistico, Soberano Jr., Star Black, Villano III Jr., Akira (MLW), Dark Magic, Flip Gordon, Ikuro Kwon (MLW), Kyle Fletcher (AEW), Mansoor (AEW), Okumura, Robbie X (RevPro), Romero and Yutani.
– UFC 305 is tomorrow our time from Perth, Western Australia:
6:30 p.m. on ESPN+
Jesus Aguilar vs. Stewart Nicoll
Ricky Glenn vs. Sng Kenan
Tom Nolan vs. Alex Reyes
ESPN2 and ESPN +at 8 p.m. Eastern
Herbert Burns vs. Jack Jenkins
Casey O’Neill vs. Luana Santos
Josh Culibao vs. Ricardo Ramos
Junior Tafa vs. Valter Walker
PPV at 10 p.m.
Li Jingliang vs. Carlos Prates
Jairzinho Rozenstruik vs. Tai Tuivasa
Dan Hooker vs. Mateusz Gamrot
Steve Erceg vs. Kai Kara-France
Dricus Du Plessis vs. Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title
– Natsuko Tora will defend the World of Stardom title against Tam Nakano on 8/31 in Tokyo.
– Mina Shirakawa will replace Stephanie Vaquer on the 8/24 RevPro show at the Copper Box in London.
– TripleMania on Triller is tomorrow night with a Domed cage and the last person left loses their hair or mask with Dark Cuervo, Dark Ozz, Cibernetico Fiscal, Abismo Negro Jr., Psicosos (not the 90s Psicosis), Panic Clown, Dave the Clown and Murder Clown, plus Nic Nemeth defends the AAA Mega title against Alberto El Patron, Vamapiro faces a mystery man in a casket mach, Negro Casas & Psycho Clown defend the AAA tag titles against Dr. Wagner Jr. & Galeno del Mal and Raj Dhesi (Jinder Mahal) & Satnam Singh, Komander defends the AAA cruiserweight title against Matt Riddle and Laredo Kid, Flammer defends the Reina de Reinas title against Faby Apache and a Copa Bardal (Royal Rumble rules, all men in are mysteries)
– Sam Adons and Kenzo Suzuki have indicated being on the show.
– Satoshi Kojima defends the MLW title against Ares on 8/31 in San Juan, Costa Rica.
– Aja Kong makes her debut for West Coast Pro tomorrow night at the Queen of Indies show in San Francisco at the United Irish Cultural Center. The Queen of Indies is a one-night tournament with first round matches of Kylie Rae vs. Masha Slamovich, Hyari vs. Maya World, Great Sakuya vs. Brooke Havok and Amazona vs. Keyra Strong.
– Trevor Lee and Kylie Rae have been added to Scott D’Amore’s Maple Leaf Wrestling promotion debut shows on 10/19 and 10/20 in Windsor ONT.
– Actor Jeff Goldblum, who guest hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday, and had John Cena as a guest, mentioned watching Bruno Sammartino, Haystacks Calhoun, Killer Kowalski and Bobo Brazil as a kid on his black & white television set.
– Jonathan Gresham will be appearing on this week’s Memphis Wrestling TV show.
Afa Anoa’i — WWE legend and a vital member of one of pro wrestling’s greatest dynasties — passed away on Friday at 81 years old.
The WWE Hall of Famer had been battling for his life after entering hospice care recently. Today, Afa’s death was announced by his family. “It is with deepest regret that we announce the passing of my father Afa Anoai Sr. It was a peaceful transition and he was surrounded by loved ones,” his son Samu wrote. “Please respect our privacy as we morn our father.”
Afa suffered two heart attacks this January while battling pneumonia. He then underwent multiple back surgeries after suffering a broken back in a fall that happened in March.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Afa and his younger brother Sika were a top act in the WWF as The Wild Samoans. They held the WWF Tag Team titles three times. In 2007, they were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Sika passed away at 79 years old this June.
Afa was a wrestling trainer after the end of his in-ring career and operated the indie promotion World Xtreme Wrestling.
Though both Wild Samoans have now departed, their legacy lives on through their Bloodline family. Afa & Sika last appeared on WWE programming when they congratulated Sika’s son Roman Reigns on his victory over Jey Uso at Hell in a Cell 2020.
Our family has suffered another great loss with the passing of my uncle and WWE Hall of Famer, Gataivasā Afa Amituana’i Anoa’i. We thank everyone for their support and are comforted by the fact that he now rests in peace. Afa and my father, Pola’ivao Leati Sika Anoa’I were loving brothers, the greatest tag team of their generation, and now they’re reunited together in heaven. Rest in Power Wild Samoans.
