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James William
"Jimmy" Reiher (born May 18, 1943) is a semi-retired Fijian professional
wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka.
Originally from the Fiji Islands, Snuka wrestled for several promotions in the
1970s and 1980s. Snuka was the first ECW Heavyweight Champion and held the title
on two occasions. He is best known for his time in the World Wrestling
Federation (WWF) in the early to mid-1980s and is credited with introducing the
high-flyer style of wrestling to the WWF.[2] His children Jimmy Reiher, Jr. and
Sarona Reiher are also wrestlers.
****
Background
information
Ring name(s)
Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka[1]
Jimmy
Kealoha[1]
Lani Kealoha[1]
Tami Snuka[1]
The Superfly[1]
Big Snuka[1]
Silver
Shadow[1]
Billed height 5
ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Billed weight
250 lb (110 kg)[1]
Born May 18,
1943 (1943-05-18) (age 68)[1]
Fiji
Resides
Clifton, New Jersey, United States
Billed from The
Fiji Islands[2]
Trained by
Danny Hodge[2]
Debut 1969[1]
****
Professional
wrestling career
Early career
Reiher was
active in amateur bodybuilding in Hawaii in the 1960s. He also enjoyed some
success as a professional bodybuilder, earning the titles of Mr. Hawaii, Mr.
Waikiki and Mr. North Shore.[3] Reiher opted to go into the more lucrative
career of professional wrestling due to his uncertainty of making a living in
bodybuilding.[4] While working at Dean Ho's gym in Hawaii, Snuka met many of the
wrestlers who worked in the South Pacific region and decided to try the
sport.[3] Snuka made his debut as Jimmy Kealoha fighting Maxwell "Bunny" Butler
in Hawaii in 1970.[5] He later moved to the mainland and wrestled for Don Owen’s
NWA Pacific Northwest territory where he held the belt as Heavyweight Champion
six times.[5] He first won the title by pinning Bull Ramos on November 16,
1973.[5] It was in this territory, that Reiher transformed himself into Jimmy
Snuka. Snuka also held the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship six times
with partner Dutch Savage. Snuka also had a two year feud with another rookie,
Jesse "The Body" Ventura.
Snuka also
wrestled in several other National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) regions, including
Texas. In 1977, he won both the Texas Heavyweight and Tag Team titles. Snuka
then left for the Mid-Atlantic where he formed a tag team with Paul Orndorff.
Orndorff and Snuka defeated Baron von Raschke and Greg Valentine to become the
tag team title holders in 1979. On September 1, 1979, Snuka defeated Ricky
Steamboat to hold the United States title. Snuka also formed a tag team with Ray
Stevens while with this promotion. His career eventually led him to Georgia,
where he teamed with Terry Gordy to win the NWA National Tag Team Champions by
defeating Ted DiBiase and Steve Olsonoski.
World Wrestling
Federation (1982–1985)
In January 1982
Snuka entered the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) as a villainous character
under the guidance of Captain Lou Albano. Snuka lost several title shots at WWF
Champion Bob Backlund, including a steel cage match at Madison Square Garden on
June 28, 1982 in which Snuka leapt from the top of the cage, barely missing
Backlund who managed to escape the cage for the win. The contest would be
declared Match of the Year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
Even though
Snuka was a villain, the Northeast fans started to cheer on Snuka and his
athletic style. An angle was created late in the year which revealed- on an
episode of Buddy Rogers' Victory Corner- that Snuka was being financially ripped
off by Lou Albano, thus releasing Snuka from Albano's managerial services.
Albano then attacked Snuka with the help of "Classy" Freddie Blassie's newest
arrival, Snuka's former tag team partner Ray Stevens. The attack solidified
Snuka's new role as a fan favorite seeking to settle the score. Snuka brought in
his former manager from the Mid-Atlantic territory, "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers
and embarked on a mixture of tag and singles matches against Stevens and Albano
across the region.
