An Even More Extensive In-Depth Update On Manu’s WWE Firing

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

As reported on Monday, WWE parted ways with Raw Superstar Manu, (real name Afa Anoa’i, Jr., 24). The release was not unexpected as he and Sim Snuka had been dropped as characters on Raw a few weeks ago after an angle where Ted DiBiase double-crossed the two second generation wrestlers on the night of his return.

In September, Manu was called up to the main roster as part of a second generation stable with DiBiase and Cody Rhodes. Original plans called for all three wrestlers to be affiliated with Randy Orton in Legacy. However, company officials started to second guess adding Manu to the group due to his physical appearance.

Internally, Manu was criticized for not having “the right look” and told by many to lose weight, including “good ole J.R” Jim Ross through a blog. In a November blog, Ross wrote: “Manu gave us a glimpse of what might be in his future as Wild Samoan Afa’s son had a really good outing with Batista. Manu is genuinely athletic and seems to have natural timing and instincts. My only suggestion to him would be to watch what he eats and how he trains therefore keeping his weight under control. Bottom line is that Manu has the potential to be a significant contributor down the road.”

Unfortunately for Manu, he was unable to lose much weight, perhaps partially due to difficulty with his genetics since practically every wrestling family member has gained weight as the years went by (with the exception of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, although he is not blood related to them).

It’s interesting to note that Manu weighed significantly less when he was initially signed by WWE in October 2006, so much so that he looked drastically different upon his call-up to the main roster in September 2008 in comparison to his early days in the company’s former developmental promotion, Deep South Wrestling. You can see photos from his early, slimmer days at the following link. Manu would progressively gain weight over the course of the next year and a half or so in developmental.

When Manu was taken off television last month and his character dropped, there were a lot of rumors saying he wasn’t going to be brought back – which turned out to be the case. His release from the company was due to his physical appearance and not his ring work (although, officials weren’t too high on it) as it was his look that led to his elimination from Legacy. As a result of his removal from the group, he was left in a bad situation because the company recruits talent based on looks as you can always improve your work in their eyes.

As a defensive tackle, Anoa’i, Jr. was a star high school football player at Freedom High School in Allentown, Pennsylvania (the very same high school cousin Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson played football at), who as a senior, was ranked as one of the 100 best football prospects in the country. He was also selected to play in the 2003 U.S. Army All-American Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio alongside Brady Quinn against a team featuring Reggie Bush and LenDale White. Considered one of the better defensive linemen in eastern Pennsylvania, Anoa’i, Jr. was offered a scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh, but had problems with school grades and a significant legal issue, leading to a change in plans.

In August 2003, Anoa’i, Jr. was implicated as the getaway driver of a duo who committed an armed robbery in Bethlehem Township, PA, stealing money and jewelry worth over $150,000 and stabbing an elderly female resident. Anoa’i, Jr. pleaded no contest to the charge of receipt of stolen property and was given two years probation.

Anoa’i, Jr. was then sent to Fork Union Military Academy for the 2003-2004 school year as a post-graduate to study and play football. In 2004, Anoa’i, Jr. transferred to the University of Connecticut and played one season of college football. He was expected to play during the 2005 season, but didn’t and subsequently dropped out of college. Soon after, Anoa’i, Jr. resumed his career in professional wrestling by re-entering the family promotion.

Anoa’i, Jr. actually started wrestling for the family promotion, World Xtreme Wrestling, 10 ½ year ago, making his debut at the age of 13 on August 28, 1998. People always marveled at how quickly he picked the business up. He was regarded so highly that in the fall of 2002, WWE’s Raw Magazine did an major story on him while he was still in high school. Anoa’i, Jr. had dreams of a career in the NFL at the time, but pegged him as a surefire wrestling star in case football didn’t work out.

Anoa’i, Jr. would resume wrestling in early 2006 for his father’s promotion. By the end of the year, he nabbed a developmental contract from World Wrestling Entertainment following a tryout at Deep South Wrestling. Performing under the name Afa Jr., he worked in the company’s developmental promotions (Deep South Wrestling, Florida Championship Wrestling and briefly, Ohio Valley Wrestling) for nearly two years.

