Superfly Jimmy Snuka
Snuka in 2011
|
|
| Birth name | James Wiley Smith |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 18, 1943 Suva, Fiji |
| Died | January 15, 2017 (aged 73) Pompano Beach, Florida, United States |
| Cause of death | Terminal Neurological Illness |
| Spouse(s) | Sharon Snuka (divorced) Carole Snuka (m. 2004) |
| Children | 4, including Deuce and Tamina |
| Family | Anoa'i |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Jimmy Snuka Jimmy Kealoha Lani Kealoha Tami Snuka The Superfly Big Snuka Great Snuka |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Billed weight | 243 lb (110 kg) |
| Billed from | The Fiji Islands |
| Trained by | Danny Hodge |
| Debut | 1968 |
| Retired | 2015 |
James Reiher Snuka (born James Wiley Smith; May 18, 1943 – January 15, 2017), better known by the ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, was a Fijian professional wrestler and actor.
Snuka wrestled for several promotions from the 1970s to 2010s. He was best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in the early to mid-1980s and was credited with introducing the high-flying style of wrestling to the WWF. He was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1996. Snuka was the inaugural ECW Heavyweight Champion (a title he held twice) in Eastern Championship Wrestling (later Extreme Championship Wrestling). His children, Jimmy Reiher, Jr. and Tamina Snuka, are also wrestlers.
Snuka was indicted and arrested in September 2015 on third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter charges, in relation to the May 1983 death of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino. Snuka pleaded not guilty, but was ultimately found unfit to stand trial in June 2016 due to being diagnosed with dementia. As his health declined, the charges were dismissed on January 3, 2017. He died twelve days later.
Snuka was born in the British colony of Fiji on May 18, 1943 to Louisa Smith and Charles Thomas. Thomas was married to another woman, and Smith was engaged to Bernard Reiher. Before Snuka was born, his mother married Reiher. As a child, Snuka moved with his family to the Marshall Islands and then to Hawaii.
Snuka 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.
Snuka opted to go into the more lucrative career of professional wrestling due to the uncertainty of his making a living in bodybuilding. 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 business. Snuka made his debut as Jimmy Kealoha fighting Maxwell "Bunny" Butler in Hawaii in 1970. 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. He first won the title by pinning Bull Ramos on November 16, 1973. 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.
...
Wikipedia