The WWE and the legendary Anoa’i family have suffered a major loss, as Afa Anoa’i passed away this weekend at the age of 81. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the late wrestler’s nephew, paid tribute to his uncle with a heartfelt Instagram post.
“Rest in Love Uncle Afa,” he wrote with a heart and bird emoji, the latter often colloquially used to signify someone’s passing. “Uncle Afa Anoa’i is finally at peace with his brother, Uncle Sika Anoa’i.” Afa’s death especially hit hard as his family was still recovering from the passing of Sika Anoa’i, Afa’s tag team partner in the legendary team The Wild Samoans.
Rocky recounted their influence in his post, highlighting that they were multi-time WWE Tag Team Champions and WWE Hall Of Famers. His post featured a photo of him with Afa, Afa on his own, photos of The Wild Samoans, and one with his grandfather, The High Chief Peter Maivia and Tor Kamata.
“What I love about this picture is you can SEE & FEEL the LOVE & MANA amongst these smiling, loving men,” Johnson wrote. “You can also see and feel that this wasn’t a table you wanted to f*ck with,” he added with a laugh and muscle flex emoji. “I love you uncle and I’ll never forget what you did for our family in ‘87. ‘Come to me’ Nashville to Bethlehem. Give my grandpa and my dad a kiss and a hug from me.”
Currently, Afa Anoa’i’s cause of death is unknown. He was last seen on WWE programming in 2020, presenting his nephew, Roman Reigns, with an ula fala to signify that he was the Tribal Chief of the Anoa’i bloodline after defeating Jey Uso in a Hell In A Cell I Quit match.
Afa was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2007 and the Professional Wrestling Hall Of Fame in 2012. He won three tag team championships alongside his Wild Samoans partner and brother Sika. VIBE sends its sincerest condolences to the Anoa’i family, friends, loved ones, and fans who were affected by Afa’s passing.