In the season finale of WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures, the focus is on the Samoan Dynasty made of the Anoa’i and Maivia families that create a rich, historical bloodline within wrestling. After Booker T introduces Rikishi, who will be the face of the hunt tonight, Foley reminds us how Rikishi went through a number of characters (Fatu, The Sultan) before settling on the Stinkface delivering, dancing, fan favourite. Booker T and Rikishi extol the virtues of Roman Reigns, The Rock, and go all the way back to Rikishi’s uncles Afa and Sika, and Peter Maivia – and of course Rikishi’s sons Jey and Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa.
Since the show is after memorabilia, the first piece that comes up is Rikishi’s sumo belt, estimated at $2.5-$5K. Rikishi also suggests they find some of The Rock’s $500 shirts from the Attitude Era — though Booker T reveals that he wore some of those same shirts and they cost about $40. Still, they’re now expected to fetch between $5-$8K. Finally, they come up with Yokozuna’s entrance robe from WrestleMania X, valued between $6-$9K.
With the wish list set up, the treasure hunt begins! Foley meets Rikishi in Brodheadsville, PA, at the Wild Samoan Training Centre, run by Afa Anoa’i, Jr., who briefly went by Manu in the WWE. They then take a short trip to the house of collector Mike Heffner, who has a basement chock full of collected items. Rikishi spots a robe of his own, one that had RKJ4-LIFE on the back, which paid tribute to Rodney (Yokozuna), Keilani and Justin (Rodney’s children).
Foley lets them know they’re looking for some things from Yokozuna, and Heffner tells him right away that he’s never sold a piece of his collection. They find the robe they’re looking for, and Rikishi tries it on, bringing back all sorts of memories of Yoko. Foley offers $6K, then $10K, but Heffner insists it’s not about the money. Foley contacts Ben Brown, the WWE archivist, to look for something they can offer as a trade. They come up with one of Gorgeous George’s robes as an offer, and — after a commercial break to draw out the tension — Heffner accepts. He even gifts Rikishi’s robe back to him.
Next up is Memphis, TN, where Lita visits Jerry Lawler on her hunt for one of The Rock’s shirts. Lawler takes her right away to his office, where a white shirt with a gold lion is framed on his wall, which The Rock wore on Raw the night after his “I Quit” match against Foley at the Royal Rumble — and Lawler has worn to the ring himself. Lawler puts a hard line on $10K, and Lita, although she says she’ll get in trouble for it, goes over budget and makes the deal.
Finally, Foley and Rikishi are in Middletown, PN. They chat in the car about the representation of Samoan wrestlers over the years, and Rikishi is pleased to see that the days of holding spears and being wild men from the jungle are in the past. They arrive at the house of Mark Ward, who boasts a collection that includes Umaga’s tights, which has Rikishi getting sentimental about his late brother.
They spot the sumo belt, thong, and skirt that Rikishi wore in the ring, and Foley offers up some money, but Ward, like Heffner, isn’t concerned about the money and is looking for an item to take its place. Foley counters with money and a VIP experience at an upcoming Extreme Rules PPV (oops — he meant “Premium Live Event”), and although Ward takes so long so say anything that Foley and Rikishi actually say their goodbyes, he eventually accepts.
The episode wraps up with Foley showing off the haul to Booker T in Stamford, CT, and one final, deserving lauding of the extended families that make up the Samoan Dynasty in the WWE. A rather straightforward episode to close out the season, but it felt like it was more about honouring the families and wrestlers than it was about the actual hunt for their items. Stay tuned to SlamWrestling.net for news on a possible third season of the show, and check out our A&E story archive below for catch up on anything you’ve missed!
RELATED LINKS
- Feb 22, 2011: Mat Matters: Everything I ever knew about Samoa, I learned from pro wrestling
- Oct. 23, 2000: Yokozuna dead at 34