Afa was devoted to his family, dominant in the ring, and dedicated to building future generations of @WWE Superstars. My thoughts are with the entire Anoa’i family as we remember the legendary Afa.
Going into detail with the name revelations in the Front Office Sports story by John Pollock, Brandon Thurston and Tim Marchman, more on the lawsuit, what it means in context, more notes not in the suit, Brock Lesnar update and the claims explained.
The heroic Mark Coleman story from the past week, as well as a look at his wrestling, MMA and pro wrestling careers.
The Mercedes Mone debut in AEW, what happened, ratings, live gate, money involved, and even a WWE comment
WrestleMania update, business notes, secondary market demand
Full coverage of UFC 299, business, what’s next for the fighters, how much of a superstar has Sean O’Malley become and what is next for him
Notes on SummerSlam coming to Cleveland
A study of WWE & AEW PPV buyers and how frequently each group has bought shows over the past year
The death of Yutaka Yoshie
A detailed look at Paul Levesque’s first Hall of Fame class and their respective backgrounds including multiple Muhammad Ali appearances in pro wrestling detailed, as well as the politics of the Hall of Fame, Vince McMahon, people not in and everyone going in this year
Joanna Jedrzejczyk enters UFC Hall of Fame
Major story on the 16 Carat Gold tournament
The most detailed look at the ratings from the past week, including demos, competition, placing for the night, time slot and week
The first-ever all women’s show at Arena Mexico and how it did
MLW title defended at Arena Mexico
Stardom PPV coverage
All Japan Champion Carnival notes
NOAH heads to the U.K.
NOAH tag team tournament ends and notes
Update on New Japan Cup
What to look for in the NCAA wrestling tournament in two weeks
Former WWE wrestlers wedding notes
Lots of TNA business news and build to the next PPV
Will Ospreay talks why he chose AEW
Tag team tournament notes
Update on AEW Revolution, WWE Elimination Chamber, TNA Hard to Kill and Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua PPV numbers as well as PFL vs Bellator
Kenny Omega talks surprise match that was being set up for him
Advance ticket sales for upcoming WWE & AEW shows
Takeshita talks Ospreay match
International TV ratings and top streaming numbers
Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw and all the latest news.
Mark Coleman was out of the hospital and in the gym today. Also, on Google trends for the week, the only thing from MMA, boxing or pro wrestling to crack the top 20 was Coleman at No. 9 on Tuesday with 50,000. The UFC show on Saturday, The Rock on Friday and Mercedes Mone during the week did not crack the top 20.
Afa , 81, is currently hospitalized after falling down and breaking his back in two places. Afa is the uncle of Roman Reigns and granduncle of The Usos & Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu.
Raw tonight is from Raleigh, NC. Matches announced are Becky Lynch vs. Nia Jax in a last woman standing match, plus Miz & R-Truth vs. Veer & Sanga, The Creeds vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa and New Day vs. Otis & Tozawa with the winners of those three matches going into the WrestleMania six-way tag team title ladder match. They had 12,400 tickets out earlier today so this should be another sellout.
Smackdown did 2.34 million viewers on Friday and an 0.68 in 18-49. It will be among the highest rated network shows of the week but won’t be No. 1. Rampage did 327,000 viewers and 0.11 on Friday.
AAA announced the first TripleMania will be 4/27 at the baseball stadium in Monterrey. Alberto el Patron will face Nic Nemeth for the vacant Mega title that El Hijo del Vikingo vacated due to injury in the main event.
Dark Side of the Ring tomorrow night will be covering Terry Gordy. Gordy was one of the bigger stars as a teenager in decades and remained one of the top performers in the game until a drug overdose on a flight to Japan. Gordy was a member of the Fabulous Freebirds and later the Miracle Violence Combination that was the top foreign tag team during a boom period in All Japan with Steve Williams.
Ronda Rousey is doing a book signing tour for her newest autobiography:
4/2 at Barnes & Noble in New York at 5 p.m.
4/3 in Plainview, MA at An Unlikely Story at 7 p.m.
4/4 in Middletown,CT and R.J. Julia Booksellers at 5 p.m.
4/6 in Philadelphia at Wrestlecon from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
4/7 in Columbus, OH at Thurber House at 6:30 p.m.
4/8 in Minneapolis,MN at Magers and Quinn Bookstore at 7 p.m.
4/11 in West Hollywood, CA at Book Soup at 6 p.m.
4/12 in Las Vegas at Barnes & Noble at 6 pm.
4/19 in La Jolla, CA at Warwick’s Bookstore at 6 p.m.
Negro Casas will be receiving the 2024 Lucha Libre Award from the Cauliflower Alley Club. The convention will be 8/19 to 8/21 in Las Vegas.
The Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, KS, has said that it is going to picket the Raw taping on 4/29 in Kansas City.
