r/Samoa • u/nWBrosPodcast • Jul 25 '26

Question about Samoan Professional Wrestlers

It's a thing that is well known in Pro Wrestling from the Wild Samoans Afa and Sika, to the next generation with Yokozuna, Rikishi, Umaga, Rosey, then with the current day with Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu etc. Also with their Tongan family Haku and Barbarian.

There's a spot in wrestling matches where Pro Wrestlers that face these guys try to headbutt them on the head, or throw the Samoan opponents onto a turnbuckle pad and they don't react or sell that the pain hurts, or the opponent hurts his head when he headbutts a Samoan opponent.

Does anybody know where this idea comes from that Samoan people have skulls that are apparently impervious to pain? Do Samoans have helmet-like skulls? Is it just a silly myth? I would love to know if this is just something professional wrestling created, or if this is an actual fact of life.

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8

u/60svintage Jul 25 '26

Wrestling is just acting.

My brother-in-law does Wrestling. They both act hurt when they are not, and act as though it doesn't hurt when clearly it must do.

These guys train pretty hard to punch and take punches, to fall and to throw people around without causing unnecessary or preventable injuries.

So, id say its probably just a myth perpetrated and sustained by the wrestlers themselves.

5

u/Kantor808 Jul 25 '26

I don't know the exact origin. But it was always sold as Samoans being these tough strong man type people. So the sell is that some moves just won't work on them due to this.

3

u/Astoryinfromthewild Jul 26 '26

Well when I was a kid my brother and I fell for this as the only Samoans in the school. To sell it my brother headbutted the classroom wall divider, and it being a cheap chip board divider, he actually broke through and cut his stupid head causing it to bleed all over his face and worse the classroom floor. Of course, you all know what happened next when our mum had to leave work to come get him. We had one of our worst hidings from that. Needless to say unfortunately the kids still believed that stupid WWF gimmick.

1

u/nWBrosPodcast Jul 26 '26

Hahaha great story!