Rosey

Matthew Tapunu'u Anoaʻi (April 7, 1970 – April 17, 2017) was an American professional wrestler.

He was best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), under the ring name Rosey.

Anoa'i was a member of the Anoaʻi family, a renowned Samoan wrestling family.

Anoa'i, along with his late cousins Eddie Fatu and Matt Fatu, was trained at the Wild Samoan Training Facility headed by his uncle, Afa Anoaʻi.

Following his training, he competed in Afa's World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) promotion.

He began competing in tag team competition with Samu as the Samoan Gangsta Party.

The team had a brief stint in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).

Throughout the mid-1990s, Anoaʻi competed in various independent promotions and international promotions including World Wrestling Council and Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, winning various tag team championships.

Competing under the name "Kuhio", he had two matches for the promotion in November 1995.

He first challenged Pulgarcito for the WWC Television Championship on November 24 and then took on future WWC Television Champion Jim Steele on November 25 but lost both.

He later began teaming with Samu as the Samoan Gangsta Party, using the name Mack Daddy Kane.

It was in the Samoan Gangsta Party where Anoa'i won his first title when he and Samu competed in International World Class Championship Wrestling where they won the vacant IWCCW Tag Team Championship in a tournament on December 26, 1995, and ultimately would be the last champions before the promotion shut down.

The Samoan Gangsta Party had a brief stint in Extreme Championship Wrestling in the summer and fall of 1996, feuding with various tag teams, including The Gangstas, as well as the Eliminators and the Bruise Brothers.

They debuted at Hardcore Heaven on June 22, 1996, taking on Axl Rotten and Hack Meyers which went to a No Contest.

They returned on July 12, going a no contest with Big Dick Dudley and Buh Buh Ray Dudley.

The following night at Heat Wave, they lost to The Gangstas.

On August 3 at The Doctor Is In, Anoa'i and Samu took part in a four way for the ECW World Tag Team Championship against The Eliminators, The Gangstas, and The Bruise Brothers which was won by The Gangstas.

From August to October, The Samoan Gangsta Party continued to get shots at the Tag Team Championship but were never able to win them.

On September 20, Anoa'i would take on The Sandman but came up short.

In 2001, Anoaʻi signed with the WWE and was assigned to Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) in Cincinnati, Ohio.

While situated at HWA, he was placed in tag team competition, alongside Fatu, and the duo won the HWA Tag Team Championship.

After signing with WWE in 2002, Anoaʻi and Fatu were called up to the Raw roster.

Known as 3-Minute Warning, they were utilized as enforcers for then-General Manager Eric Bischoff.

Following the release of Fatu in 2003, Anoaʻi was "discovered" by The Hurricane and from there on they competed together as a team, known as The Hurricane and Rosey.

After two years of teaming, they won the World Tag Team Championship, but disbanded shortly after losing the championship.

Anoaʻi then did not re-sign his WWE contract in March 2006.

Following his stint with WWE, Anoaʻi took time off to spend with his young children coaching his oldest sons teams.

Anoa'i then continued his wrestling career, appearing at several independent promotions, including All Japan Pro Wrestling, Great Championship Wrestling, BAW Championship Wrestling, Appalachian Wrestling Federation, and Ohio Valley Wrestling.

Aside from professional wrestling, Anoaʻi was a featured contestant on the reality television series Fat March where he lost 100 pounds but further injured his left knee.

Anoaʻi is part of the Anoaʻi family.

He is the son of former Samoan professional wrestler Sika Anoaʻi, who competed as one half of the Wild Samoans.

His younger brother, Joe Anoaʻi, was the starting defensive tackle for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team and is also a professional wrestler who works for the WWE under the name Roman Reigns.

Anoaʻi inducted the Wild Samoans (his father Sika and his uncle Afa) into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007.

Other cousins include The Usos, Solo Sikoa, Rikishi, Tama, Yokozuna, Akane, and Umaga.

Growing up, Anoaʻi played football alongside Emmitt Smith at Escambia High School in Pensacola, Florida.

He had hopes to play in the National Football League and played college football for Hawaii.

He worked at various nightclubs in New Orleans before deciding to train as a professional wrestler.

Anoaʻi trained with his cousin Eddie Fatu at the Wild Samoan professional wrestling school operated by members of their family.

When their training was completed, they debuted in their uncle Afa's World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) promotion.

One of his first matches was for the World Wrestling Council (WWC) promotion in Puerto Rico.