Marshall Zelaznik, whose background includes being head of PPV for inDemand and later helping build the UFC brand outside the U.S., was announced as the new CEO of Glory kickboxing. He was CEO there previously from 2018 and 2020.
Rick Martel turned 68 today.
The NCAA wrestling tournament starts Thursday in Kansas City. The current issue has the times of each session and where it’s broadcast. The prime time sessions Thursday, Friday and Saturday will air on ESPN. Saturday night, with no Collision due to the basketball tournament on TNT, will have the wrestling tournament championship matches at 7 p.m. followed by UFC at 10 p.m.
Glory Pro Wrestling ran Saturday and Sunday night at the South Broadway Athletic Club in St. Louis. Friday had Mansoor & Mason Madden , who were Maximum Male Models in WWE. Sunday had Warhorse over Danhausen in the main event. (thanks to Patrick Brandmeyer)
Combate Global on 5/11 on Univision and Fuse from Miami is headlined by Lucero Acosta (5-2) vs. Alejandra Lara (9-7). Fuse is the new English language home of Combate.
Bellator has its first show under new ownership on Friday from Belfast, Northern Ireland. At this point no television has been announced for the show, although Ariel Helwani reported something should be announced tomorrow or Wednesday. I mean, one would think if there’s a deal they probably should be announcing it by now.
The Memphis Grizzlies basketball team gave Jerry Lawler a lifetime achievement award on Saturday night’s home game. Dave Brown was there for the ceremony. Jeff Jarrett and Satnam Singh came out to take the award away which set up the Grizzlies mascot getting the award back from Singh.
Mascara Dorada & Rocky Romero won Friday’s Parejas Increibles tournament at Arena Mexico and will team up in the finals on the El Homenaje a Dos Leyendas show on 3/29 which is the show AEW’s BCC will be headlining and is already sold out.
RevPro announced Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster vs. Grizzled Young Veterans for the tag titles on 3/31 at York Hall in London.
Petr Yan looks to be out the rest of the year due to a ruptured ACL and other injuries from his fight with Song Yadong that he won on 3/9 in Miami at UFC 299. He will be undergoing surgery tomorrow.
The book “Keirn Chronicles 2” after the very good Keirn Chronicles book that Steve Keirn did with Ian Douglass, will be released in the upcoming months.
The WWE Hall of Famer was taken to hospital on Thursday with a case of pneumonia. He suffered a mild heart attack after being admitted and then another small heart attack on Friday.
On Sunday, the X account for Afa’s WXW promotion provided an update on his condition, noting that he will be going home shortly.
WXW wrote:
It’s been a harrowing few days, but our beloved Pops, #WWE Hall of Famer Afa the Wild Samoan, is coming home from the hospital today! He battles pneumonia and two mild heart attacks, but in his own words: “I kicked out at 1!”
It's been a harrowing few days, but our beloved Pops, #WWE Hall of Famer Afa the Wild Samoan, is coming home from the hospital today! He battles pneumonia and two mild heart attacks, but in his own words: "I kicked out at 1!" pic.twitter.com/J1NH8zPLbM
Afa’s official Facebook page posted a video of the 80-year-old saying he plans on going home and watching football later today.
Afa also had two exploratory procedures performed last month to check his heart valves. At the time, it was thought he might need valve replacement surgery. He also had to cancel a WXW seminar scheduled for January 13 due to medical concerns.
WWE Hall of Famer Afa the Wild Samoan (Afa Anoa’i) is in the hospital recovering from pneumonia and two heart attacks.
A message posted to Afa’s Facebook page on Friday informed fans that Afa was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia on Thursday night. Upon his arrival to the hospital, Afa suffered a mild heart attack. Afa then suffered a “second small heart attack” today.
The Facebook post stated that Afa isn’t out of the woods yet, but he’s doing ok and his spirits are high. Afa will be kept in the hospital for a day or two for observation.
Update on Afa the Wild Samoan, affectionately known as Pops: Afa was admitted to the hospital last night with pneumonia, but had a mild heart attack upon arrival. Today, he had a second small heart attack and was sent for a heart catheterization. He is doing ok, his spirits are high. He isn’t out of the woods yet, but will be kept in the hospital for a day or two for observation and monitoring. He thanks everyone for their concern, continued love, and prayers.
Afa underwent two exploratory heart procedures in December to check his valves. It was noted at the time that Afa may need a valve replacement. He had a follow-up appointment scheduled for December 20 to go over the next steps.
It was announced on December 21 that, due to increased medical concerns, Afa had to cancel a seminar for his WXW Wrestling that had been scheduled for January 13 in Minneola, Florida.
The Wild Samoans (Afa & Sika) were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2007.
