"We were all there" - Anoa'i family member discusses The Bloodline's relationship with WWE (Exclusive)
Former WWE star Lloyd Anoa'i recently spoke about his family's deeply entrenched relationship with the Stamford-based promotion.
Lloyd is the son of Afa, one-half of the Wild Samoans. He worked with major promotions like WWE and ECW back in the day. He has also been a massive name in the independent circuit, wrestling in several promotions such as World Wrestling Council, World Xtreme Wrestling, and World Wrestling Professionals.
On this week's episode of the UnSKripted podcast, Anoa'i mentioned that his family's involvement in wrestling went back to the High Chief Peter Maivia.
"In the beginning, you had High Chief Peter Maivia. He actually started before my dad and Uncle, which are Afa and Sika, The Wild Samoans. Afa is my dad. They're the first generation because we're actually on our third, possibly going on our fourth generation."
He mentioned that his dad and uncle were next to join the business. The likes of Samu, Rikishi, Tonga Kid, and himself followed them.
"Then you got my brother Samu, you got Tonga Kid. They started when my dad and uncle were in the WWE back in the 80s. Then you got Rikishi. He went with my brother to the Samoan SWAT Team in WCW days, and then they went to WWE as the Headshrinkers. That's when I started in the business. I started around '85 but in-ring around '86-87. I made my debut in WWF at that time in '92-93. So, we were all there. The list goes on." [From 2:37 - 3:53]
You can watch the full interview here:
Anoa'i also spoke about the current Bloodline members in WWE
During the same conversation, Lloyd spoke highly of the current crop of Anoa'i family members in WWE, such as The Usos and Solo Sikoa.
He mentioned they were doing a great job and making the family proud.
"You got Rikishi's kids, The Usos, you have Solo Sikoa," Lloyd continued. "Tonga, his kid is Jacob Fatu. Then you got his other son, that actually is wrestling in California. There's two of his. The list goes on. You got my nephew, which is my brother's son, Lance Anoa'i. He's in a big tour in Japan right now after MLW. After Japan, I believe he's coming back to MLW. There's so many of us." [From 4:10 - 5:05]
It is interesting to see multiple generations of the family make their mark in WWE. The dominance continued to this day, with every current member of The Bloodline making a name for themselves.
Who is your favorite member of the Anoa'i family? Let us know in the comments section below.
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