Rosey (wrestler)
| Matt Anoa’i | |
|---|---|
Anoa’i in 2003 | |
| Birth name | Matthew Tapunu'u Anoaʻi |
| Born | April 7, 1970 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Died | April 17, 2017 (aged 47) Pensacola, Florida, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Congestive heart failure |
| Spouse |
Mandy Vandeberg
(m. 2004; div. 2012) |
| Children | 3 |
| Family | Anoaʻi |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Armageddon II Big Daddy Row Row Captain Chronic Kimo Kuhio Mack Daddy Kane Matt Anoaʻi Matty Samu Matty Smalls Rosey RO-Z |
| Billed height | 6 ft 7 in (201 cm) |
| Billed weight | 420 lb (191 kg) |
| Trained by | Afa Anoaʻi |
| Debut | 1995 |
| Retired | 2017 |
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 names Kimo and 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. 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.