Lance Anoa'i (born February 15, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand. He previously wrestled in Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is a former MLW World Tag Team Champion, and in Pro Wrestling Noah. He is a member of the Anoaʻi family.
| Lance Anoa'i | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 15, 1992[1] Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Canesha White |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Samu (father) |
| Family | Anoaʻi |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Lance Anoa'i |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Trained by | Roman Reigns WWE Performance Center |
| Debut | April 3, 2010 |
Early life
editLance Anoaʻi was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. His father Samula worked in the world wrestling federation under the ring name Samu as a member of The Wild Samoans and The Headshrinkers. His uncles are Afa Anoaʻi Jr. (better known as Manu) and Lloyd Anoaʻi (better known as L.A. Smooth).
Professional wrestling career
editIndependent circuit (2010–2024)
editThis section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2019) |
Anoaʻi debuted on April 3, 2010 winning a match for a show promoted by the National Wrestling League vs. Chrono Chris in Martinsburg, West Virginia.[3] He was in World Xtreme Wrestling which is owned by his grandfather, Afa Anoaʻi. He often was involved in matches with his kins Samu, Afa Jr. and Sean Maluta.
Anoaʻi wrestled for Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW), debuting in August 2012. He made his debut for Pro Wrestling Syndicate (PWS) in 2012. At Supercard 2013, Anoaʻi was involved in a battle royal for the number-one contender for the PWS Heavyweight Championship on Night 1 and on Night 2, he had a match with Sonjay Dutt. Anoaʻi competed for the PWS Tri State Championship in a Six Way Match at PWS Return to Rahway on September 20, 2013, that included Craven Varro, Starman, Facade, Pat Buck and The Drunken Swashbuckler. At the Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup 2013, he fought Luke Hawx on August 10, 2013, and lasted until the semi-finals.
In 2013, he made his first of many appearances in House of Hardcore (HOH). In April 2019, he won the 23rd annual East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) Super 8 Tournament.[4]
Major League Wrestling (2018–2023)
editOn March 3, 2018, he made his debut with Major League Wrestling (MLW) at their event "Spring Break".[5] In the match, he lost to Maxwell Jacob Friedman.[6] In July 2018 he participated in the first-ever Battle Riot at the namesake event, which was won by Tom Lawlor.[7] In October 2018, he started teaming with his father Samu in MLW as The Samoan Island Tribe.[8] In early 2019 he would feud with Rich Swann resulting in losses in singles and tag team matches. In April 2019, he competed in the second Battle Riot, again unsuccessfully.[9]
On January 7, 2023, Anoa'i as a member of The Samoan SWAT Team with Juicy Finau defeated Hustle & Power (EJ Nduka and Calvin Tankman) for the MLW World Tag Team Championships at MLW Blood and Thunder.[10] On July 8 at Never Say Never, Anoa'i and Finau lost the titles to The Calling (Akira and Rickey Shane Page), ending their reign at 182 days. On October 29, Anoa'i announced on X that he was granted his release from MLW.[11]
Pro Wrestling Noah (2023)
editOn June 22, 2023, Anoa'i was announced as participant in the N-1 Victory 2023.[12]
WWE
editSporadic appearances (2015, 2017, 2019)
editOn the January 2, 2015 edition of WWE SmackDown, Anoaʻi made his WWE debut as an enhancement talent, teaming Rhett Titus in a losing effort against The Ascension.[13] On February 1, 2017, he and Titus appeared at a WWE NXT event against The Authors of Pain, where he would lose.[1][14] This appearance was related to a tryout he was having with WWE. In April 2019, he fought at another WWE tryout.[4] Anoaʻi made another appearance on the May 27, 2019, show of WWE Raw, where he faced Shane McMahon, and eventually losing the match by submission after Drew McIntyre attacked him outside the ring, and was subsequently beaten down by McMahon and McIntyre after the match, until his cousin Roman Reigns made the save.[15]
NXT (2024–present)
editIt was reported that Anoa'i has signed with WWE in the Summer of 2024 and has been assigned to its NXT brand.[16] He has yet to make his debut due to an injury.[17]
Championships and accomplishments
edit- Battleground Championship Wrestling
- BCW Championship (1 time)
- East Coast Wrestling Association
- ECWA Super 8 Tournament (2019)
- Major League Wrestling
- MLW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Juicy Finau[10]
- National Wrestling League
- NWL Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Atomic Championship Wrestling
- ACW Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)
- American Championship Entertainment
- ACE Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Belgian Wrestling School
- BWS Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Pennsylvania Premiere Wrestling
- PPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- World Xtreme Wrestling
- WXW Blast Television Championship
- WXW Elite Tag Team Championship
- WXW Ultimate Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
- WXW Ultimate Hybrid Championship (5 times)
- Pro Wrestling eXpress
- PWX Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
References
edit- ^ a b "Lance Anoa'i: Profile & Matchlisting". profightdb. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ "Samu & Lance Anoai". MLW. October 28, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ "Lance Anoai". Cagematch. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ a b "Ivelisse & Lance Anoa'i Headline Full List of Participants at WWE Performance Center Tryout | Fightful News".
- ^ "Lance Anoa'i to make his MLW Debut at MLW Spring Break on March 8". MLW. February 24, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ Thompson, Andrew (March 8, 2018). "MLW 'Spring Break 18'" TV Taping Results". Fightful. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ Karcher, Kris (July 30, 2018). "7/27 MLW FUSION TV REPORT: Special "Battle Riot" episode with Konnan, Teddy Hart, Davey Boy Jr, Swoggle, Fenix, ACH, Lawlor, Hennigan, Sami, Strickland, Pentagon Jr., Hager,". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (October 4, 2018). "Spoilers: MLW 10/4 Fury Road Results". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ Bodkin, Bill (April 6, 2019). "MLW Battle Riot II On Bein Sports Live Special Report". PWInsider. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ a b Johnson, Mike (January 8, 2023). "New MLW Tag Team Champions Crowned". PWInsider. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
- ^ Tessier, Colin (October 29, 2023). "Lance Anoa'i Confirms MLW Release". Wrestlezone. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ^ Thompson, Andrew (June 22, 2023). "NOAH reveals participants in 2023 N-1 Victory tournament". Post Wrestling. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
- ^ "SmackDown: January 2, 2015". WWE. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ "Lance Anoa'i On If He Feels Pressure Being Related To The Rock And Roman Reigns". WrestlingInc. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ "Lance Anoa'i Appears On WWE Raw To Face Shane McMahon; "AEW" Chants Ensue | Fightful News". www.fightful.com.
- ^ Black, Matt (November 7, 2024). "Report: Lance Anoa'i Signs With WWE". Wrestlezone. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
- ^ Joseph, Nithin. "Why hasn't Lance Anoa'i joined The Bloodline if he is signed to WWE? Exploring the reason". Sportskeeda. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
- ^ Ross, Patrick (September 10, 2024). "Full 2024 PWI 500 list revealed". aiptcomics.com. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
External links
edit- Lance Anoa'i's profile at Cagematch.net , Internet Wrestling Database
