When did the Samoan gangsta become a thing?

[Sephiroth]

Actually kind of curious. The Samoan savage is a wrestling trope as old as they come, but the Samoan Boyz from the hood is a more recent invention. I am well aware of members of the Anoi family having real life connections to gangs, but at what point did they carry over to portraying Samoans as street youths? The earliest example I can think of was Rikishi in his 90’s gimmick as a reformed gang member trying to encourage kids to stay in school and live on the straight abs narrow-and given what a monumental flop that shtick was it seems all the more crazy that the Samoan gangsta is now such an established gimmick. So at what point did this get solidified?

["Sweet & Sour" ImSoFudginGreat]

First one I heard of was Ekmo Fatu (Umaga) in NWA-TNA, but I’m sure there were ones before that.

[WoodStoner1]

Fatu when he started making a difference.

[carp (SPC, Itoh Respect Army)]

I can't think of many I'd call gangsta. They just seem like dudes who like hip hop to me. Ironically, the one who was most gangsta was, yeah, colorful difference-making Fatu.

[ianriccaboni]

Oct 26, 2021 14:57:02 GMT -5 WoodStoner1 said:

Fatu when he started making a difference.

Yeah. Locally Samu and LA Smooth were the Samoan Gangsta Party and I think they even showed up in the crowd or isle during his Make a Difference phase.

[Citizen Snips]

Oct 26, 2021 15:57:28 GMT -5 ianriccaboni said:

Oct 26, 2021 14:57:02 GMT -5 WoodStoner1 said:

Fatu when he started making a difference.

Yeah. Locally Samu and LA Smooth were the Samoan Gangsta Party and I think they even showed up in the crowd or isle during his Make a Difference phase.

Then they went to ECW and got absolutely annihilated by The Gangstas.

[nickcave]

Oct 26, 2021 15:57:28 GMT -5 ianriccaboni said:

Oct 26, 2021 14:57:02 GMT -5 WoodStoner1 said:

Fatu when he started making a difference.

Yeah. Locally Samu and LA Smooth were the Samoan Gangsta Party and I think they even showed up in the crowd or isle during his Make a Difference phase.

They showed up once during a Fatu match on Raw before they dropped the Make a Difference gimmick

[I'm A Pop Sensation]

Samu & Rosey started it and now it's just become a meme for The Bloodline or when The Usos changed their gimmick and became heels back in 2015 or 2016

[Ronny Rayguns Is All Elite]

Oct 26, 2021 16:40:45 GMT -5 nickcave said:

Oct 26, 2021 15:57:28 GMT -5 ianriccaboni said:

Yeah. Locally Samu and LA Smooth were the Samoan Gangsta Party and I think they even showed up in the crowd or isle during his Make a Difference phase.

They showed up once during a Fatu match on Raw before they dropped the Make a Difference gimmick

I remember Fatu yelling at them for trying to make him Re-join their gang

The security at WWF shows was a joke

[cjb01: Limited Edition Item!]

As far back as the 90s considering the stories of Rikishi saying Yokozuna would do nothing but blast Gangsta Rap and rave about the best or upcoming new artists.

[Stone Coke Miami Watson 🥃]

This is who immediately springs to mind when I think of Samoan gangsters.

[Deleted]

Rosey and Jamal.

I wouldn't consider "Make a Difference" Fatu a gangsta.

I have to admit, I have a soft spot for a Samoan Savage gimmick. Umaga was amazing.

[ianriccaboni]

Oct 26, 2021 23:42:36 GMT -5 @negan said:

Rosey and Jamal.

I wouldn't consider "Make a Difference" Fatu a gangsta.

I have to admit, I have a soft spot for a Samoan Savage gimmick. Umaga was amazing.

The Samoan Ganhsta Party existed seven years earlier prior to them and wrestled for years together 🤷‍♂️

[Sephiroth]

Oct 26, 2021 23:42:36 GMT -5 @negan said:

Rosey and Jamal.

I wouldn't consider "Make a Difference" Fatu a gangsta.

I have to admit, I have a soft spot for a Samoan Savage gimmick. Umaga was amazing.

As cartoony as it is, it’s a trope that I think should always have a place. Umaga was the last guy to truly sell it. Jacob Fatu seems to be striking the right balance where he plays a wild man, but he’s not trying to act like a Neanderthal.

[WoodStoner1]

Oct 26, 2021 20:57:58 GMT -5 Ronny Rayguns Is All Elite said:

Oct 26, 2021 16:40:45 GMT -5 nickcave said:

They showed up once during a Fatu match on Raw before they dropped the Make a Difference gimmick

I remember Fatu yelling at them for trying to make him Re-join their gang

The security at WWF shows was a joke

Yes, this was circa 1996. Then they were dropped and Fatu would be pulled en route to becoming The Sultan.

The SGP then showed up in ECW as a "surprise" run-in against the Gangstas. This may have been the catalyst for the "Where's our BJs?" chant actually. (this was when Divine Brown showed up at an ECW Arena show, and Heyman promised that if the fans didn't like the rest of the show, she'd be in the back offering her services for free)

[jason1980s]

I was always a bigger Samu fan than any other Samoan, though I liked them all. I just liked him more for some reason. It always surprises me, given the family legacy, he didn't stick around longer. He left WWF abruptly after Summerslam and of course, the return to WWF in 1996 was short (maybe WWF let him go?) but as far as I know he never did anything else in a major promotion.

I saw him in an indy 6 man tag with his son in 2004 in a western Maryland town probably few people ever heard of outside of the state and he looked good and wrestled good. I'm sure if he wanted he could have had a job for a long time in WWF, like Fatu. The Make a Difference was made for 1995 WWF but it wasn't what the fans wanted to see and it failed.

[Milkman Norm]

Making A Difference Fatu was like the midcard predecessor of ABA Undertaker. Undertaker takes time off & when he returns he's a hog riding, Jack drinking bad ass from Texas instead of the Deadman. Fatu went from island savage to guy from the San Francisco streets who had left gang life & was trying to help his community. In neither case was there a substantial explanation. It was just kind of like ___ is this now.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

Oct 27, 2021 11:57:03 GMT -5 Milkman Norm said:

Making A Difference Fatu was like the midcard predecessor of ABA Undertaker. Undertaker takes time off & when he returns he's a hog riding, Jack drinking bad ass from Texas instead of the Deadman. Fatu went from island savage to guy from the San Francisco streets who had left gang life & was trying to help his community. In neither case was there a substantial explanation. It was just kind of like ___ is this now.

"Wait, last time I saw you you couldn't speak English or understand the concept of wearing shoes"
"I'm making a difference now"

[Milkman Norm]

Oct 27, 2021 12:36:19 GMT -5 Futureraven: Beelzebruv said:

Oct 27, 2021 11:57:03 GMT -5 Milkman Norm said:

Making A Difference Fatu was like the midcard predecessor of ABA Undertaker. Undertaker takes time off & when he returns he's a hog riding, Jack drinking bad ass from Texas instead of the Deadman. Fatu went from island savage to guy from the San Francisco streets who had left gang life & was trying to help his community. In neither case was there a substantial explanation. It was just kind of like ___ is this now.

"Wait, last time I saw you you couldn't speak English or understand the concept of wearing shoes"
"I'm making a difference now"

Exactly! And it wasn't like the Sultan gimmick where he's supposed to be a different person. He was still Fatu and we were just supposed to pretend like it wasn't weird that he was completely different.

[dangerousdanpotato]

I've heard rumours that if Yokozuna had returned in 98/99 he would have essentially dropped the character and been more like his real-life ganstaaa self. A bit like American Bad Ass Undertaker.