The Barbarian (wrestler)
| The Barbarian | |
|---|---|
The Barbarian in 2012.
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| Birth name | Sione Havea Vailahi |
| Born |
September 6, 1958 Nukuʻalofa, Tonga |
| Residence | Charlotte, North Carolina, United States |
| Spouse(s) | Seini Tonga |
| Children | 7 |
| Family | Lei'D Tapa (niece) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) |
The Barbarian Headshrinker Sione King Konga Konga the Barbarian Sachinoshima Sione Super Assassin #1 Tonga John |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Billed weight | 300 lb (136 kg) |
| Trained by | Red Bastien |
| Debut | 1980 |
Sione Havea Vailahi (born September 6, 1958) is a Tongan professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, The Barbarian.
Born and raised in Tonga, Sione was one of five teenagers sent by the King of Tonga to Japan to study Sumo wrestling in the mid-1970s. Tonga Fifita was one of the other teenagers. Sione was known in sumo circles as Sachinoshima.
After migrating to the United States, he trained in professional wrestling under the tutelage of Rolland 'Red' Bastien. In 1980, he made his debut, wrestling Killer Karl Krupp in Modesto, California. He wrestled as King Konga in several NWA regional territories in 1981. He soon went to the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions, where he teamed up with Ron Garvin as a face.
Seeing the "heel" potential in a huge, intimidating man with surprising agility, Jim Crockett, Jr. changed him into Konga the Barbarian. He debuted as 1/3 of the Road Warriors. That was a brief stint as he soon joined the stable of Paul Jones. From 1985 to 1987, he wrestled as part of "Paul Jones' Army" and teamed with Pez Whatley, Teijho Khan, as well as Baron Von Raschke. It was during this time that "Konga" was dropped from his name and he became simply The Barbarian.
In late 1987, he formed a team with Ivan Koloff, who was also his "coach." By early 1988, he was paired with The Warlord as The Powers of Pain. They feuded heavily with another team of big men, The Road Warriors, Animal and Hawk. They kayfabe injured Animal's eye during a weight lifting contest, and soon after won the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Titles, along with Ivan, from the Road Warriors and Dusty Rhodes. In 1987, he appeared in the movie Body Slam, as Axe, of the tag team called The Cannibals.
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