Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia (born Fanene Pita Anderson; April 6, 1937 – June 13, 1982), better known as Peter Maivia, was a Samoan-American professional wrestler, actor and stunt coordinator. Maivia was the grandfather of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson via adoption, and was also part of the famous Anoaʻi family via blood brother pact. He was also the promoter of the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

member Polynesian Pro Wrestling in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1960–1964)

Maivia made his debut in 1960 at the age of 23. He worked for NWA Hawaii, and in other places including France, and the United Kingdom.

New Zealand and Australia (1964–1968)

After spending his first twenty years in American Samoa, Maivia moved to New Zealand. He began competing, wrestling under the ring name Prince Peter Maivia. He was trained in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

by local wrestler and promoter

Steve Rickard Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt (3 September 1929 – 5 April 2015), best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, was a New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter. As a wrestler, he traveled throughout the world during the 1960s and 1970 ...

. Both in and out of the ring, Rickard taught the young Samoan a great deal about professional wrestling, and under his guidance, Maivia developed at an amazing rate. On 3 August 1964, after less than a year in the business, he won the New Zealand Heavyweight Championship. The title victory was impressive, however Maivia's reign was extremely short, and he held the championship for just three days, with the championship returning to Rickard on August 6, 1964. The point had been made though, and from then onward, Maivia enjoyed main-event status in the NWA's New Zealand territory. Later in 1964, Maivia followed up his previous success by winning the NWA Australasian Heavyweight Championship. Maivia became the new Australasian champion by defeating Kangaroo Kennedy, and he carried the belt for four years before finally losing it to

in 1968. After developing his repertoire and ring skills in New Zealand, Maivia slowly began to branch out and take bookings in larger promotions. Peter Maivia - Action Wrestling Magazine 1975 Cover

Peter Maivia - Action Wrestling Magazine 1975 Cover

Various promotions (1968–1977)

Maivia continued working mainly in Hawaii during most of his career. In 1968 he worked for

International Wrestling Enterprise was a professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1966 to 1981. Founded by Isao Yoshihara, it was affiliated with the American Wrestling Association in the United States and also had tie-ins with promotions in Canada and Europe. In 1972, it ...

in Japan. From 1969 to 1975 he worked in

NWA San Francisco NWA San Francisco was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in San Francisco, California in the United States. Founded in 1935 by "The Utica Panther" Joe Malcewicz (1897–1962), the promotion joined the National Wrestling Alliance in ...

, NWA Hollywood, WCCW, Houston Wrestling, and the AWA winning many championships in the process.

World Wide Wrestling Federation (1977–1981)

He joined the World Wide Wrestling Federation in mid-1977. He was one of the company's biggest stars, working matches with many top wrestlers such as

Superstar Billy Graham A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

, Ivan Putski and

Bob Backlund Robert Louis Backlund (born August 14, 1949) is an American retired amateur wrestling, amateur and Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Fede ...

. He turned heel for the first time in his career in 1978 on Backlund in a match against

Spiros Arion Spiros Arion () born Spyridon Manousakis () (born September 1940) is an Egyptian-born Greek former professional wrestler who had an extensive and successful career, mainly in Australia and the United States. Known as The Golden Greek and The ...

and Victor Rivera. During his tenure in the WWWF, he also competed in Hawaii, Japan, Toronto, Detroit, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New Zealand. He left the WWWF, which had now been renamed to the WWF, in 1981.

Later career (1981–1982)

After leaving the WWF, Maivia returned to California and won the NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship. He wrestled in his last match in Hawaii in February 1982, defeating Victor Rivera in a singles match. He retired on February 11, 1982, due to his battle with cancer.

Personal life

Maivia, also known as the Flyinʻ Hawaiian, was of the Ali'i lineage of

Malietoa Mālietoa ( ''Mālietoa'') is a state dynasty and one of the four paramount chiefly titles of Samoa. It is the titular head of one of the two great royal families of Samoa: Sā Malietoa. Literally translated as "great warrior", the title's orig ...

. Maivia's traditional Samoan tattoos, which covered his abdomen and legs, were a symbol of his High Chief status. According to

, they were completed in three days. His wife Ofelia Fuataga, more commonly known as Lia Maivia, was one of the first female professional wrestling promoters. Maivia adopted Lia's daughter Mataniu Feagaimaleata "Ata" Fitisemanu. Maivia was the

blood brother Blood brother can refer to two or more people not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is in modern times usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where each person makes a small cut, usually on a finger, han ...

of Amituanai Anoaʻi, the father of

the Wild Samoans The Wild Samoans were the professional wrestling tag team of Afa Anoaʻi and Sika Anoaʻi in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). They held 20 tag team championships around the world. Gimmick The Wild ...

( Afa and Sika), and thus the Anoaʻi family regard the Maivia family as part of their own family. Maivia was also an actor, appearing in the fifth

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film, '' You Only Live Twice'', where he played a driver who transports a disguised Bond to Osato headquarters. His character also fights Bond, is hit with a sofa, wields a

katana A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...

, and is put down when a statue is broken on his head. He was also the film's stunt fight co-ordinator.

Death

In 1981, Maivia was diagnosed with inoperable

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

, having reportedly ignored symptoms along with his friends and family's requests to see a doctor. He died on June 13, 1982.

Legacy

Maivia was posthumously inducted into the

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when An ...

, along with his daughter's ex-husband

Rocky Johnson Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles; August 24, 1944 – January 15, 2020) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Among many National Wrestling Alliance titles, he was the first Black NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion as well as the NWA Tel ...

, in 2008 by his grandson

Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional w ...

, with the award being accepted on his behalf by his daughter Ata Maivia-Johnson. In the 2016 Disney animated film, '' Moana'', the character design of

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

was derived from photographs of Peter Maivia, according to interviews with his grandson, Dwayne Johnson, who voices Maui in the film.

Filmography

*'' You Only Live Twice'' (1967) - Dodge driver

Championships and accomplishments

* All Japan Pro-Wrestling ** PWF United States Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *

50th State Big Time Wrestling 50th State Big Time Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Hawaii or Mid-Pacific Promotions) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Haw ...

NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship The NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and was defended in the US state of Hawaii. The title, which began in 1935. From February 1940 through 1942 the titl ...

( 1 time) ** NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship ( 4 times) - with Jim Hady (1), Billy White Wolf (1), and Sam Steamboat (2) * NWA All-Star Pro Wrestling ** NWA Australasian Heavyweight Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) ** NWA New Zealand Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) * NWA Big Time Wrestling ** NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (

) *

NWA Hollywood Wrestling NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...

** NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship (

) * NWA New Zealand ** NWA New Zealand British Empire Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship (

) *

** NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(San Francisco version)'' (

) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(San Francisco version)'' (1 time) - with

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country music, country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian. He is best known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "M ...

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum was an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas; following the postponement of its 19th induction ceremony, planned for May 2020, and an annou ...

**Class of 2016 *

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

( Class of 2008)

Notes

References

* * *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maivia, Peter 1937 births 1982 deaths 20th-century male professional wrestlers 50th State Big Time Wrestling American people of Samoan descent American professional wrestlers of Samoan descent American Samoan male professional wrestlers Anoaʻi family Deaths from cancer in Hawaii Professional wrestling trainers Professional wrestling promoters Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum WWE Hall of Fame inductees NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Champions NWA Americas Heavyweight Champions PWF United States Heavyweight Champions NWA Texas Heavyweight Champions NWA United States Heavyweight Champions (San Francisco version)