I could tell Ritchie wasn’t interested, though I was hoping Ritchie would fix me up with her. He didn’t. I asked Ritchie later why and he told me to have done so would have been asking for trouble. I didn’t see it that way but I was extremely ignorant to the ways of the world, and my wife tells me in some ways I still am. But, Ritchie was RIGHT.  Like I said earlier I thought pro-wrestling was real. I was getting ready to be smartened up.

Lia Maivia, the owner of Polynesian Pro-Wrestling was bringing in the top names at the time, for her monthly shows at the Neil S. Blaisdell arena. She was on two television stations, KHNL Channel 13 and KSHO TV 26. At this time, the late Bruiser Brody and Colonel Buckley Christopher Robley III were running a program that was hot and heavy on TV... you would think these guys hated each other.

On this particular night I was in the Blaisdell helping set up the ring, and I asked Rugger Rose something. I don’t even remember what the question was. Anyway he said come with me. So I followed him. We walked up the isle back toward the bleachers on the north side of the arena. Under the bleachers, and through the curtains. Lo, and behold, there was Buck Robley and Bruiser Brody standing there side-by-side, laughing and carrying on. This was another occasion where I said to my self, "What the (fill in expletive)?"

The Blaidell Arena dressing rooms are set behind the seats on the north end of the arena underneath the seats. There was an open space between the two rooms and guys went back and forth in the dressing rooms.

It was back here where Lia Maivia and Lars Anderson would run things (and later on Rocky Johnson). All of the guys who came in, seemed to love Lia. She used to draw some good houses. The boys used to like to come to Hawaii. Who wouldn’t?

Lia was a sweet woman... simple, and down to earth, but when she was at the shows she wore one of the biggest diamond rings I have ever seen. She would give the "Dewey" (a.k.a. the Rock) $50 or $100 at a time. (Why couldn’t my grandparents have been so generous :)?). It was also very touching on the one or two occasions I went with her to Diamond Head, to visit Peter. She usually had a little bottle of liquor (like on airplanes) she would take with her. She would fix up his grave, open the bottle, take a drink, pour some on his grave (having a drink with him) and then just talk. When we readied to leave, she would get up and her eyes would be misty.

Her main star, was Siva Afi, and he was getting ready to work Ric Flair for the world title at the High Chief Peter Maivia Memorial Show at Aloha Stadium. She and Lars did a real good job building it up. The show did very well. They did several vignettes, one was him swimming, one running, one pumping iron, one with him "sparring" with 3 guys, and one with him at the Samoan House Restaurant in Honolulu.

The filming of the vignette took place on one of the training days. I walked up the steps to the room, opened the door and there was Siva working out with Ritchie, Ted Knoll (the Louisiana Cowboy), and one of the TV announcers Dunbar Wakayama (who also owned the studio where television was put together). Lia told Lars, to get me in there. So Lars told me when he blew the whistle to run in there and take a back drop, then it was something like a babyface making a hot tag. I was on top of the world, here I was on TV getting my ass kicked.

The vignette at the Samoan House:

Lia told me that they were having a thing for Siva at the Samoan House, and that it would be nice if I came along. But, if I got drunk and embarrassed her she would kick my ass... needless to say, I was on my best behavior. It was here that Siva coaxed me into eating raw fish. I made sure I drowned it in soy sauce before I did. It was the first time I had taro cooked in coconut milk. You don’t know what you are missing until you eat taro cooked in coconut milk.

I was at the Samoan House Restaurant where I got to actually see and put on a Super Bowl Ring.  Jessie Sapaulo, who was an all-pro for the Super Bowl Champions, San Francisco 49ers, was also afriend of the Maivias. I didn’t know that until I got there that they were also filming this to promote the upcoming main event of Siva Afi vs. Ric Flair at the High Chief Peter Maivia Memorial Show at Aloha Stadium.

After all this time, while I was still in the Marine Corps...  all I ever heard was that Samoans are nothing but trouble...  what a bunch of day old, stale horsesh**!

Tell next time....