Samoan Joe
New Zealand professional wrestler / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the original Samoan Joe who wrestled in Australasia during the 1970s and early 1980s. For the American professional wrestler, see Samoa Joe.
Joseph Afamasaga[2] (2 January 1949 - 9 July 2015), better known by his ring name Samoan Joe, was a New Zealand professional wrestler who competed in the Australasian and South Pacific region during the 1970s and early 1980s.
Quick Facts Birth name, Born ...
Samoan Joe | |
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Birth name | Joseph Afamasaga |
Born | (1949-01-02)2 January 1949 New Zealand |
Died | 9 July 2015(2015-07-09) (aged 66) Melbourne, Australia[1] |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Samoan Joe |
Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
Billed weight | 290 lb (130 kg) |
Billed from | Western Samoa |
Debut | c. 1976 |
Retired | c. 1989 |
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He was a popular fan favourite while wrestling for Steve Rickard's All Star-Pro Wrestling and frequently appeared on the long-running wrestling television programme On the Mat. He later travelled to the United States where he had a brief stint in the American Wrestling Association before his retirement in 1989. In 2009, Afamasaga was ranked #10 by New Zealand Herald sports columnist Chris Rattue as one of his "Top 10" favourite wrestlers of all-time.[3]