Sunday, August 2, 2009

Carried Away by a Wild Samoan

Matt Anoa'i is a pro wrestler who has wrestled under several names. He is the son of Sika, who wrestled in the WWE as part of the Wild Samoans tag team. All told, seven members of the family were tag team champions in the WWF/E, including Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson, a cousin.
I met Anoa'i a few years ago, when he was wrestling as Super Hero In Training. It was a mildly humorous gimmick, accept for the acronym which it produced. Anoa'i made the best of it and actually was popular with the WWE fans.
I met Anoa'i before the crowd came to the event. He asked me if I wanted to do something fun for a picture. I barely got the words out, when he hoisted me up and over his shoulders. Unfortunately for Anoa'i, the photography had a camera malfunction and I was stuck up there for extra time. Anoa'i laughed a bit and told his photog to hurry, as I was 'heavier than I looked'.
The photog got his camera working, the picture was taken and I thanked Anoa'i for making it memorable. He thanked me for letting him get a great picture for himself.
Unfortunately for Anoa'i again, the promoter came over and asked him not to do that again. I suppose it had something to do with insurance waivers. Hey, I was just happy about my luck. This really is one of the most unique photos I have from meeting any celebrity.
Matt Anoa'i and me in Kokomo, IN-October 2008.

2 comments:

Johngy said...

I can't believe how easily he scooped me up. Then he had to hold me there.

Laurie said...

My God....it looks so....NATURAL!