There are a number of wrestling families, some even go back three and four generations. In that family, you have the wrestlers who put the name on the map, the family members who make the name a national or international name, and those who are poor representatives of the name. Let’s look at Afa Jr and see if he blemished the name or blew his chances.
Afa Jr: The Samoan Storm
I’ve watched Afa Jr since his father’s WXW promotion was available to watch online in the early 2000s. I thought it was cool that someone who was still in high school was in-ring. Between then and his WWE debut, Afa Jr put on a significant amount of weight. This guy was considered a cruiserweight at one point in his career. As Manu, he was a solid hand and part of the Legacy faction.
Yeah, if you forgot about Randy Orton’s Legacy stable, don’t feel bad. The stable was around for less than half of Afa Jr’s WWE career. Currently, he’s out and about on the indies and has gone from a flying brawler to the family’s brand of bulky, Wild Samoan brawling.
Having watched his matches throughout the 2010s and comparing them to his WWE work and his matches from WXW, he improved quite a bit. This is down to just getting the work and plying his craft regularly. He’s found what works for him in-ring and that’s a bulldozer-like style. I mean he’s a slightly slower Jacob Fatu but he’s good at what he does.
Blemished or Blown?
Did he blemish the name or has he blown his chance? I feel that neither occurred. While he has a criminal background, it’s wrestling as long as it’s not rape and/or murder or something in that area, that wrestler is fine. Afa Jr had a charge for receiving stolen property but that’s extremely mild compared to what others have done in the business.
He’s 35, has over twenty years of experience, and seems at home on the indies but I can see him in a larger promotion. Especially somewhere like Impact, MLW, the NWA, or AEW. You need a couple of smash mouth-style wrestlers—look at me, I’m a regular Tazz over here—on a roster. All of the listed promotions have some but not all of their products scream smash mouth or hard-hitting.
Now that’s a company decision but it wouldn’t hurt to have more power brawlers. Of course, that opens another can of worms because where do you stop when you have one Anoa’i? I wouldn’t think promotions still ran that unwritten but fan-observed “2 Samoans Maximum” hiring practice that WWE had, right?
Mark Afa Jr under “Still In The Game.” I can see him being a surprise signing at some point.
Verdict: Still in the game
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
