Joseph Yokozuna Fatu (born March 18, 1993) is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

signed to

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

. He currently performs on the

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes si ...

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create a ...

under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projectin ...

Solo Sikoa where he is a member of The Bloodline and a former

NXT North American Champion The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#Location-specific championships, championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. ...

. Fatu is a member of the

Anoaʻi family The Anoaʻi family ( ) is a family of professional wrestlers originating from American Samoa. Family members have comprised several tag teams and stables within a variety of promotions. Famous members of the family include Rosey, WWE Hall of Fa ...

of Samoan wrestlers.

Early life

Fatu was born on March 18, 1993, in Sacramento, California, U.S. Fatu was born into the

of Samoan wrestlers, which includes his father,

Rikishi A , or, more colloquially, , is a professional sumo wrestler. follow and live by the centuries-old rules of the sumo profession, with most coming from Japan, the only country where sumo is practiced professionally. Participation in official ...

a WWE Hall of Famer, his older brothers,

Jimmy Uso The Usos (born August 22, 1985) are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of twin brothers Joshua Samuel Fatu and Jonathan Solofa Fatu, who are known professionally by their respective ring names Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They are b ...

and

Jey Uso Jey may refer to: * Jey, Iran, a village in Alborz Province, Iran * Jey Rural District, in Isfahan Province, Iran * Alih Jey, a Latin Grammy nominated Dominican Rock music singer and songwriter * Clarence Jey, a Los Angeles-based Billboard Record P ...

, his cousin

Roman Reigns Leati Joseph "Joe" Anoa'i (born May 25, 1985) is an American professional wrestler and former football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Roman Reigns. He is the leader of The ...

, and many others including The Rock, Umaga,

Yokozuna , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

and the

Wild Samoans The Wild Samoans was the professional wrestling tag team of Afa and Sika in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The Samoans held 21 tag team championships around the world. Gimmick The Wild Samoans rar ...

. He played

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

American River College American River College (ARC) is a public community college in unincorporated Sacramento, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System. History The college was opened in 1955 as American River Junior College, on the site ...

and

Dickinson State University Dickinson State University (DSU) is a public university in Dickinson, North Dakota. It is part of the North Dakota University System. It was founded in 1918 as Dickinson State Normal School and granted full university status in 1987. History D ...

. After finishing college, Sikoa gave up football to pursue wrestling.

Professional wrestling career

WWE (2021–present)

NXT (2021–2022)

On August 2021, it was announced Fatu signed a contract with

. He was assigned to the development brand

WWE NXT ''WWE NXT'', also known as ''NXT'', is an American professional wrestling television program. It is produced by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, featuring performers from the promotion's NXT brand division. The show current ...

, making his debut on October 26, 2021 at

Halloween Havoc Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE for the company's developmental brand, NXT. As the name implies, it is a Halloween-themed show held in October. It was originally produced as an annual pay-per-view (PP ...

as Solo Sikoa, interrupting a segment between the co-hosts

Grayson Waller Matthew Farrelly (born 21 March 1990) is an Australian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Grayson Waller. Before signing to WWE, he previously wrestled on the independen ...

and L.A. Knight and subsequently attacked Waller, thus establishing himself as a

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

. He entered into a feud with

Boa Kwon Bo-ah (; born November 5, 1986), known professionally as BoA, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer and actress. One of the most successful and influential Korean entertainers, she has been dubbed the " Queen of K- ...

after his alter-ego attacked and choked him backstage on the December 28 episode of ''NXT''. On the January 11, 2022 episode of ''NXT'', Boa and Sikoa fought to a double countout and continued to brawl in the backstage area, resulting in Boa's alter-ego launching a fireball in Sikoa's face. This led to a No Disqualification

Falls Count Anywhere match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

on the January 25 episode of ''NXT'', where Sikoa defeated Boa after splashing him through a table. During the following months, he was involved in matches for the

NXT North American Championship The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is primarily defended as the secondary men's championship of the NXT brand division, the promotion's developme ...

at Stand & Deliver (a five-way ladder match) and

Spring Breakin' Spring Breakin' was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE. It was held primarily for wrestlers from the NXT brand division. Spring Breakin' aired as a special episode of ''NXT 2.0''. The television special took place on May 3, 2022, at ...

