Legends — “High Chief” Peter Maivia
Our resident Philosopher and Historian, Jay Shannon, takes a look at the newest member of the WWE Hall of Fame: Class of 2008, Peter Maivia.
Samoans have always had a significant role in wrestling. From Afa and Sika to The Rock, Rosey, Umaga and Afa Jr., the islanders have provided a great deal of excitement and action in the ring. This year, one of the founders of the Samoan family is getting a long over-due place in the WWE Hall of Fame. He was the father-in-law to fellow Hall of Famer, Rocky Johnson. He was also the grandfather to future Hall of Famer, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. This edition of Legends looks at the “High Chief” Peter Maivia.
A real-life Samoan beginning
Unlike many of today’s Samoans who are either from Hawaii or California, Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia, aka Peter Maivia, was born in Western Samoa. Due to his large size, Maivia was recruited by promoters from New Zealand to become a professional wrestler. He worked for both the NWA New Zealand and NWA Australia promotions, holding the top titles in both organizations.
It was during this time in his life, Maivia met his wife, Lia. They would later have a daughter, Ata. Ata Maivia-Johnson is the ex-wife of Rocky Johnson and the mother of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
West Coast Samoan tradition begins
Maivia is considered the “head of the Samoan family”. In the late 1960s, Peter, Lia and Ata moved to Hawaii. Peter began wrestling for the NWA Hawaii division, a territory that he would eventually purchase.
After spending some time restructuring the Hawaiian territory, Maivia accepted an offer to wrestle in the San Francisco area. He had come to the attention of the promoters due to his involvement with the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. Not only had Maivia had a small role in the film, he was also one of the fight scene coordinators.
During his stay in the San Francisco area, a few important things occurred. Peter befriended a young up-and-coming wrestler named Billy Graham. Maivia took Graham as a student and helped to train him. Graham has acknowledged in his book and in interviews that Maivia deserves the credit as the man who created “Superstar” Billy Graham.
The other important development was the introduction of Canadian wrestler, Rocky Johnson, to the family. Johnson met Maivia’s daughter, Ata, at one of the wrestling TV tapings and the two soon began to date. Maivia objected, strongly, to the dating. Many might think he objected to the inter-racial aspect of their dating, but his objection was the fact that Johnson was a professional wrestler. Despite his objections, Rocky eventually married Ata.
NWA World Traveler
As part of the NWA, Maivia began to travel. He would make frequent trips back to the Australia/New Zealand promotions, where he won and lost the Australasian championship. He also began to work the southern and eastern US territories.
In 1975, Duke Keomuka and Fritz Von Erich invited Maivia to come to the (Dallas) Texas territory to wrestle. Maivia would defeat “The Golden Greek” John Tolos to win the NWA Texas Title in November of 1975. Maivia won eventually lose the title to his very own son-in-law, Rocky Johnson, in August of 1976.
World Wide Wrestling sensation
In April, 1977, Maivia accepted an offer from the World Wide Wrestling Federation to compete there. The offer came, in large part, from a suggestion by “Superstar” Billy Graham. Graham wanted to re-pay his mentor for the early training he received in San Francisco.
Maivia began by working house shows and TV tapings against some of the lower level talent, such as Baron Scicluna and Doug Gilbert. Within a couple of months, Maivia stepped up to face Stan “The Man” Stasiak. They had a brief, yet brutal, feud.
Maivia would also both team and feud with two WWWF/WWF champions, “Superstar” Billy Graham and Bob Backlund. Maivia also helped train Wild Samoan Afa, a distant relative. Maivia’s stay in the WWWF/WWF would only last two years, but he was a major force during his time there.
Heading back to the islands
In 1979, Peter and Lia, along with their two sons (Peter, Jr. and Toa) returned to Hawaii. Peter purchased the NWA Polynesian Pro Wrestling territory from the father of NFL Legend, Russ Francis.
During his final years, Maivia would face Bob Backlund for the WWF title, Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA title and Harley Race for the NWA title. He was one of the few men to be a top contender to all three titles, at the same time. Maivia won his final title in 1981, when he defeated Rick Davidson for the NWA Americas (Los Angeles) title.
Passing away and Passing on
Cancer took Peter Maivia on June 13, 1982. Lia and Peter, Jr. took over the NWA-PPW territory. Peter Jr. wrestled for a few years, with little fanfare. Peter’s youngest son, Toa, is just now starting to make a name for himself in the wrestling ring.
Rocky Johnson’s son, Dwayne, paid tribute to his grandfather by using the combination name of Rocky Maivia, early in his career. Dwayne and Toa both sport the traditional Samoan tattooing that their grandfather/father wore.
In Conlusion:
“High Chief” Peter Maivia was the first of many Samoan wrestlers to make a name for himself in the world of professional wrestling. Two full generations of Islander Superstars have followed the path blazed by Maivia. He has finally received his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame. For his own wrestling success, as well as the creation and furtherment of the Samoan legacy, Peter Maivia is also a Legends superstar that I am pleased to profile here.
–Jay Shannon
JayofPWD@SBCGlobal.net
(2/26/08)
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