Profile of Sione Vailahi on Famous Like Me

Sione Vailahi is a professional wrestler best known under the name of The Barbarian. He was known for his flying headbutts and for his incredible strength. He could press a 220 lb (100 kg) wrestler over his head with both hands, remove one hand, and hold him there for quite some time.

Profile

• Height: 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
• Weight: 285 lb
• Birthday: September 8, 1958
• Hometown: Nuku'Alofa, Tonga
• Billed from: Charlotte, North Carolina
• Trainer: Red Bastien
• Other Gimmicks: The Barbarian, Konga the Barbarian, King Konga, Headshrinker Sione, Tonga John, Super Assassin 1
• Managers: Paul Jones, Bobby Heenan, Baron Von Raschke, Mr. Fuji, Col. Rob Parker, Jimmy Hart, Cactus Jack, Afa Anoai, Sonny Blaze, Ivan Koloff, Missy Hyatt, Lou Albano, Bill Dundee, Jason Rumble
• Factions: Paul Jones' Army, Powers of Pain, Super Assassins, Dungeon of Doom, The First Family, Faces of Fear, The Headshrinkers

Career

Sione Vailahi started wrestling as King Konga in the NWA regional territories in 1981. He soon went to the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions where he teamed up with Ron Garvin as a face.

Seeing the potential since he was a huge, face painting, mohawk wearing man, Jim Crockett, Jr. changed him into Konga the Barbarian, heel wrestler for Paul Jones. From 1985 to 1987, he wrestled as part of "Paul Jones' Army" and he feuded with Jimmy Valiant and teamed with Pez Whatley (or Shaska as he was called then), Teijho Khan and Baron Von Raschke. It was during this time that "Konga" was dropped from his name and he became simply, The Barbarian.

In late 1987, he formed a team with Ivan Koloff who was also his "coach". By early 1988, he was paired with The Warlord as The Powers of Pain. They feuded heavily with another team of big men, The Road Warriors, Animal and Hawk. They injured Animal's eye during a weight lifting contest and won the Six-Man Titles with Ivan from the Road Warriors and Dusty Rhodes.

In April 1988, Crockett decided he wanted the teams to have a series of scaffold matches which neither team wanted because they were too big to fall off a scaffold. Barbarian and Warlord decided to leave for the WWF. The NWA announcers explained that the Road Warriors had run them off, even though they still held the Six-Man Titles.

Upon arriving in the WWF, they were paired as faces with Baron Von Raschke, simply called "The Baron". They started a feud with Demolition, Ax and Smash, over the Tag Team Titles. They soon dumped the Baron and took Demolition's manager Mr. Fuji, which made them heels and Demolition faces.

After a long feud in which they could not win the titles, they were split up and The Barbarian went to Bobby Heenan. He really didn't achieve much success as a singles wrestler in the WWF, so he went back to what had now become WCW.

In WCW, he was paired with Tony Atlas and Cactus Jack for awhile. Atlas left and they were joined briefly by Jake Roberts. They feuded with WCW Champ Ron Simmons, Sting, Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes and Nikita Koloff.

In 1992, he briefly won the U.S. Tag Team Titles with Dick Slater but the belts were retired two days later.

He was briefly Headshrinker Sione to form The Headshrinkers in the WWF with Headshrinker Fatu.

He reformed the Powers of Pain under masks as the "Super Assassins" for Col. Rob Parker but the gimmick was ended after it failed.

In the mid-1990's, he was part of Kevin Sullivan's Dungeon of Doom that tried to end Hulk Hogan's career.

During the "Monday Night Wars", he formed a tag team with his friend Meng called the "Faces of Fear" that had limited success.

Before WCW was purchased by Vince McMahon in 2001, Meng gave him his WCW Hardcore Title to go to the WWF, but he never got to defend the title on television and WCW management scrapped the title.

Since the sale of WCW, he has worked the independent circuit, winning several regional titles.

In 2004, he was the NWA-Virginia Heavyweight Champion and feuded with David Flair for the title until he was ruled ineligible to compete due to not having a valid Virginia Wrestling License.

In 2005, The Barbarian is teaming with The Warlord again in Gladiator Championship Wrestling. He has renewed his feud with Road Warrior Animal.

Vailahi appeared in the 1987 movie, Body Slam, playing Axe the Cannibal.

Championships/Accomplishments

World Championship Wrestling

• 1-Time WCW United States Tag Team Champion (with Dick Slater)
• 1-Time WCW Hardcore Champion

National Wrestling Alliance

• 1-Time NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Champion (with Ivan Koloff & The Warlord)
• 1-Time NWA Mid-Atlantic Hardcore Champion
• 1-Time NWA-Virginia Heavyweight Champion

Other Titles

• 1-Time WWC Puerto Rican Champion
• 1-Time WWWA Tag Team Champion (with The Warlord)
• 1-Time Indo-Asian Heavyweight Champion
• 1-Time Superstars of Wrestling Heavyweight Champion
• 1-Time IAW Heavyweight Champion
• 1-Time Real Wrestling Heavyweight Champion
• 1-Time BWF Heavyweight Champion
• 1-Time WLW Heavyweight Champion
• Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked him # 202 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003. He was also ranked # 97 of the best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with The Warlord.

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Sione Vailahi