You don?t mess with a Samoan

[goodhelmet]

This past week's Observer had a bio on Billy Robinson. Well, contained inside is a story where Billy was ribbing Peter Maivia and Rock's Granddaddy didn't like it too much. Here is a word-for-word account of the story in the Observer...

 

The stories of Robinson stretching and hurting people, both in training and in the ring, are lengthy. There were even examples with known shooters in the U.S. who tried to test their skills during worked matches against this so-called hotshot, and learning within 90 seconds that it was time to get back to working.

 

Still, what is by far the most famous fight story involving Robinson is the one he came out on the short end of, and one of the most savage brawls among superstar wrestlers of the last 50 years.

 

Peter Maivia was a Samoan born wrestler who gained fame, like Robinson, first in England, and then Japan, before making his biggest name in the U.S. Similar to Hulk Hogan, he gained some early fame in his career for being a heavy in a James Bond movie, where this young powerhouse put over Sean Connery. His reputation in the business was soon similar to that of someone like Meng in the 80s, as the person you don?t want to mess with. Robinson would probably have been the equivalent of perhaps a 90s Ken Shamrock.

 

They also asked Robinson about Maivia, and he said the incident was a streetfight, not a friendly wrestling confrontation. If he elaborated further in the interview, it was edited out. Maivia, a 5-10, 280 pound-tank was one of the first Samoan superstars in pro wrestling, and the word in pro wrestling that, ?You don?t mess with a Samoan,? probably came specifically because of stories related to him, and this one in particular.

 

The incident took place in 1968 in Hokkaido, Japan where both were on the IWA tour that launched Robinson into superstardom in that country. He didn?t give details, or if he did, they were edited out. Any wrestler who was around in the 70s heard the legendary story, largely because of the end result.

 

It was a story that virtually every older wrestler has heard discussed in the dressing room. The most popular version seems to be they were arguing over who was the toughest. Robinson had the training and the skill, but Maivia was a naturally tough badass who was much heavier and more of a natural powerhouse. Both would have been in their prime at that point, Robinson was 29 and Maivia was 31.

 

With the exception of Robinson, most of the key people on that tour, like Maivia (who passed away in 1982 from cancer at the age of 45) and George Gordienko, have passed away.

 

?My dad never talked about it to me,? said Maivia?s daughter, Ata Johnson. ?What?s he gonna tell his daughter? ?Listen, baby, I tried to rip this guy?s eye.? So no, it was a subject that I?d accidentally catch bits and pieces of, as the boys (like Ray Stevens and Pepper Gomez) would talk about in hush, hush undertones and then kayfabe me if I got too near?. It was a family friend (Gordienko) who I was talking to on the phone. So we?re chit chatting and I?d known that he was in Japan with Dad, so I asked him what happened. He said they were all in a restaurant and Robinson was mocking/making fun of dad?s eating chicken with his fingers. A reference was jokingly made about that being disgusting and savage, and that he should learn to use a fork. George told me that Robinson was a patronizing huge snob, and that he looked down on the foreign boys. My dad was huge on respecting all people. George said that Dad threw Billy threw the restaurant window, glass was everywhere, blood was everywhere, especially all over Billy?s face. George?s story was then interrupted by my dad, who rudely took the phone from me, because George had called to talk to him. And he was hot at me and George.?

 

In his 1990 book, ?everybody Down Here Hates Me,? Pat Barrett wrote about the incident in detail.

 

His version was that Robinson was ribbing Maivia for a long time, but Maivia was just laughing it off. The two were in the hotel restaurant drinking as friends, when Maivia reminded Robinson that Samoans were? ? all slow and stupid. Robinson wouldn?t back down and said that?s how he felt. Maivia said it didn?t matter how he felt (there is some irony if that phraseology is correct and this was written long before ?It doesn?t matter!? became part of wrestling catch phrase lexicon), and punched Robinson through a glass panel.

 

It didn?t end there. Robinson covered in blood, came back, underhooked Maivia?s arms and set to suplex him and drop him on his head. ?Even a man of Peter?s strength wouldn?t have survived that,? Barrett wrote. Scarily, I?d guess Barrett was wrong, as the mid-70s incident covered in the local newspapers of the Samoan wrestler Peter Anderson (Maivia?s legal name. As big as wrestling was at the Cow Palace and Maivia was a main event star and big local draw, it was still its own audience and no news reports at the time ever acknowledged his fame and headliner status on the local scene) chronicled.? Seems he had gotten out of control in a nightclub and nine police officers because of the size and reputation of the man. It ended in a nine-on-one brawl. You don?t have to ask which nine all ended up injured and the one who was left standing having cleaned house before he was calmed down.

 

As Robinson was setting up the throw, Maivia bit Robinson in the cheek and clamped on tight and wouldn?t let go. Robinson let go of Maivia and tried, without success, to get away from the vice-like jaws. Three other wrestlers, who had been watching and either enjoying the spectacle, as Barrett wrote, or perhaps felt getting in the middle between these two men was far too scary, finally broke it up. Robinson went to the hospital and lost his eye. Maivia sat down and had another drink. ?This was fighting, Samoan-style, no holds barred, and he was an expert at it,? wrote Barrett.

[Loss]

Wrestling is insane. All of these road stories are just wild. I don't think I could ever get into wrestling simply because of the ribs. The lies on top of that are kind of a problem, but they usually take the ribs way too far.

 

Was there any particular reason he chose this week to cover Billy Robinson?

[goodhelmet]

I have no idea. I was waiting for the obituary. To be honest, I think he is probably getting it down in print so when Robinson does die, he'll have his entry ready for Tributes Whatever,

 

This is one of the few stories that raised my eyebrow. I had no idea Robinson had that kind of reputation.

[sek69]

*takes out notepad*

 

Rule 1. Never fuck with a samoan....

 

 

 

Man, between samoans and tongans (Meng) the crime rate on those islands must be near zero.

[Tim Cooke]

Robinson did an interview on Japanese TV so Meltzer covered that as well as some background history.

 

Robinson also said that Jumbo could have been the best ever but stopped learning in the early 80's.

 

Add that to the list of "workers memories are jaded"

 

Tim

[sek69]

I have The Wrestler on DVD, which if you haven't heard of it, was Verne Gagne's movie about....Verne Gagne.

 

Billy Robinson plays the young new babyface, and you could even tell in the movie that he had douche tendancies that would result in a asskicking like that.

[Loss]

Robinson did an interview on Japanese TV so Meltzer covered that as well as some background history.  

 

Robinson also said that Jumbo could have been the best ever but stopped learning in the early 80's.

Early 80s? Wow. Jumbo adjusted his style to work against Choshu and company, and modified it again to keep up with Misawa, Kawada and Kobashi in the early 90s. I wonder what he needed to do that he didn't do. Did Ric Flair ever make any adjustments in his style after 1981 or so? Well, unless you count "taking things out of his arsenal" as changing his style. I say that as a huge Flair fan.

[Tim Cooke]

Meltzer points out that Robinson stopped touring in 1985 so he didn't see anything after that for the most part.

 

Robinson also says Inoki was the greatest Japanese wrestler he eve worked against.

 

Tim

[goodhelmet]

Are the Robinson-Inoki matches feautured on the New Japan classics?

 

I am really digging the Robinson-Jumbo matches and I am not sure how much of that is the greatness of Jumbo or the talent of Robinson combined with the greatness of Jumbo.