| Jimmy Snuka | |
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Snuka at the Top Rope Promotions event held in North Attleboro, Massachusetts on July 31, 2011. |
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| Ring name(s) | Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka[1] Jimmy Kealoha[1] Lani Kealoha[1] Tami Snuka[1] The Superfly[1] Big Snuka[1] Silver Shadow[1] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 250 lb (110 kg)[1] |
| Born | May 18, 1943 [1] Fiji |
| Resides | Clifton, New Jersey, United States |
| Billed from | The Fiji Islands[2] |
| Trained by | Danny Hodge[2] |
| Debut | 1969[1] |
James William "Jimmy" Reiher (born May 18, 1943) is a semi-retired Fijian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Originally from the Fiji Islands, Snuka wrestled for several promotions in the 1970s and 1980s. Snuka is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having been a two-time (and becoming the very first) ECW Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the early to mid-1980s and is credited with introducing the high-flyer style of wrestling to the WWF.[2] His children Jimmy Reiher, Jr. and Sarona Reiher are also wrestlers.
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Reiher was active in amateur bodybuilding in Hawaii in the 1960s. He also enjoyed some success as a professional bodybuilder, earning the titles of Mr. Hawaii, Mr. Waikiki and Mr. North Shore.[3] Reiher opted to go into the more lucrative career of professional wrestling due to his uncertainty of making a living in bodybuilding.[4] While working at Dean Ho's gym in Hawaii, Snuka met many of the wrestlers who worked in the South Pacific region and decided to try the sport.[3] Snuka made his debut as Jimmy Kealoha fighting Maxwell "Bunny" Butler in Hawaii in 1970.[5] He later moved to the mainland and wrestled for Don Owen’s NWA Pacific Northwest territory where he held the belt as Heavyweight Champion six times.[5] He first won the title by pinning Bull Ramos on November 16, 1973.[5] It was in this territory, that Reiher transformed himself into Jimmy Snuka. Snuka also held the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship six times with partner Dutch Savage. Snuka also had a two year feud with another rookie, Jesse "The Body" Ventura.
Snuka also wrestled in several other National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) regions, including Texas. In 1977, he won both the Texas Heavyweight and Tag Team titles. Snuka then left for the Mid-Atlantic where he formed a tag team with Paul Orndorff. Orndorff and Snuka defeated Baron von Raschke and Greg Valentine to become the tag team title holders in 1979. On September 1, 1979, Snuka defeated Ricky Steamboat to hold the United States title. Snuka also formed a tag team with Ray Stevens while with this promotion. His career eventually led him to Georgia, where he teamed with Terry Gordy to win the NWA National Tag Team Champions by defeating Ted DiBiase and Steve Olsonoski.
In January 1982 Snuka entered the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as a villainous character under the guidance of Captain Lou Albano. Snuka lost several title shots at WWF Champion Bob Backlund, including a steel cage match at Madison Square Garden on June 28, 1982 in which Snuka leapt from the top of the cage, barely missing Backlund who managed to escape the cage for the win. The contest would be declared Match of the Year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
Even though Snuka was a villain, the Northeast fans started to cheer on Snuka and his athletic style. An angle was created late in the year which revealed- on an episode of Buddy Rogers' Victory Corner- that Snuka was being financially ripped off by Lou Albano, thus releasing Snuka from Albano's managerial services. Albano then attacked Snuka with the help of "Classy" Freddie Blassie's newest arrival, Snuka's former tag team partner Ray Stevens. The attack solidified Snuka's new role as a fan favorite seeking to settle the score. Snuka brought in his former manager from the Mid-Atlantic territory, "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers and embarked on a mixture of tag and singles matches against Stevens and Albano across the region.
Snuka also feuded with "Magnificent" Don Muraco in 1983, which began after Snuka entered the ring for a preliminary match while Muraco, the Intercontinental Champion, was being interviewed. Muraco, enraged at the perceived lack of respect, confronted Snuka at ringside, triggering a wild brawl. This feud led to a defining moment of Snuka's career on October 17, 1983, in a steel cage match at Madison Square Garden. The match ended in a loss for the Superfly, but afterward he dragged Muraco back into the ring and connected with the most famous Superfly Splash of his career, off the top of the 15-foot (4.6 m) high steel cage.[6] Future wrestling stars The Sandman, Mick Foley, Tommy Dreamer, and Bubba Ray Dudley were all in attendance at the event and cite this match as the reason they decided to aggressively pursue professional wrestling.[6]
In June 1984, Snuka became embroiled in an intense feud with one of the WWF's top villains, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. In a segment of Piper's Pit, Piper brought bananas, pineapples, and coconuts to the interview to make Snuka "feel more at home" but said he did not get a tree for Snuka to "climb up and down like a monkey." Piper then proceeded to smash a coconut on his head when he turned his back momentarily. The attack led to a series of grudge matches between the two that were played out over venues across the US throughout the summer of 1984. The remainder of Snuka's initial WWF stint would see him frequently tangling with Piper one way or another, often via tag matches or wrestling Piper's closest ally, Bob Orton, Jr. Snuka defeated Orton at The War to Settle the Score and put Orton's left arm in a cast for over a year. The feud played a small part in the first ever WrestleMania in March 1985, when Snuka acted as a cornerman for Hulk Hogan and Mr. T when they faced Piper and Paul Orndorff (with Orton in their corner). The Superfly vanished from the WWF in August 1985, though he still appeared in cartoon form when Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling premiered the following month.
