In September 2015, Snuka was charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino.
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James Reiher Snuka a.k.a Jimmy Snuka was born on 18th May 1943. He was a professional wrestler from Fiji. From the 1970s until the 2010s, Snuka wrestled for various promotions. He is most remembered for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in the 1980s when he is credited for introducing the high-flying style of wrestling to the WWF. In 1996, he was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame. In Eastern Championship Wrestling, Snuka was the first World Heavyweight Champion (a title he held twice) (later Extreme Championship Wrestling). Sim and Tamina Snuka, his children, are also professional wrestlers.
In September 2015, Snuka was charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in May 1983. Snuka pled not guilty, but owing to his dementia diagnosis, he was deemed unable to stand trial in June 2016. On January 3, 2017, the charges were dropped due to his declining health. Snuka died at the age of 73 twelve days later.
Snuka was born on May 18, 1943, in the British colony of Fiji, to Louisa Smith and Charles Thomas. Smith was engaged to Bernard Reiher, and Thomas was married to another lady. Snuka’s mother married Reiher before he was born. Snuka grew up in the Marshall Islands before moving to Hawaii with his family. In the 1960s, Snuka competed in amateur bodybuilding in Hawaii. He was also a professional bodybuilder, winning titles such as Mr. Hawaii, Mr. Waikiki, and Mr. North Shore.
| Name | James Reiher Snuka |
| DOB | 18 May 1943 – 15 January 2017, 73 years |
| Height | 178 cm |
| Weight | 107 kg |
| Occupation | Professional wrestler, Actor |
| Professional Debut | 1970 |
| Wife | Carole Snuka |
| Professional Name | Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka |
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Under the direction of Captain Lou Albano, Snuka entered the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as a villainous character in January 1982. Snuka lost many championship opportunities to WWF champion Bob Backlund, including a steel cage battle at Madison Square Garden on June 28, 1982, in which Snuka leaped from the top of the cage and missed a prone Backlund, who rolled out of the way and won the contest. Despite the fact that Snuka played a vicious villain, his athletic manner gained him followers.
In 1983, Snuka had a feud with Don Muraco, which began when Snuka entered the arena for a match against Don Kernodle on Championship Wrestling on June 18 as Muraco, the Intercontinental Heavyweight title, was being interviewed. Enraged by Snuka’s lack of respect, Muraco attacked him at ringside, resulting in a melee. Snuka’s career was defined by this conflict, which culminated in a steel cage encounter at Madison Square Garden on October 17, 1983. Snuka lost the bout, but dragged Muraco back into the ring afterward and connected with his most famous “Superfly splash” of his career, off the top of the 15-foot (4.6 m) high steel cage.
Snuka got into a rivalry with “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, one of the WWF’s top villains, in June 1984. Piper smacked Snuka with a coconut on the left side of his skull, near to the temple, in a portion of Piper’s Pit. Following the attack, the two engaged in a series of grudge battles around the United States over the summer of 1984. Snuka attended a rehabilitation centre in late 1984, and the WWF made up a narrative about Piper breaking Snuka’s neck by beating him over the head with a chair. On Snuka’s behalf, Tonga Kid, who was billed as his nephew, resumed the rivalry. In July 1985, Snuka quit the WWF.
On April 2, 1989, Snuka made his return to the WWF at WrestleMania V. On the May 27 programme of Saturday Night’s Main Event XXI, he defeated Boris Zhukov in his televised comeback to competition. Snuka made his in-ring pay-per-view debut against “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase at SummerSlam after a brief rivalry with the Honky Tonk Man. Due to intervention from DiBiase’s bodyguard Virgil, Snuka lost the bout by count-out. Snuka was beaten by the Undertaker at WrestleMania VII on March 24, 1991, beginning the Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania. In January 1992, he fought in the Royal Rumble for the vacant WWF Championship, but was eliminated by Undertaker after barely three minutes.
On September 25, 1993, Snuka returned to the WWF, defeating Brian Christopher at a Madison Square Garden house event. On the September 27 broadcast of Monday Night Raw, he defeated Paul Van Dale by Superfly Splash and returned to television two nights later. Snuka competed in a battle royal for the vacant Intercontinental Championship the next week on Raw, but was eliminated by Rick Martel before leaving the business. In 1996, Snuka was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame.
WWF Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)
Snuka was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1996. But for the death of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, in 2015, Snuka was charged with involuntary manslaughter and third-degree murder. The 72-year-old WWE legend was booted from the Hall of Fame and the official WWE website.
