Haku

Tonga Uliuli Fifita (born 10 February 1959) is a Tongan professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) under the ring name Haku and his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Meng.

In the WWF, he also wrestled under the names King Tonga and King Haku.

Fifita appeared on multiple pay-per-view events for the WWF and WCW and is a former WWF World Tag Team Champion.

Growing up on the main island of the South Pacific island-kingdom of Tonga, Fifita attended Tonga College, where he played rugby union.

At the age of 15, he was part of a group of six teenagers and young men sent by the king of Tonga to Japan to study Sumo.

Sione Vailahi, who would later become better known as pro-wrestler "The Barbarian", was also a part of this group.

After moving to Japan in 1974, he competed under the shikona (sumo name) of Fukunoshima (福ノ島).

He made his debut in November 1974 and reached the rank of Makushita 27.

However, in 1975 the stablemaster who recruited him died, and he and the other five Tongan wrestlers got entangled in a dispute with his successor, which led to him being forced to retire by the Japan Sumo Association in 1976.

Under the guidance of two other former sumotori who had turned to puroresu, Genichiro Tenryu and Takashi Ishikawa, he joined their home promotion, All Japan Pro Wrestling.

Early in his career, he also refereed matches in the Amarillo territory.

Nevertheless, this merely served as a springboard for him to wrestle all over the world.

In the early 1980s, Fifita, taking the name King Tonga, wrestled in Canada for Frank Valois' International Wrestling promotion based in Montreal.

The heel Tonga was managed by former wrestler Tarzan "The Boot" Tyler.

Tonga feuded with the top stars of the promotion, including Dino Bravo.

A face turn appeared to be in the offing, as Tonga interfered in a tag match, attacking Road Warrior Animal and Paul Ellering during a bout with Jos LeDuc and Jacques Rougeau, Jr. A miscommunication in another tag match with partner Butch Reed led to Reed and Tyler attacking Tonga.

He worked in Puerto Rico for the World Wrestling Council where he feuded with Invader 1 and won many titles such as the WWC North American Tag Team Championship with El Gran Apolo, the WWC World Tag Team Championship with Hercules Ayala and the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship.

Tonga formed a team with his until-then rival Bravo, and the two became successful, including a win over The Road Warriors at the Montreal Forum.

Tonga debuted at a WWF Championship taping on 8/20/85 as King Tonga and wrestled as a "babyface".

In 1986 King Tonga became a star by body slamming Big John Studd on Championship Wrestling, though predictably Studd's manager Bobby "The Brain" Heenan did not pay him the US$15,000 he promised to anyone who could do so.

He made a name for himself as Haku in the WWF as half of "The Islanders" with Tama.

Originally a fan-favorite team, the Islanders had mixed success, though they did win a $50,000 tag team Battle Royal at Madison Square Garden in October 1986.

They turned heel in 1987 during a match on the WWF Superstars of Wrestling with The Can-Am Connection (Tom Zenk and Rick Martel).

Earlier in the show, Heenan had announced he would have a new tag team that night and everyone thought he was going to introduce a new team to the WWF.

Instead he showed up at ringside during the match where it became known his "new" team was in fact the Islanders.

A feud thus broke out between the Islanders and the Connection; when Zenk left the WWF, Martel and replacement partner Tito Santana, as Strike Force continued the war, with the Islanders challenging Strike Force for the WWF World Tag Team Championship after the latter team won the belts.

The team also had a classic feud with The British Bulldogs (Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid) that was started when the Islanders, along with Heenan, kidnapped the Bulldogs' mascot, a bulldog named Matilda.

Their feud ended after a six-man tag team match at WrestleMania IV, where the Islanders and Heenan (wearing an attack dog outfit), defeated the Bulldogs and Koko B. Ware when Heenan pinned Koko.

In 1988, following King Harley Race's legitimate stomach injury sustained in a match against Hulk Hogan, Haku was given Race's crown and robe and was rechristened King Haku during a coronation ceremony.

In one of his first big matches after becoming King Haku, he would face Hulk Hogan with Miss Elizabeth in Hogan's corner on Saturday Night's Main Event in October 1988.

He challenged Randy Savage for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship on December 17 at The Spectrum but failed to win the title.

However he would cement his position as king by successfully defending his crown against the returning Race in a match at the 1989 Royal Rumble at The Summit in Houston.

He would later lose the crown to Hacksaw Jim Duggan who himself was crowned as "King Duggan".

Haku would later go on to form the tag team known as the Colossal Connection with André the Giant and win the WWF Tag Team Championship from Demolition on 30 December edition of Superstars (taped on 13 December).

Haku and André lost the titles at WrestleMania VI, when Demolition defeated the Colossal Connection to regain the titles.

Haku never legally tagged Andre into the match (due to André's poor health).

Late in the match André attempted to interfere, but Haku accidentally struck him with a savate kick which left André tied in the ropes; Haku was pinned shortly after this.

The team's manager, Bobby Heenan, blamed André for the loss and even slapped the Giant, who retaliated by "paint-brushing" Heenan.

Haku tried to ambush André; however, The Giant blocked Haku's kick and struck him repeatedly before leaving the ring alone to a standing ovation.

André's face turn meant that the team had split.