Snuka also
feuded with "Magnificent" Don Muraco in 1983, which began after Snuka entered
the ring for a preliminary match while Muraco, the Intercontinental Champion,
was being interviewed. Muraco, enraged at the perceived lack of respect,
confronted Snuka at ringside, triggering a wild brawl. This feud led to a
defining moment of Snuka's career on October 17, 1983, in a steel cage match at
Madison Square Garden. The match ended in a loss for the Superfly, but afterward
he dragged Muraco back into the ring and connected with the most famous Superfly
Splash of his career, off the top of the 15-foot (4.6 m) high steel cage.[6]
Future wrestling stars The Sandman, Mick Foley, Tommy Dreamer, and Bubba Ray
Dudley were all in attendance at the event and cite this match as the reason
they decided to aggressively pursue professional wrestling.[6]
In June 1984,
Snuka became embroiled in an intense feud with one of the WWF's top villains,
"Rowdy" Roddy Piper. In a segment of Piper's Pit, Piper brought bananas,
pineapples, and coconuts to the interview to make Snuka "feel more at home" but
said he did not get a tree for Snuka to "climb up and down like a monkey." Piper
then proceeded to smash a coconut on his head when he turned his back
momentarily. The attack led to a series of grudge matches between the two that
were played out over venues across the US throughout the summer of 1984. The
remainder of Snuka's initial WWF stint would see him frequently tangling with
Piper one way or another, often via tag matches or wrestling Piper's closest
ally, Bob Orton, Jr. Snuka defeated Orton at The War to Settle the Score and put
Orton's left arm in a cast for over a year. The feud played a small part in the
first ever WrestleMania in March 1985, when Snuka acted as a cornerman for Hulk
Hogan and Mr. T when they faced Piper and Paul Orndorff (with Orton in their
corner). The Superfly vanished from the WWF in August 1985, though he still
appeared in cartoon form when Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling premiered the
following month.
American
Wrestling Association (1986–1989)
After a stint
in alcohol/drug rehab, Snuka resurfaced in the American Wrestling Association
(AWA) replacing the injured Jerry Blackwell as Greg Gagne's partner in a tag
team match against Bruiser Brody and Nord the Barbarian at WrestleRock 86. Snuka
split his time between the AWA and Japan throughout 1986 and 1987. His most
notable feud in the AWA during that time was with Col. DeBeers, who refused to
fight Snuka because of his race. However, he was able to sneak-attack Snuka by
pushing him off the top rope onto the floor and administering several face-first
piledrivers. This led the way for a series of grudge matches in 1987.
World Wrestling
Federation (1989–1992)
Like many aging
veterans before him, Snuka re-emerged in the WWF at WrestleMania V on April 2,
1989 to help put over younger stars, like Curt Hennig and Rick Rude, losing to
the latter at WrestleMania VI.[7] In 1991, he was the first WrestleMania
opponent for The Undertaker at WrestleMania VII.[8]
Eastern
Championship Wrestling (1992–1994)
After leaving
the WWF in March 1992, Snuka toured with various smaller organizations in the
early 1990s and played a role in the formation of Tod Gordon's Eastern
Championship Wrestling (ECW) organization along with Don Muraco and Terry Funk.
Snuka was ECW's first ECW Heavyweight Champion and toured with the company
through 1994. ECW was later taken over by Paul Heyman, who renamed it Extreme
Championship Wrestling.
Semi-retirement
(1996–present)
He was inducted
into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1996. He also continued to spend much of his time
with East Coast Wrestling organizations through the late 1990s and into the
2000s. During this time, he wrestled the Metal Maniac in a series of matches
that spanned across many independent wrestling promotions. Snuka won nearly
every one of these matches.
During the
later half of the 1990s, Snuka appeared for both major wrestling promotions, the
WWF and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He would make periodic appearances
for the WWF, such as competing at the 1996 Survivor Series. Snuka received a
lifetime achievement award from WWE (formerly the WWF) in 2002 at Madison Square
Garden and began to be thrust into skits by WWE in 2004/2005. Snuka also
appeared on WCW Monday Nitro in early 2000, where he gave Jeff Jarrett a
Superfly Splash off the top of a steel cage. Snuka also participated at the
first XWF TV tapings, accompanying his son, Jimmy Snuka, Jr. to the ring for
some matches, including one match where they both delivered the Superfly Splash
to prone opponents.