After a stint in alcohol/drug rehab, Snuka resurfaced in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) replacing the injured Jerry Blackwell as Greg Gagne's partner in a tag team match against Bruiser Brody and Nord the Barbarian at WrestleRock 86. Snuka split his time between the AWA and Japan throughout 1986 and 1987. His most notable feud in the AWA during that time was with Col. DeBeers, who refused to fight Snuka because of his race. However, he was able to sneak-attack Snuka by pushing him off the top rope onto the floor and administering several face-first piledrivers. This led the way for a series of grudge matches in 1987.
Like many aging veterans before him, Snuka re-emerged in the WWF at WrestleMania V on April 2, 1989 to help put over younger stars, like Curt Hennig and Rick Rude, losing to the latter at WrestleMania VI.[7] In 1991, he was the first WrestleMania opponent for The Undertaker at WrestleMania VII.[8]
After leaving the WWF in March 1992, Snuka toured with various smaller organizations in the early 1990s and played a role in the formation of Tod Gordon's Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) organization along with Don Muraco and Terry Funk. Snuka was ECW's first ECW Heavyweight Champion and toured with the company through 1994. ECW was later taken over by Paul Heyman, who renamed it Extreme Championship Wrestling.
He was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1996. He also continued to spend much of his time with East Coast Wrestling organizations through the late 1990s and into the 2000s. During this time, he wrestled the Metal Maniac in a series of matches that spanned across many independent wrestling promotions. Snuka won nearly every one of these matches.
During the later half of the 1990s, Snuka appeared for both major wrestling promotions, the WWF and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He would make periodic appearances for the WWF, such as competing at the 1996 Survivor Series. Snuka received a lifetime achievement award from WWE (formerly the WWF) in 2002 at Madison Square Garden and began to be thrust into skits by WWE in 2004/2005. Snuka also appeared on WCW Monday Nitro in early 2000, where he gave Jeff Jarrett a Superfly Splash off the top of a steel cage. Snuka also participated at the first XWF TV tapings, accompanying his son, Jimmy Snuka, Jr. to the ring for some matches, including one match where they both delivered the Superfly Splash to prone opponents.
On June 22, 2002 Snuka won the International Wrestling Superstars (IWS) United States Championship by pin fall against King Kong Bundy in Atlantic City, New Jersey, proving to the world that he could still fly.
In 2005, he appeared at the WWE Homecoming, where he delivered a Superfly Splash to Rob Conway with a ring full of legends at his side like Dusty Rhodes and Billy Graham. He also took part in a backstage skit, chasing after a partially disrobed Mae Young with a wad of Ted DiBiase's money. He was a part of the Taboo Tuesday pay-per-view, where fans voted for him (ahead of Kamala and Jim Duggan) to team with Eugene against Rob Conway and Tyson Tomko. Snuka won the match, pinning Conway after a Superfly Splash. He also appeared at the 2007 WWE draft edition of Raw in a vignette for Mr. McMahon appreciation night. On June 24, 2007, Snuka was introduced as Sgt. Slaughter's tag team partner in the open invitational match for the WWE Tag Team Championship at Vengeance, but he was ultimately pinned by his son. In 2008, Snuka appeared in the Royal Rumble. He was in the match less than 5 minutes and primarily focused his efforts on onetime nemesis, Roddy Piper. Both were quickly eliminated by the next entrant, Kane.
On the March 2, 2009, edition of Raw, he was attacked by Chris Jericho during a parody of Piper's Pit. This was part of a storyline where Jericho was disrespecting and attacking legends. Two weeks later on the March 16, 2009, Raw, Snuka, Roddy Piper, Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat attacked Jericho. It was announced that at WrestleMania XXV on April 5, 2009, Snuka would be teaming with Steamboat and Piper to face Jericho in a Legends of Wrestlemania Handicap match. Flair was also in their corner. Snuka was the first eliminated by Jericho, who eventually won the match.
On November 28, 2009 he teamed with his son for the first time at an NWA Upstate event. They faced the NWA Upstate Tag Team Champions Hellcat and Triple X in a non title match. The Snukas won the match via pinfall.
On November 15, 2010, Snuka made an appearance on an "old school" edition of Raw, where he stood by his daughter Tamina, in the corner of The Usos during their match against Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov.
Snuka and his wife have created a reality show called The Superfly Challenge. It was recently shot in New York, New Jersey, and Maryland. Filming took place at the New Berlin Diner and Nikolai Volkoff's farm. He also is the part-owner of Bodyslam University in South Florida and teaches there once a month. Snuka is also an avid poker player. He was at the Poker4Life tournament in New York City and raised $100,000 for the charity.
On May 10, 1983, a few hours after Snuka had performed at a WWF TV taping at the Lehigh County Agricultural Hall in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Snuka placed a call for an ambulance. When emergency personnel arrived on the scene at Room 427 of the George Washington Motor Lodge in nearby Whitehall Township, they found Snuka’s girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, injured. She was transported to Allentown's Sacred Heart Medical Center, where she died shortly after of "undetermined craniocerebral injuries." Deputy Lehigh County coroner Wayne Snyder said, “Upon viewing the body and speaking to the pathologist, I immediately suspected foul play and so notified the district attorney." Snuka was the only suspect involved in the subsequent investigation. Charges were not pressed against Snuka, although the case was left officially open, meaning no official judgment on whether the incident was accidental or homicide was ever made. In 1985, Argentino’s parents won a $500,000 default judgment against Snuka in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, although Snuka appears not to have ever paid, claiming financial inability to do so.[9]
1Jimmy Snuka's reigns occurred while the promotion was an NWA affiliate named Eastern Championship Wrestling, and was prior to the promotion becoming Extreme Championship Wrestling and the title being declared a world title by ECW.