WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi has had an impressive career, but a moment in his teenage years could have halted his future.
In an interview with GV Wire, Rikishi explained that he wasn’t too keen on the way the Samoan people had previously been portrayed in WWE, saying:
“For the record, Samoans are very far from that. You know, we’re happy-go-lucky people. We’re giving people. We speak English very well.”
Referring to The Wild Samoans, his own uncles, Afa and Sika, and how “mimicking our uncles” gave Rikishi the break, he was critical of their time as The Headshrinkers, as Samu and Fatu:
“The character of The Headshrinkers was definitely not for me and my cousin.”
It was the evolution of the character from ‘Make a Difference’ Fatu to Rikishi that would prove to be the making of the WWE Hall of Famer, with Rikishi recalling:
“I kind of molded that character to my real personality. I’m a fun type of guy. I’m happy-go-lucky, easy to get along with. I love to dance. And the rest is history.”
History could have been very much unmade, though, due to an incident that took place during Rikishi’s teenage years.
Rikishi also reflected on an incident he was involved in during his teenage years, revealing that he was pronounced dead for three minutes after a drive-by shooting.
Explaining how his outlook on life changed after the incident, Rikishi said:
“I was kind of getting into things that I wasn’t supposed to get into. One day I got hit by a drive-by shooting and that kind of changed my outlook on life.
“I was given a second chance. They pronounced me dead for three minutes in the General Hospital in San Francisco. To be able to see the pain of my family … I was in hospital for two months. As I looked around, I seen a lot of hurt on my family, hurt on my mother’s face, my parents. I felt it was my responsibility to be able to make this better.
“I kind of grew up into a man overnight.”
Rikishi was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2015. The star has recently been pushing for WWE to sign another member of the Anoa’i/Fatu dynasty.
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