On June 22,
2002 Snuka won the International Wrestling Superstars (IWS) United States
Championship by pin fall against King Kong Bundy in Atlantic City, New Jersey,
proving to the world that he could still fly.
In 2005, he
appeared at the WWE Homecoming, where he delivered a Superfly Splash to Rob
Conway with a ring full of legends at his side like Dusty Rhodes and Billy
Graham. He also took part in a backstage skit, chasing after a partially
disrobed Mae Young with a wad of Ted DiBiase's money. He was a part of the Taboo
Tuesday pay-per-view, where fans voted for him (ahead of Kamala and Jim Duggan)
to team with Eugene against Rob Conway and Tyson Tomko. Snuka won the match,
pinning Conway after a Superfly Splash. He also appeared at the 2007 WWE draft
edition of Raw in a vignette for Mr. McMahon appreciation night. On June 24,
2007, Snuka was introduced as Sgt. Slaughter's tag team partner in the open
invitational match for the WWE Tag Team Championship at Vengeance, but he was
ultimately pinned by his son. In 2008, Snuka appeared in the Royal Rumble. He
was in the match less than 5 minutes and primarily focused his efforts on
onetime nemesis, Roddy Piper. Both were quickly eliminated by the next entrant,
Kane.
On the March 2,
2009, edition of Raw, he was attacked by Chris Jericho during a parody of
Piper's Pit. This was part of a storyline where Jericho was disrespecting and
attacking legends. Two weeks later on the March 16, 2009, Raw, Snuka, Roddy
Piper, Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat attacked Jericho. It was announced that at
WrestleMania XXV on April 5, 2009, Snuka would be teaming with Steamboat and
Piper to face Jericho in a Legends of Wrestlemania Handicap match. Flair was
also in their corner. Snuka was the first eliminated by Jericho, who eventually
won the match.
On November 28,
2009 he teamed with his son at an NWA Upstate event. They faced the NWA Upstate
Tag Team Champions Hellcat and Triple X in a non title match. The Snukas won the
match via pinfall.
On November 15,
2010, Snuka made an appearance on an "old school" edition of Raw, where he stood
by his daughter Tamina, in the corner of The Usos during their match against
Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov.
Personal life
Snuka and his
wife have created a reality show called The Superfly Challenge. It was recently
shot in New York, New Jersey, and Maryland. Filming took place at the New Berlin
Diner and Nikolai Volkoff's farm. He also is the part-owner of Bodyslam
University in South Florida and teaches there once a month. Snuka is also an
avid poker player. He was at the Poker4Life tournament in New York City and
raised $100,000 for the charity.
Nancy Argentino
Death Mystery
On May 10,
1983, a few hours after Snuka had performed at a WWF TV taping at the Lehigh
County Agricultural Hall in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Snuka placed a call for an
ambulance. When emergency personnel arrived on the scene at Room 427 of the
George Washington Motor Lodge in nearby Whitehall Township, they found Snuka’s
girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, injured. She was transported to Allentown's Sacred
Heart Medical Center, where she died shortly after of "undetermined
craniocerebral injuries." Deputy Lehigh County coroner Wayne Snyder said, “Upon
viewing the body and speaking to the pathologist, I immediately suspected foul
play and so notified the district attorney." Snuka was the only suspect involved
in the subsequent investigation. Charges were not pressed against Snuka,
although the case was left officially open, meaning no official judgment on
whether the incident was accidental or homicide was ever made. In 1985,
Argentino’s parents won a $500,000 default judgment against Snuka in U.S.