(a triple threat match), but was unsuccessful in winning the title. On the August 2 episode of ''NXT'', Sikoa defeated Von Wagner in a falls count anywhere match after weeks of brawling, though suffered a knee injury in the process.

The Bloodline (2022–present)

On September 3, at the

Clash at the Castle WWE Clash at the Castle was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by the American promotion WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on Sat ...

premium event, Sikoa made his return from injury, interfering in the main event match between his cousin

and

Drew McIntyre Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June 1985) is a Scottish professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. McIntyre is a two-time WWE Champion, one-time WWE ...

, helping Reigns retain the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against McIntyre and aligning himself with The Bloodline, turning heel in the process. He made his main roster in-ring debut on the September 9 episode of ''

'', losing to McIntyre by disqualification after

Karrion Kross Kevin Kesar (born July 19, 1985) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Karrion Kross alongside his real life wife Scarlett Bordeaux. Prior to his time at WWE, K ...

attacked McIntyre from behind. On September 13, 2022 during the ''NXT 2.0 One Year Anniversary Show'', Sikoa made a surprise appearance, and defeated

Carmelo Hayes Christian Brigham (born August 1, 1994) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Carmelo Hayes. Hayes is a former one-time NXT Cruiserweight Champion and a former ...

to win the NXT North American Championship. After defending the title three nights later at ''SmackDown'' against

Madcap Moss Michael Carter Rallis (born October 10, 1989) is an American professional wrestler and former college football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Madcap Moss. Early life Rallis ...

, Sikoa was forced to vacate the title on September 20.During Reigns Undisputed WWE Universal Championship defense against

Logan Paul Logan Alexander Paul (born April 1, 1995) is an American media personality, podcaster, actor, and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand, but is inactive due to a knee injury. He has over 23 ...

, Sikoa confronted Paul's younger brother

Jake Paul Jake Joseph Paul (born January 17, 1997) is an American media personality and professional boxer. He initially rose to fame on Vine, before playing the role of Dirk Mann on the Disney Channel series '' Bizaardvark'' for two seasons. Throug ...

who prevented

The Usos The Usos (born August 22, 1985) are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of twin brothers Joshua Samuel Fatu and Jonathan Solofa Fatu, who are known professionally by their respective ring names Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They ar ...

helping Reigns to retain his title by fighting them. Reigns later retained the title. At

Survivor Series WarGames Survivor Series: WarGames was the 36th annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown brand divisions. The event took place on ...

, Sikoa, along with the Bloodline, defeated the team of

The Brawling Brutes The Brawling Brutes is a professional wrestling stable consisting of Sheamus, who serves as its leader, Ridge Holland, Butch, and Drew McIntyre. They currently perform in WWE on the SmackDown brand. Concept the first concept of the Brutes ...

(

Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish professional wrestler and actor. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on the European in ...

Ridge Holland Luke Menzies (born 29 May 1988) is an English professional wrestler and former professional rugby league footballer. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Ridge Holland. He spent the major ...

and

Butch Butch may refer to: People * Butch (nickname), a list of people * Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, an Old West outlaw gang *Barbara Butch, French lesbian DJ and activist * Butch Miller (wrestler) (born 1944), ring name of New Zealand professional wr ...

), Drew McIntyre and

Kevin Owens Kevin Steen (born May 7, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Kevin Owens. Steen began his career in 2000, at the age of 16. Prior to joining WWE in l ...

in a

WarGames match WarGames is a specialized steel cage match in professional wrestling. The match usually involves two teams of either four, five, or more wrestlers locked inside a steel cage that encompasses two rings placed side by side. The cage may or may not ...

in his pay-per-view debut.

Acting career

Fatu made his acting debut in Karyn Kusama's 2018 crime drama film, '' Destroyer'', playing the role of Taz.

Filmography

Championships and accomplishments

*Arizona Wrestling Federation **AWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *Future Stars of Wrestling **FSW Nevada State Championship (1 time) *

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

** Ranked No. 401 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publis ...

'' in 2022 *

( 1 time)

References

External links

* * * * 1993 births Living people Anoa'i family 21st-century professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers American people of Samoan descent NXT North American Champions People from Sacramento, California Professional wrestlers from California Sportspeople from Sacramento, California Sportspeople from San Francisco American professional wrestlers of Samoan descent {{DEFAULTSORT:Sikoa, Solo