WWE's greatest families - Part 2

The Rock

2) The Ano’i clan

The Samoan clan has produce numerous brilliant wrestlers who have thrilled the crowds for around 4 decades now. The story began with High Chief Peter Maivia who was adopted by the clan. He wrestled in the WWF in the 1970′s but his real claim to fame was his appearance in the 1967 James Bond flick, You Only Live Twice, playing the driver that transports a disguised Bond to Osato headquarters.

The Wild Samoans( Aki and Sika) – the sons of Maivia ‘blood brother’ Amituanai Anoa’i and trained by Maivia himself, they were considered to be one of the most vicious and successful tag-teams of all time winning 21 tag-team championship titles in promotions around the world including the WWF where they won the title 3 times.

The next big talent who was related to thee Ano’i clan was Rocky Johnson, who married Ata Maivia the adopted daughter of Peter Maivia. Johnson was part of the first African American tag-team to hold the WWF tag-team titles. In 1992, another clan member Yokozuna, took the WWF by storm owerwhelming the scene with his rather humongous size and surprising agility. The burly Samoan(who was said to be a sumo champion from Japan) won the WWF Title and the tag-team title twice.

It was however, the next clan member who really took the WWE by storm. Making his début in 1996 in the SummerSlam PPV, Rocky Maivia went on to become the biggest superstar that the company ever saw. Don’t recognise that name, Rocky Maivia later electrified the millions in the WWE universe under the most famous moniker in the WWE till date – ‘The Rock‘. He achieved the greatest possible success in the WWE and from there went to Hollywood where he is now a proper big picture player. His rapport with the fans still hasn’t ebbed which Vince McMahon used to push up the ratings at the start of the year.

Other members of the Ano’i clan who made it big in the WWE were the brothers Rikishi and Umaga who like their cousin Yokuzuna were big guys who were quite agile. Rikishi and Umaga both won the Intercontinental championship. Rikishi also won the Tag-team titles thrice.

The Ano’i family are represented today by the Uso’s(Rikishi’s twin sons) and Roman Reigns.