Peter Maivia was a professional wrestler from Samoa. He was a forerunner who established the Maivia-Johnson family’s legacy in sports and entertainment. Maivia was a WWE wrestler that not only represented the Samoan Anoa’i dynasty in the Southwest United States, but also around the world. Peter Maivia began his wrestling career in 1962 after receiving training from Steve Rickard in New Zealand. During his two-decade career, he not only won numerous titles, trophies, and championships for his country, but he also earned the moniker “Flying Hawaiian.” It’s worth noting that Maivia wasn’t simply concerned with his own personal achievement; he wanted to a bright future in wrestling, and in order to achieve this goal, he mentored and trained future wrestling heroes. In Hawaii, he was also the promoter for the National Wrestling Alliance. His maternal grandson, the immensely skilled Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, posthumously inducted him into the WWE Hall of Fame for his immeasurable contribution to the sport of wrestling, an accolade that was received by Rock’s mother and Peter Maivia’s daughter, Ata Mavia-Johnson.
Career of Peter
Peter Maivia may be remembered today as the renowned High Chief and founder of the Maivia-Johnson sports-entertainment clan, but things were different for this 109 kg wrestler when he first began wrestling. Maivia began his wrestling career in New Zealand in the 1960s. He became a good wrestler after training with Steve Rickard, a South Pacific icon. Peter Maivia won multiple championships in the South Pacific and Hawaii throughout his early career. He moved to the United States in 1970 after making a name for himself in the South Pacific region.
Peter Maivia ruled the sport in the United States like a great superstar. In both Los Angeles and San Francisco, he won several championships. At various stages in his career, he held key titles such as the NWA Tag Team Championship, the World Tag Team Championship, and so on. Peter Maivia rose to prominence in the late 1970s when he joined WWE. He rose to national notoriety after previously being known only in his home state. For a brief period, he competed in Texas.
Maivia had a tight mentor-student relationship with ‘Superstar’ Billy Graham in California. Later in his WWE tenure, he faced Graham for the WWE Championship in the last years of his run. He had a savage feud with Bob Backlund and Victor Rivera. Peter Maivia served as a mentor to a number of future fighters, including Graham, Wild Samoan Afa, and Rocky Johnson, outside of the ring. He retired from professional wrestling on February 11, 1982, after a two-decade career. He also had a cameo appearance in the fifth James Bond film, ‘You Only Live Twice,’ establishing a lineage that was dutifully carried on by his grandson, ‘The Rock.’
Personal Experiences of Peter
Peter Maivia was born on the island of Samoa on April 6, 1937, as Fanene Leifi Pita Maivia. He belonged to the Malietoa Alii lineage’s family. Traditional Samoan tattoos cover his body, primarily his abdomen and thighs, as a mark of his High Chief position. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, an American rockstar and Hollywood celebrity, is his maternal father. Amituanai Anoa’i, the father of the Wild Samoans, saw Peter Maivia as a ‘blood brother’ (Afa and Sika). The Anoa’i family saw the Maivia dynasty from him onward as an extension of their own clan for this reason.
He married Ofelia ‘Lia’ Maivia in 1953.
They have two children, a son and a daughter. Despite Maivia’s protests, his son, Prince Peter Maivia, became a professional wrestler and competed on Hawaii and the West Coast as ‘Prince Peter Maivia.’ His daughter, Ata Fitisemanu Maivia, married Rocky Johnson, a professional wrestler. Peter Maivia was diagnosed with cancer in 1981. On June 12, 1982, he passed away. Lia Maivia, his wife, passed away on October 19, 2008.
Estimated Net Worth
Peter is one of the wealthiest wrestlers and one of the most popular. Peter Maivia’s net worth is estimated to be at $4 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.