Interview with Afa the Wild Samoans
by Marcus Madison on 2001-10-04

Q. Do you think wrestling is missing something today, that it may have had when you first began to compete? A. Wrestling has changed in many ways from my day of the 1980s. As with anything, you give the fan's what they want. I have always been from the old school but you must change with the times. Q. How has wrestling changed in the past 15 years and Where do see professional wrestling headed? A. Before you believed what you saw. The wrestlers gave their all for the fan's and protected the business. Today it's more entertainment, the wrestlers still give their all but they are not respected in the same way. I believe that the wrestlers of today abuse their bodies much more then we did. I don't know where the business is headed, but I do know that wrestling will be on top for many years to come. Q. Are there any other wrestlers in the major promotions you would have liked the opportunity to work with? A. I am retired from the ring and enjoy training my students to compete against the finest of the promotions. Q. What factors do you think has contributed to the success of several members of your family? A. We The Samoans are gifted athletes. We love the sport and enjoy the fan's, so I believe that this shows in our performance in the ring. Q. With the recent success of athletes such as The Rock, Rikishi and Haku, wrestlers from the "islands" have maintained the great tradition that came before them. What do think has contributed to their tremendous work ethic? A. I know that I followed in the footsteps of my uncle, the late High Chief Peter Maivia. My brother Sika joined me and we became a tag team that our people were proud of. My kids and nephews that have followed in the family business have followed our work ethics, and i am very proud of them. Q. What do think of the current monopoly that has taken place recently with WWFE? Do you think wrestlers today should look towards establishing a union? A. It will never happen. I pushed for it in the 1980s and had no support. Its a shame if you are a great talent and have no where to perform. I hope that the wrestlers saved their money & have education behind them so that they do not make the same mistake's that so many of the wrestlers from my day did. Q. The Wild Samoan's were often recognized for being savages inside and out of the ring.Do you think that your characters should have changed much? A. No, we were just being us. We came from a jungle and we loved to eat raw fish, chicken, etc. We also loved to fight so we were THE WILD SAMOANS. There was no gimmick there. Q. Who gave you some of the best matches of your career?and How so? A. Andre The Giant, Jimmy Superfly Snuka. Working with them was like having a night off. Q. During your time with the WWF, you were involved in several feuds. How do you feel, the company could have done a better job promoting you? A. We were a top draw and sold out MSG and all the other arenas we went to, so I believe that the WWF billed us just fine. Especially since they did not have the TV coverage of today. Q. How would you best describe your style of wrestling and did you ever need consider adding different technics or manuvers to it? A. My brother and I were the X-TREME. We were rough, kick-ass wrestlers. We were not technical wrestlers, we were vicious. Q. How long has your family been involved with wrestling, and how many generations does that include? A. Peter Maivia started our family off in the 1960's, Sika and I in the 1970s my son's and nephews in the 1980s and 1990s. The Rock and Rikishi ( my nephews) are heading the WWF and I have two other nephews working their way up ( The Hamo Bull & Reno Anoa'i ) I am sure that my Grandson ( Lance ) will follow since he started wrestling at the age of 7. Q. What are your immediate plans for the future, and are can fans expect any new members of your family to enter the ring just like yourself? A. I run several Wild Samoan Training Centers in Pennsylvania. I am franchising my gym into NY, NJ, CT and other states. I have a book in the workings, several movies and I run World X_Treme Wrestling. I also have a foundation to offer the dream of a wrestling career to the less fortunenent We are the only Indi promotion with live TV coverage. My websites are: www.wildsamoan.com & www.wxwwrestling.com