On Monday’s edition of Monday Night Raw, ahead of his match against Roman Reigns at Super Showdown, Shane McMahon called out any member of the Samoan family to come and fight him. The answer was met by an emerging indie star, but hardly one of the Anoa’i family members most of the WWE Universe are familiar with – The Usos, Rikishi, Reigns, The Rock. Instead, it was 27-year-old Lance Anoa’i, a third generation member of the Samoan family and son of former WWE and WCW Samu (who was a member of the Headshrinkers and Samoan SWAT Team with cousin Rikishi).
👀 @shanemcmahon #RAW pic.twitter.com/MTvEGRenE4
— WWE (@WWE) May 28, 2019
Lance Anoa’i has been wrestling since 2010, starting out in the family-run World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) in Pennsylvania, where he was trained by his father Samu and uncle, L.A. Smooth. A 2x WXW Ultimate Heavyweight and 2x WXW Ultimate Hybrid Champion, Lance has also worked with the likes of New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC), MCW Pro (formerly Maryland Championship Wrestling), House of Hardcore, and more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTPQxSZXB3M
Last year he made his debut on Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he’s worked semi-regularly, and earlier this year had a WWE Tryout at the Performance Center. But the timing couldn’t be better for Lance’s appearance, even if it was just an enhancement match. Lance’s father, former WWE Superstar Samu, is very ill with cancer and Lance is currently running fundraisers to help raise money to cover the care his father needs. As Lance stated on the GoFundMe Page, “in case you haven’t heard he is suffering from Stage IV liver cancer. He is in desperate need of a transplant and due to the fact as we are all well aware the pharmaceutical companies charge whatever they wish for medicine and that is not working in our favor.”
Thank you WWE words can't express our gratitudehttps://t.co/4KSzBdxzAP https://t.co/4KSzBdxzAP
— WXW C4 (@WXWC4) May 25, 2019
WXW, the promotion run by Wild Samoan Afa in Hazelton, Pennsylvania, is holding a huge fundraiser event this Wednesday night in Allentown, PA, featuring a host of Anoa’i family members, WXW regulars, plus appearances from former WWE Superstars like Terri Runnels and Gene Snitsky, ECW Legend Tommy Dreamer, and IMPACT’s Ace Austin. WWE is also helping with the cause sending Samoa Joe, Kassius Ohno, Billy Kidman, and Michael PS Hayes to the event.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.