District Court in Philadelphia, although Snuka appears not to have ever paid,
claiming financial inability to do so.[9]
In wrestling
Finishing moves
Superfly
Splash[1][2] (Diving splash)
Signature moves
Diving
crossbody[1]
Diving
headbutt[1]
Jumping
headbutt[1]
Knee drop[1]
Various
knife–edged chops[1]
Nicknames
"Superfly"
Jimmy Snuka[1][2]
"The Phenom"[1]
Entrance themes
"The Superfly
Theme" by Jimmy Hart and JJ Maguire (WWF)
"Supa Fly" by
Dale Oliver (TNA)
Championships
and accomplishments
All Japan Pro
Wrestling
World's
Strongest Tag Team League (1981) – with Bruiser Brody
Cauliflower
Alley Club
Other honoree
(1996)
Continental
Wrestling Association
CWA
International Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with JT Southern
East Coast Pro
Wrestling
ECPW
Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[10]
Eastern
Championship Wrestling
NWA ECW
Heavyweight Championship (2 times, Inaugural)1
NWA ECW
Television Championship (1 time)
Georgia
Championship Wrestling
NWA National
Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Terry Gordy
International
Wrestling Superstars
IWS United
States Championship (1 time)
Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling
NWA United
States Heavyweight Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (1 time)
NWA World Tag
Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (2 times) – with Paul Orndorff (1) and
Ray Stevens (1)
National
Championship Wrestling
NCW Tag Team
Championship (1 time) - with Johnny Gunn[10]
National
Wrestling Federation
NWF Heavyweight
Championship (1 time, last)[10]
Northeast
Wrestling
NEW Heavyweight
Championship (1 time)[10]
NWA All-Star
Wrestling
NWA Canadian
Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (1 time) – with Don Leo Jonathan
NWA Big Time
Wrestling
NWA Texas
Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
NWA Texas Tag
Team Championship (1 time) – with Gino Hernandez
NWL WRESTLING
NWL Heavyweight
Championship (1 time)
Pacific
Northwest Wrestling
NWA Pacific
Northwest Heavyweight Championship (5 times)
NWA Pacific
Northwest Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Dutch Savage
Pro Wrestling
Illustrated
PWI Match of
the Year (1982) vs. Bob Backlund in a cage match on June 28
PWI Most
Popular Wrestler of the Year (1983)
PWI Tag Team of
the Year (1980) with Ray Stevens
PWI ranked him
#29 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
Professional
Wrestling Hall of Fame
Class of 2012
Universal
Superstars of America
USA Heavyweight
Championship (2 times, first)[10]
USA Pro
Wrestling
USA Pro
Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
World Wide
Wrestling Alliance
WWWA
Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[10]
WWWA
Intercontinental Championship (1 time)[10]
World Wrestling
Federation
WWE Hall of
Fame (Class of 1996)
Wrestling
Observer Newsletter awards
Tag Team of the
Year (1981) with Terry Gordy
Best Flying
Wrestler (1981)
Best Wrestling
Maneuver (1981, 1983) Superfly Splash
Other titles
Tri-State
Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
SXA United
States of America Championship (1 time)
Notes
1 Jimmy Snuka's
reigns occurred while the promotion was an NWA affiliate named Eastern
Championship Wrestling, and was prior to the promotion becoming Extreme
Championship Wrestling and the title being declared a world title by ECW.
References
1.^ a b c d e f
g h i j k l m n o p q r "Jimmy Snuka Profile". Online World Of Wrestling.
http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/j/jimmy-snuka.html. Retrieved
2011-03-14.
2.^ a b c d e f
""Superfly" Jimmy Snuka's WWE Hall of Fame Profile". World Wrestling
Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/superstars/halloffame/inductees/jimmysnuka/.
Retrieved 2011-03-29.
3.^ a b http://www.wrestlingmuseum.com/pages/wrestlers/jimmysnuka2.html
4.^ World
Wrestling Federation (Producer), Snuka, J. (Writer), & Graham, D. (Director).
(1982). Spectrum wrestling [Motion picture]. USA: World Wrestling Federation.
5.^ a b c
http://www.jimmysnuka.com/bio.asp
6.^ a b Foley,
Mick. Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks (p.34)
7.^ "Wrestlemania
VI results". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/history/wm6/results/.
Retrieved 12 April 2009.
8.^ "Wrestlemania
VII results". World Wrestling Entertainment. http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/history/wm7/results/.
Retrieved 20 December 2011.
9.^ Muchnick,
Irv. Wrestling Babylon: Piledriving Tales of Drugs, Sex, Death, and Scandal. pp.
125–131.
10.^ a b c d e
f g Royal Duncan & Gary Will (4th Edition 2000). Wrestling Title Histories.
Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
Further reading
Foley, Mick
(1999) Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks. ReganBooks. ISBN
0-060-9299-1.
* *
* *
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