16 Wrestlers Who Died In 2017
8. Matt 'Rosey' Anoa'i (17 April)
Matt Anoa'i, brother of Roman Reigns and better known as one-time WWE superhero in training Rosey, died this past April of congestive heart failure. It came ten days after he celebrated his 47th birthday.
As part of fabled Samoan wrestling family the Anoa'is, there was only one career path for the son of Sika. Matt kidded himself for a while with dreams of playing professional football, as well as working in nightclubs, before he could avoid his destiny no longer and eventually resigned himself to life as a wrestler.
After stints in uncle Afa's WXW, the Colon's WWC, and Atsushi Onita's hardcore haven FMW, Anoa'i and cousin Eddie Fatu were eventually signed up to WWE, where they were originally placed in the Heartland Wrestling Association territory under the stereotypical Island Boyz gimmick. The pair received their big break in 2002, called up to Monday Night Raw as Eric Bischoff's savage enforcers Rosey and Jamal - or '3-Minute Warning'. The skit involved put-upon performers being given the time it takes to boil an egg to entertain Raw's GM; if they failed, the hired brutes would squash them. Amongst the victims, Anoa'i highlighted Easy E's 'lesbians' as his favourites.
A bar fight cut short Fatu's tenure with the company, so Rosey had to go it alone - at least until 'Hurricane' Helms recognised the 'superhero' potential within him. Rosey was transformed into a Superhero In Training (or S.H.I.T - get it?), going on to enjoy moderate success as Helms' sidekick. The apotheosis of their run saw Rosey graduate from his education, culminating in a tag team title win for the pair.
Rosey's 2006 release nixed any possibility of a 3-Minute Warning reunion following Jamal's rehiring earlier that year. Fatu was instead repackaged as Samoan bulldozer Umaga. He passed away in 2009.
After his contract was terminated, Rosey appeared sporadically on the independent scene, as well as signing on as a contestant for ABC's reality series Fat March, during which participants were challenged to walk a colossal 570 miles to lose weight. Anoa'i was forced to quit after just five episodes on account of persistent knee injuries.