Over the last week, the wrestling world has been reacting to the passing of Sika Anoa'i, remembering his legacy as one-half of the Wild Samoans alongside brother Afa Anoa'i. Among them is WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray who went into greater detail about the impact that Anoa'i had on his career, on a recent episode of "Busted Open Radio."
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"The first time I turned on WWF programming, the first two men I ever saw were Afa and Sika, The Wild Samoans," said Ray. "The minute I saw them and watched them wrestle, it was instantaneous for me: I was like, 'I want to do that.'"
Ray has had a long and successful career, primarily as a tag team wrestler alongside D-Von Dudley as The Dudley Boyz. In 1997, the two were awarded Tag Team of the Year by the Cauliflower Alley Club, a moment made even more memorable because the Wild Samoans were the ones to deliver the awards.
"To see and to hear the Wild Samoans, Afa and Sika, are the ones presenting you with the award and they're the ones talking positively about you and saying this is the tag team of the future," said Ray. "That was a huge, huge deal."
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Afa and Sika rarely talked on WWE programming to contribute to their "savage" personalities, and because of this Ray vividly remembers hearing them speak for the first time at the event."Look at my goosebumps, just remembering that moment," said Ray. "I looked back at my grandparents ... with a look of shock on my face, I'm like, 'The Samoans just talked!'"
A few days ago, Ray took to X to announce that Wednesday's episode of "Busted Open" was dedicated to the life and career of Sika Anoa'i.
Please credit "Busted Open Radio" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
