Rikishi is a member of the Anoa'i family of Samoan wrestlers. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by his sons, wrestlers Jey and Jimmy Uso, in 2015.
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Solofa Fatu Junior (born October 11, 1965, San Francisco, California, United States) is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring names Rikishi and Fatu with the WWE. During his time there, he won the Intercontinental Championship once, the WWE Tag Team Championships once and the World Tag Team Championships twice. He is a member of the Anoa’i family of Samoan wrestlers. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by his sons, wrestlers Jey and Jimmy Uso, in 2015.
Rikishi was born in San Francisco to Solofa Fatu Senior and Elevera Anoa’i Fatu and grew up in the Sunnydale Projects in the Visitacion Valley neighbourhood, where his maternal grandparents were preachers. He attended Balboa High School and competed on the wrestling team. In 1982, when he was seventeen years old, Rikishi was wounded in a drive-by shooting that left him with a scar on his abdomen. He claimed in a 2021 interview that he had died for three minutes in the emergency room before being revived. He spent two months in the hospital, after which his mother, fearing for his safety, sent him out of state to live with her brothers Afa and Sika Anoa’i, with whom he trained to become a professional wrestler.
| Name | Solofa Fatu Junior |
| DOB | 11 October 1965, 56 years |
| Height | 185 cm |
| Weight | 193 kg |
| Occupation | Professional wrestler |
| Professional Debut | 1985 |
| Girlfriend | Talisua Fuavai-Fatu |
| Professional Name | Rikishi |
Rikishi joined the WWE in 1992 alongside Samu and formed a team known as The Headshrinkers. They feuded with the team known as Natural Disasters after they interfered in the latter’s match against Money Inc for the World Tag Team Championship. They won the tag team championship on an episode of Monday Night RAW which they successfully defended against Yokozuna and Crush at King of the Ring. Their title reign ended at a house show to Shawn Michaels and Diesel on August 28. This happened a day before they were scheduled to defend against Irwin R. Schyster and Bam Bam Bigelow at SummerSlam.
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After a short hiatus, Rikishi came back as a singles wrestler and was shown as a streetwise positive role model who preached the messages of staying in school and saying no to drugs. He made his in-ring return on July 29 by pinning Rad Radford on Superstars and then enjoyed a run of victories over enhancement talent for the remainder of the year. However, the character was not popular with the fans and in 1996, he was regularly booked to lose to stars such as Steve Austin, Vader, and Hunter Hearst Helmsley. The gimmick was dropped in May 1996.
Rikishi returned in 2001 and delivered his trademark Stink Face to Vince McMahon and solidifying his face status. Upon the Brand Extension, Rikishi was drafted to SmackDown. At Judgment Day, he faced Billy and Chuck in a “secret partner” match. His partner turned out to be Rico, Billy and Chuck’s stylist. Despite Rico’s best efforts to unfairly help Billy and Chuck, Rikishi and Rico won the match and became the WWE Tag Team Champions. Rico would later cause Rikishi to lose the titles back to Billy and Chuck in a rematch on the June 6 episode of SmackDown. In early 2002, Hulk Hogan was booked to face Rikishi in Hogan’s first match back since leaving the WWF to go to WCW. Hogan won the match, but Rikishi was able to deliver a Stink Face to Hogan.
WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
World Tag Team Championship (2 times) with Samu (1) and Rico (1)
WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Scotty 2 Hotty
WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2015)
Rikishi marred Talisua Fuavai-Fatu and together they have five children. Joshua Samuel, Jonathan Solofa, Jeremiah Peniata, Thavana Monalisa, and Joseph. Joshua Samuel and Jonathan Solofa currently wrestle for WWE as Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso, while Joseph currently wrestles for NXT 2.0 as Solo Sikoa. Rikishi is a member of the Anoa’i family, which has had a presence in professional wrestling since the mid-twentieth century. He is the twin brother of Sam “Tonga Kid” Fatu and the older brother of the late Eddie “Umaga” Fatu.