In Deep South Wrestling, Afa Jr. was part a stable called the “Urban Assault,” which dissolved when he and leader Sonny Siaki abandoned their partner Eric Perez (current WWE developmental wrestler Eric Escobar) during a match against Freakin’ Deacon (SmackDown wrestler Festus) and former Urban Assault member G-Rilla. Soon after, Siaki and Afa rechristened themselves “The Samoan Fight Club.” Following the implosion of Deep South Wrestling in the spring of 2007, the two were transferred to Florida Championship Wrestling, where they continued teaming. However, the team was disbanded when Siaki was released from his contract due to family issues in September 2007.

Following the change, there was some thought given to bringing Afa Jr. up to the main roster as part of a tag team. For one week in September 2007, he worked matches in Ohio Valley Wrestling, forming a tag team with fellow Samoan family member Matt Anoa’i (released WWE wrestler Rosey). The team was dubbed the “Sons of Samoa,” which is also a stable that Afa Jr. formed while he still wrestled for his family’s World Xtreme Wrestling promotion. Unfortunately, it was not to be for the “Sons of Samoa” as Rosey did not pass the tryout and the company decided against giving him his job back.

Afa Jr. was quickly moved back to Florida and the very next month, defeated Harry “DH” Smith by count-out to become the new Florida Championship Heavyweight Champion. However, he would lose the belt to TJ Wilson (ECW wrestler Tyson Kidd) on December 1, 2007 in a ladder match.

At the time, Afa Jr. was considered one of the more promising wrestlers in the company’s developmental system. On a November 2007 episode of WWE.com Heat, the company quietly tested him out in a match against “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan under the assumed name of Mai Tai Anoa’i. While he lost the contest, the commentators regarded him as a can’t miss prospect – something they rarely do for enhancement workers.

Around this time a year ago, Anoa’i, Jr. attempted to cheat on a company sanctioned drug test through the aid of a realistic prosthetic penis (generally known as the “Whizzinator”), a product intended to fraudulently defeat drug tests by filling it with a person’s clean urine. While he was not the only wrestler to attempt to cheat through the use of the easily concealable urinating device, he was the first wrestler to be caught. Anoa’i, Jr. was caught cheating, resulting in a automatic drug test failure. His Wellness Policy violation resulted in a 30-day suspension from the company on March 20, 2008.

Soon after, company officials fired the crew of people who were collectors for not monitoring things a bit more closely and adopted a policy for all talent to be nude “from your ankles to your nipples” when taking a urine sample in front of the assigned collector. Suffice it to say, the rule made a number of wrestlers unhappy. The company instituted the procedure due to fear of wrestlers being let go in the future bragging about how easy it was to cheat WWE’s drug testing policy.

Anoa’i would make his debut on the full-time roster under the name “Manu” at September’s Unforgiven pay-per-view. He aligned himself with Rhodes and DiBiase by attacking Cryme Tyme after their World Tag Team Championship match. Later that night, the three of them helped Randy Orton attack the World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk and Kofi Kingston. The next night on Raw, the trio defeated Cryme Tyme and Kofi Kingston in a six man tag team match.

During this time, Rhodes, DiBiase and Manu entered a storyline with Randy Orton where Orton constantly criticized and insulted them. On the November 3rd episode of Raw, Orton attacked DiBiase, effectively kicking him out of the group. Manu and Rhodes accepted Orton’s offer for an alliance in the following weeks, and the trio dubbed themselves “The Legacy.” However, the beginning of the end for Manu would start on the final Raw broadcast of 2008.

After Randy Orton grew tired of Legacy losing matches, he scheduled a test for each member on the December 29, 2008 episode of Raw; however, Manu failed to pass his test after he lost to the ECW Champion, Matt Hardy, and was kicked out as his former companions Rhodes and Sim Snuka turned their backs on him. Later, Snuka also got kicked out of the group, and the two quickly reunited. They planned to get their revenge on Orton and Rhodes on the January 12, 2009 episode of Raw, with the aid of the returning Ted DiBiase, but he betrayed them and joined Legacy with Orton and Rhodes. Manu never appeared in a WWE ring again through his release from the company on Monday, February 23, 2009.

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