Jimmy Snuka

Names	Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka
Height
Weight
Birth date	May 18, 1944
Birth place	Fiji
Resides	Clifton, New Jersey
Billed	The Fiji Islands
Trainer	Danny Hodge
Debut	1970

James William Reiher (born May 18, 1944) is a semi-retired Fijian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name of Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Originally from the Fiji Islands, Snuka wrestled for several wrestling promotions in the 1970s and 1980s. He is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation in the early to mid-'80s, and is credited with being the first ECW Heavyweight Champion, and introducing the high-flyer style of wrestling to the WWF. His son James Jr. is also a professional wrestler, who has wrestled in the WWE as both Deuce and Sim Snuka. His daughter Sarona is also a wrestler.

Wrestling career

Early career

Reiher was active in amateur bodybuilding in Hawaii in the 1960s. He also enjoyed some success as a professional bodybuilder, earning the titles of Mr. Hawaii, Mr. Waikiki and Mr. North Shore. Reiher opted to go into the more lucrative career of professional wrestling due to his uncertainty of making a living in bodybuilding. According to the Wrestling Museum, "as a result of working out regularly at pro wrestler Dean Ho's gym in Hawaii, Snuka came into contact with many of the wrestlers who worked in the South Pacific region and, eventually, he decided to explore his options in the sport." As Jimmy Kealoha, Snuka made his debut fighting Maxwell "Bunny" Butler in Hawaii in 1970. Snuka's website further states that "Afterwards, the move to the mainland saw Jimmy wrestle for Don Owen’s NWA Pacific Northwest territory where he held the belt as Heavyweight Champion six times. The first title win came when Jimmy Snuka pinned Bull Ramos on November 16, 1973." Future wrestling stars The Sandman, Mick Foley, Tommy Dreamer, and Bubba Ray Dudley were all in attendance at the event, and cite this match as the reason they decided to aggressively pursue professional wrestling. In 1991, he was also the first PPV singles opponent for The Undertaker. The Undertaker would be a top contender in the company for many years to come, in part from Snuka letting him win in a squash at WrestleMania VII; this began his Wrestlemania undefeated streak.

Eastern Championship Wrestling (1992–1994)

After leaving the WWF in February 1992, Jimmy toured with various smaller organizations in the early 1990s and played a role in the formation of Tod Gordon's Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) organization along with Don Muraco and Terry Funk. Snuka was ECW's first ECW Heavyweight Champion and toured with the company through 1994. ECW would later be taken over by Paul Heyman, who would rename it Extreme Championship Wrestling.

Semi-retirement (1996–present)

(right) and Roddy Piper before their match against Chris Jericho in WrestleMania XXV]] He was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1996. He also continued to spend much of his time with East Coast Wrestling organizations through the late 1990s and into the 2000s. During this time, he wrestled the Metal Maniac in a series of matches that spanned across many independent wrestling promotions. Snuka won nearly every one of these matches.

During the later half of the 1990s, Snuka appeared for both major wrestling promotions, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. He would make periodic appearances for the WWF, such as competing at the 1996 Survivor Series. Snuka received a lifetime achievement award from WWE in 2002 at Madison Square Garden and began to be thrust into skits by WWE in 2004/2005. Snuka also appeared on WCW Monday Nitro in early 2000, where he gave Jeff Jarrett a Superfly Splash off the top of a steel cage. Snuka also participated at the first XWF TV tapings, accompanying his son, Jimmy Snuka, Jr. to the ring for some matches, including one match where they both delivered the Superfly Splash to prone opponents.

Jimmy appeared on the November 15 episode of Raw accompanying his daughter to the ring

IWS International Wrestling Superstars (2002-2004)

On June 22, 2002 Jimmy Snuka won the United States Championship by pin fall against King Kong Bundy in Atlantic City, New Jersey, proving to the world that he could still fly.

In 2005, he appeared at the WWE Homecoming, where he delivered a Superfly Splash to Rob Conway with a ring full of legends at his side like Dusty Rhodes and Billy Graham. He also took part in a backstage skit, chasing after a partially disrobed Mae Young with a wad of Ted DiBiase's money. He was a part of the Taboo Tuesday pay-per-view, where fans voted for him (ahead of Kamala and Jim Duggan) to team with Eugene against Rob Conway and Tyson Tomko. Snuka won the match, pinning Conway after a superfly splash. He also appeared at the 2007 WWE draft edition of Raw in a vignette for Mr. McMahon appreciation night.

On June 24, 2007, Jimmy Snuka was introduced as Sgt. Slaughter's tag team partner in the open invitational match for the WWE Tag Team Championship at . Snuka was ultimately pinned by his son.

In 2008, Snuka appeared in the Royal Rumble. He was in the match less than 5 minutes and primarily focused his efforts on onetime nemesis, Roddy Piper. Both were quickly eliminated by the next entrant, Kane.

On the March 2, 2009, edition of Raw, he was attacked by Chris Jericho during a parody of Piper's Pit. This was part of a storyline where Jericho was disrespecting and attacking legends. Two weeks later on the March 16, 2009, Raw, Snuka, Roddy Piper, Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat attacked Chris Jericho.

It was announced that at Wrestlemania XXV on April 5, 2009, Snuka would be teaming with Ricky Steamboat and Roddy Piper to face Chris Jericho in a Legends of Wrestlemania Handicap Match. Ric Flair was also in their corner. Snuka was the first eliminated by Jericho, who eventually won the match.

On November 28, 2009 he teamed with his son for the first time ever at an NWA Upstate event in Lockport NY. Superfly & Deuce faced the NWA Upstate Tag Team Champions Hellcat & Triple X in a non title match. The Snukas won the match via pinfall.

