Peter Maivia

Peter Maivia was born as Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia on April 6, 1937 in The Isle of Samao. He belonged to the family of the Alii lineage of Malietoa. His body, basically his abdomen and legs, are covered with traditional Samoan tattoos symbolic of his High Chief status. He is the maternal father of American superstar and Hollywood celebrity, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Peter Maivia was considered a ‘blood brother’ by Amituanai Anoa'i, the father of the Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika). It was due to this reason that the Anoa'i family regarded the Maivia line from him on forward as an extension of their own clan.

In 1953, he married Ofelia ‘Lia’ Maivia. They were blessed with a son and a daughter. While his son was a professional wrestler and wrestled in Hawaii and the West Coast as ‘Prince Peter Maivia’, his daughter, Ata Fitisemanu Maivia, married Rocky Johnson, a professional wrestler, despite Maivia's objections.

In 1981, Peter Maivia was diagnosed with cancer. He breathed his last on June 12, 1982. His wife, Lia Maivia, died on October 19, 2008.

Peter Maivia may today be known as the legendary High Chief and the forerunner of the Maivia-Johnson sports-entertainment clan but things weren’t the same for this 109 kg wrestler from when he started wrestling. In 1960s, Maivia moved to New Zealand to begin his wrestling career. He trained under Steve Rickard, a South Pacific legend, and became a skilled wrestler.

In the early years of his career, Peter Maivia won numerous championships in the South Pacific and Hawaii. Having made his mark at the South Pacific region, he then moved to United States in 1970. In the U.S., Peter Maivia dominated the sport like a true superstar. He won multiple championships in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. He held important titles, such as NWA Tag Team Championship, World Tag Team Championship and so on, at various points in his career.

It was in late 1970s that Peter Maivia earned the spotlight when he entered WWE. Known regionally until then, he gained national prominence. He competed in Texas for a short time. In California, Maivia formed a close mentor-student relationship with ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham. Later, in the final years of his career in WWE, he competed against Graham for the WWE Championship. He formed a bitter rivalry against Bob Backlund and Victor Rivera. Outside the ring, Peter Maivia mentored various future fighters including Graham, Wild Samoan Afa and Rocky Johnson. He retired from wrestling on February 11, 1982, after two decades of wrestling career.

He was also seen playing a cameo in the fifth film of the James Bond series ‘You Only Live Twice’, thus starting a legacy that was duly taken forward by his grandson, ‘The Rock’.