What Afa Anoa'i Has Been Doing Since Retiring From Pro Wrestling

Pro wrestling has always been a family affair. And the new NBC show Young Rock, which follows the wild life of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who himself came from a wrestling family, is shining a light on old school wrestling dynasties. One such wrestler is Afa Anoa'i, who was part of the legendary tag team duo The Wild Samoans (pictured, above), which took the WWE by storm in the late 1970s and early 1980s. According to their official WWE bio, Afa and his brother Sika were trained by their uncle and cousin in the ways of the family business. In Young Rock, Afa is played by kiwi (i.e., from New Zealand) actor John Tui, who also starred alongside Dwayne Johnson in Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw.

The Wild Samoans were three-time tag team champions, and Afa's son, Afa Jr., went on to be a professional wrestler himself. Afa Anoa'i retired from professional wrestling in the early 1990s, but he never left the wrestling life behind. Let's see what he has been up to since retiring from the ring.

Afa Anoa'i officially retired from the WWE in 1994. According to his Fandom wiki, however, he still carries some significant clout in the pro wrestling world. He still runs the Wild Samoan Training Center, which he started back in the late 1970s. Here he continues to train superstars who go on to wow audiences in the WWE and other promotions. He also owns and operates the promotion World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW), which he established in 1996.

No stranger to the acting world — he starred in 1987 cult classic Body Slam, appeared in 1993's Mr. Nanny, starring Hulk Hogan, and was in an episode of the original Miami Vice – he worked with acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky on the 2008 movie The Wrestler, which stars Mickey Rourke as a down-and-out aging pro wrestler, as the wrestling trainer for the film. In 2007, he and his brother Sika were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as the celebrated duo The Wild Samoans.