On November 15, 2010, Snuka made an appearance on an "old school" edition of Raw, where he stood by his daughter Tamina, in the Uso brothers' corner during their match against Santino Marella and Vladimir Kozlov.

Personal life

Jimmy Snuka and his wife have created a reality show called The Superfly Challenge. It was recently shot in New York, New Jersey, and Maryland. Filming took place at the New Berlin Diner and Nikolai Volkoff's farm.

Jimmy is also an avid poker player. He was at the Poker4Life tournament in New York City and raised $100,000 for the charity. When the Superfly was done, all five tables still in play halted and applauded him with a standing ovation.

Snuka wrestles on the Independent Circuit in his home state of New Jersey on a regular basis.

Snuka also has a daughter, Sarona Reiher, who performs as Tamina in World Wrestling Entertainment's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling. Sarona made her WWE Raw debut as a heel on May 24, 2010, and was the former valet of The Uso Brothers tag team but now she's a face managing her "boyfriend" Santino Marella.

Snuka also is the part-owner of Bodyslam University in South Florida and teaches there once a month.

The death of Nancy Argentino

On May 10, 1983, a few hours after Snuka had performed in a WWF TV taping at the Lehigh County Agricultural Hall in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Snuka placed a call for an ambulance. When emergency personnel arrived on the scene at Room 427 of the George Washington Motor Lodge in nearby Whitehall Township, they found Snuka’s girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, in bad shape. She was transported to Allentown's Sacred Heart Medical Center, where she died shortly after of "undetermined craniocerebral injuries." Deputy Lehigh County coroner Wayne Snyder said “Upon viewing the body and speaking to the pathologist, I immediately suspected foul play and so notified the district attorney." Snuka was the only suspect involved in the subsequent investigation.

Charges were not pressed against Snuka, although the case was left officially open, meaning no official judgment on whether the incident was accidental or homicide was ever made. In 1985, Argentino’s parents won a $500,000 default judgment against Snuka in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, although Snuka appears not to have ever paid, claiming financial inability to do so.

Acting career

Snuka played himself in the film Buffalo Bushido by Peter McGennis, shot in Buffalo, New York, in 2007. Snuka appeared in the 2008 film Shoot Out of Luck co-starring Willie Nelson and Randall "Tex" Cobb.

Legacy

Snuka has been name-dropped on songs by rappers Xzibit and MF Doom.

His cage match with Muraco, and particularly the splash from the top of the cage, has become one of the all-time iconic moments in modern professional wrestling history. The match's profile has been raised in recent years thanks to widespread availability via the Internet and distribution of the WWE Video Library. It's largely been lost to time that the finish served as poetic justice to the Madison Square Garden audience, coming as Snuka contended for both major singles titles in the WWF in the cage and lost both times, including the first time as a result of missing a splash from the top of the cage against Backlund.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

:*The Superfly Splash (Diving splash) :*Superfly Kick (Superkick)

*Signature moves :*Backbreaker :*Body slam :*Delayed suplex :*Diving crossbody, sometimes while leaping to the outside :*Elevated mounted punches :*Headbutt :*Piledriver :*Various knife–edged chops :*Samoan Neckbreker (Rope-hung cutter)

Championships and accomplishments

All Japan Pro Wrestling

:*World's Strongest Tag Team League (1981) – with Bruiser Brody

*Cauliflower Alley Club :*Other honoree (1996)

*Continental Wrestling Association :*CWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with JT Southern

*Eastern Championship Wrestling :*NWA ECW Heavyweight Championship (2 times, Inaugural)¹ :*NWA ECW Television Championship (1 time)

*Georgia Championship Wrestling :*NWA National Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Terry Gordy

*International Wrestling Superstars :*IWS United States Championship (1 time)

*Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling :*NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (1 time) :*NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (2 times) – with Paul Orndorff (1) and Ray Stevens (1)

*NWA All-Star Wrestling :*NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (1 time) – with Don Leo Jonathan

*NWA Big Time Wrestling :*NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time) :*NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Gino Hernandez

*NWL WRESTLING :*NWL Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

*Pacific Northwest Wrestling :*NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (5 times) :*NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Dutch Savage

*Pro Wrestling Illustrated :*PWI Match of the Year (1982) vs. Bob Backlund in a cage match on June 28 :*PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1983) :*PWI Tag Team of the Year (1980) with Ray Stevens :*PWI ranked him #29 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.

*World Wide Wrestling Alliance :*WWWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

*World Wrestling Federation :*WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

*Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards :*Tag Team of the Year (1981) with Terry Gordy :*Best Flying Wrestler (1981) :*Best Wrestling Maneuver (1981, 1983) Superfly Splash

*Other titles :*Tri-State Heavyweight Championship (1 time) :*USA New York Championship (1 time) :*USA Pro Heavyweight Championship (1 time) :*SXA United States of America Championship (1 time)

Notes

¹Jimmy Snuka's reigns occurred while the promotion was an NWA affiliate named Eastern Championship Wrestling, and was prior to the promotion becoming Extreme Championship Wrestling and the title being declared a world title by ECW.

References

Further reading

Foley, Mick (1999) Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks. ReganBooks. ISBN 0-060-9299-1.

External links

Official Website

WWE Hall of Fame Profile of Jimmy Snuka

HitTheRopes.com Interview

Audio Interview (2009) from 'Rafferty/Mills Connection' podcast

Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Fijian professional wrestlers Category:WWE Hall of Fame Category:Fijian immigrants to the United States Category:1943 births Category:Living people Category:Professional wrestling trainers