Cocoa Samoa
| Cocoa Samoa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Ulualoaiga Onosai Tuaolo Emelio |
| Born | March 9, 1945 Pago Pago, American Samoa[1] |
| Died | January 9, 2007 (aged 61) Killeen, Texas, United States[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Cocoa Samoa Sabu the Wildman High Chief Onasahi[2] Tami Samoa[2] The Black Ninja Jack Snuka |
Ulualoaiga Onosai Tuaolo Emelio[1] (March 9, 1945 – January 9, 2007) was an American Samoan professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Cocoa Samoa.
Professional wrestling career
He began his training by studying martial arts in Japan.[2] His had his first matches in Japanese promotions.[2]
On November 15, 1982, as Sabu the Wildman, Cocoa partnered with
By the mid-1980s he wrestled in the
Personal life
Samoa established a janitorial company to provide jobs to homeless people.[2] He also worked for motorcycle companies, offering publicity by making cross-country rides.[2] He spent time in prison after working as a money collector for a drug dealer.[2] After being released from prison, Samoa became a preacher and visited other inmates to preach about Christianity.[2]
He estimated that he had fathered 11 children by nine different women.[2] At the time of his death, however, he was married to a woman named Esperanza and had five known sons and three daughters.[1] He had 31 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.[1] During his career, he befriended other wrestlers such as Harley Race and Antonio Inoki.[2] He was also close friends with Jimmy Snuka, whom he referred to as his brother.[2]
Samoa died on January 9, 2007.[1]
Championships and accomplishments
References
External links
- Cocoa Samoa's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database