Lia Maivia

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Lia Maivia
Lia Maivia.jpg
Born
Ofelia Fuataga

6 August 1927
Lalomanu, Aleipata, Western Samoa[1]
Died19 October 2008(2008-10-19) (aged 81)
Davie, Florida, U.S.
NationalityAmerican Samoan
Other namesLeah Maivia
OccupationProfessional wrestling promoter
Years active1982–2008
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1953; died 1982)​
Children2
RelativesDwayne Johnson (grandson)
Rocky Johnson (son-in-law)

Ofelia "Lia" Maivia[1] (born Ofelia Fuataga; August 6, 1927 – October 19, 2008)[2] was a Samoan professional wrestling promoter. She is credited as one of the first female professional wrestling promoters. Maivia was the wife of Samoan professional wrestler Peter Maivia and the grandmother of actor and wrestler, Dwayne Johnson, also known as The Rock.

Professional wrestling career[]

Maivia took over the Polynesian Pro Wrestling (PPW), a territory of the National Wrestling Alliance in Hawaii, following the death of her husband, "High Chief" Peter Maivia, in 1982.[3] She became one of wrestling's first female promoters.[1] In the mid-1980s, her promotion ran a show called Polynesian Pacific Pro Wrestling on the Financial News Network.[4] Her biggest card, A Hot Summer Night, occurred on 3 August 1985 and had a crowd of 20,000.[1] Her show the following year did not do as well, and the promotion began to decline.[1] Maivia, her booker Lars Anderson, and Ati So'O faced extortion charges from a competing Hawaiian promotion, but were acquitted in November 1989.[1] PPW closed in 1988.[3][5]

In 2018, Maivia's grandson, Dwayne Johnson gave an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, in which Johnson recounts that his grandfather 'High Chief' Peter Maivia, at the beginning of his career, never told his wife of the choreography of wrestling, leading Maivia to believe it was "real fighting". When Johnson's grandfather was in a match in San Francisco, and was getting beaten by his opponent, Lia Maivia came into the ring, and started beating her husband's opponent with her wooden clog shoe leading Peter Maivia to shout in Samoan to stop beating his opponent up and that the opponent was Maivia's friend.[6]

Personal life[]

Lia Maivia had one daughter, Mataniufeagaimaleata Fitisemanu (Ata Fitisemanu), with her first husband. After she married Peter Maivia he adopted her daughter and changed her name to Ata Fitisemanu Maivia.[1][3] Ata and her ex-husband Rocky Johnson are the parents of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.[3]

Maivia died of a heart attack at her home in Davie, Florida, on 19 October 2008.[3][5] There were conflicting reports of her age, as most outlets reported that she was 81 years old,[2][5] while The Miami Herald reported that she was 77.[3] The Anoa'i family established the "Lia Maivia Scholarship" in her honor.[7]

Bill Apter, a writer and journalist who specializes in wrestling, wrote of Maivia following her death: "When my daughter Hailey, who is now 23, met Lia at a wrestling event in upper New York state, Lia went to a gift shop at a nearby hotel and bought Hailey a stuffed rabbit as a gift. She had never met her before this day, and this shows what a heart she had!"[3] Greg Oliver, another professional wrestling journalist, wrote that Maivia "was considered a strong-willed businesswoman, demanding and challenging of her employees."[1]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Oliver, Greg. "Lia Maivia was a pioneering woman promoter". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b "WWE ANNOUNCES PASSING OF FORMER PROMOTER, GRANDMOTHER OF ROCK LIA MAIVIA". PWInsider. 21 October 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Brecher, Elinor J. (25 October 2008). "Grandmother of 'The Rock,' promoter". Miami Herald.
  4. ^ Oliver, Greg and Steven Johnson (2010). The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels. ECW Press. p. 289. ISBN 1554902843.
  5. ^ a b c "Leah Maivia passes away". WWE. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  6. ^ "Dwayne Johnson's Grandma Was Into Wrestling". YouTube.
  7. ^ "Scholarships". The Usos Foundation. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
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