Premature deaths are all too common among professional wrestlers. One year ago today, Matt “Rosey” Anoa’i died at the age of 47 from congestive heart failure. And no one felt that loss more than his younger brother, Roman Reigns.
Exactly a year from his brother’s death, Reigns sent out a touching message to his Twitter followers.
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“I miss my Brother so much. He will be forever loved and never forgotten. #RIPMatt,” wrote Reigns.
I miss my Brother so much. He will be forever loved and never forgotten. #RIPMatt
โ Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) April 17, 2018
A member of the Anoaสปi family, a renowned Samoan wrestling family. After signing with WWE in 2002, Anoaสปi and his partner, Eddie Fatu (who later became Umaga) were called up to the Raw roster. Known as 3-Minute Warning, they were utilized as enforcers for then-General Manager Eric Bischoff.
Following the release of Fatu in 2003, Anoaสปi was “discovered” by The Hurricane and from there on they competed together as a team, known as Rosey and The Hurricane.
In 2003, Hurricane Helms “discovered” Rosey’s potential as a superhero, and christened him as “Rosey, the Super Hero in Training” (the S.H.I.T.).
Rosey was involved in numerous sketches involving him training to be a superhero, including helping an old lady to cross the street and attempting to get changed into his superhero costume in a phonebox. Rosey and The Hurricane teamed regularly together during this time, wrestling against teams including Chris Jericho and Christian and Evolution. On the July 19, 2004, episode of Raw, Rosey appeared with a new costume, seemingly graduated to a full superhero, officially turning him into a fan favorite.
After two years of teaming, they won the World Tag Team Championship but disbanded shortly after losing the championship. Anoaสปi was then released from his WWE contract in March 2006.
WWE released the following statement on the ay of his death:
“WWE is saddened to learn that Matt Anoa’i, known to fans as Rosey, has passed away at age 47. The son of WWE Hall of Famer Sika and older brother of WWE Superstar Roman Reigns, Rosey grew up in the legendary Anoa’i wrestling dynasty.”
RIP Rosey.
