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Lance Anoaʻi

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Lance Anoaʻi
Birth nameLance Sterling Anoaʻi[1]
Born (1992-02-15) February 15, 1992 (age 33)[2]
Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S.
SpouseCanesha White
Children2
ParentSamu (father)
FamilyAnoaʻi
Professional wrestling career
Ring nameLance Anoai
Billed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[3]
Billed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Trained byWild Samoans
DebutApril 3, 2010

Lance Sterling Anoaʻi (born February 15, 1992) is an American professional wrestler. He previously wrestled in Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is a former MLW World Tag Team Champion, and in Pro Wrestling Noah. He is a member of the Anoaʻi family.

Early life

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Lance Anoaʻi was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to a prominent wrestling family. His father Samula worked in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Samu as a member of The Wild Samoans and The Samoan SWAT Team/The Headshrinkers. His uncles are Afa Anoaʻi Jr. (better known as Manu) and Lloyd Anoaʻi (better known as L.A. Smooth). Anoaʻi grew up surrounded by professional wrestling. As a child, he attended MLW shows with his father and uncle, and later in his career, he shared the ring with them.

Professional wrestling career

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Independent circuit (2010–2024)

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Anoaʻi debuted on April 3, 2010 winning a match for a show promoted by the National Wrestling League vs. Chrono Chris in Martinsburg, West Virginia.[4] He was in World Xtreme Wrestling which is owned by his grandfather, Afa Anoaʻi. He often was involved in matches with his kins Samu, Afa Jr. and Sean Maluta.

Anoaʻi wrestled for Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW), debuting in August 2012. He made his debut for Pro Wrestling Syndicate (PWS) in 2012. At Supercard 2013, Anoaʻi was involved in a battle royal for the number-one contender for the PWS Heavyweight Championship on Night 1 and on Night 2, he had a match with Sonjay Dutt. Anoaʻi competed for the PWS Tri State Championship in a Six Way Match at PWS Return to Rahway on September 20, 2013, that included Craven Varro, Starman, Facade, Pat Buck and The Drunken Swashbuckler. At the Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup 2013, he fought Luke Hawx on August 10, 2013, and lasted until the semi-finals.

In 2013, he made his first of many appearances in House of Hardcore (HOH). In April 2019, he won the 23rd annual East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA) Super 8 Tournament.[5]

Major League Wrestling (2018–2023)

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On March 3, 2018, he made his debut with Major League Wrestling (MLW) at their event "Spring Break".[6] In the match, he lost to Maxwell Jacob Friedman.[7] In July 2018 he participated in the first-ever Battle Riot at the namesake event, which was won by Tom Lawlor.[8] In October 2018, he started teaming with his father Samu in MLW as The Samoan Island Tribe.[9] In early 2019 he would feud with Rich Swann resulting in losses in singles and tag team matches. In April 2019, he competed in the second Battle Riot, again unsuccessfully.[10]

On January 7, 2023, Anoaʻi as a member of The Samoan SWAT Team with Juicy Finau defeated Hustle & Power (EJ Nduka and Calvin Tankman) for the MLW World Tag Team Championships at MLW Blood and Thunder.[11] On July 8 at Never Say Never, Anoa'i and Finau lost the titles to The Calling (Akira and Rickey Shane Page), ending their reign at 182 days. On October 29, Anoa'i announced on X that he was granted his release from MLW.[12]

Pro Wrestling Noah (2023)

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On June 22, 2023, Anoaʻi was announced as participant in the N-1 Victory 2023.[13]

WWE

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Sporadic appearances (2015, 2017, 2019)

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On the January 2, 2015 edition of WWE SmackDown, Anoaʻi made his WWE debut as an enhancement talent, teaming with Rhett Titus in a losing effort against The Ascension.[14] On February 1, 2017, he and Titus appeared at a WWE NXT event against The Authors of Pain, where he would lose.[2][15] This appearance was related to a tryout he was having with WWE. In April 2019, he fought at another WWE tryout.[5] Anoaʻi made another appearance on the May 27, 2019, show of WWE Raw, where he faced Shane McMahon, and eventually losing the match by submission after Drew McIntyre attacked him outside the ring, and was subsequently beaten down by McMahon and McIntyre after the match, until his cousin Roman Reigns made the save.[16]

NXT (2024–2025)

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It was reported that Anoaʻi had signed with WWE in the Summer of 2024 and had been assigned to its NXT brand.[17] On October 10, 2025, it was announced he had been released from his contract, not having wrestled a single match during his time.[18]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^ "Allen High School held graduation ceremonies June 18". The Morning Call. June 22, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Lance Anoa'i: Profile & Matchlisting". profightdb. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  3. ^ "Samu & Lance Anoai". MLW. October 28, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  4. ^ "Lance Anoai". Cagematch. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Ivelisse & Lance Anoa'i Headline Full List of Participants at WWE Performance Center Tryout | Fightful News".
  6. ^ "Lance Anoa'i to make his MLW Debut at MLW Spring Break on March 8". MLW. February 24, 2018. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  7. ^ Thompson, Andrew (March 8, 2018). "MLW 'Spring Break 18'" TV Taping Results". Fightful. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  8. ^ Karcher, Kris (July 30, 2018). "7/27 MLW FUSION TV REPORT: Special "Battle Riot" episode with Konnan, Teddy Hart, Davey Boy Jr, Swoggle, Fenix, ACH, Lawlor, Hennigan, Sami, Strickland, Pentagon Jr., Hager,". Pro Wrestling Torch. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  9. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (October 4, 2018). "Spoilers: MLW 10/4 Fury Road Results". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  10. ^ Bodkin, Bill (April 6, 2019). "MLW Battle Riot II On Bein Sports Live Special Report". PWInsider. Archived from the original on April 22, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Johnson, Mike (January 8, 2023). "New MLW Tag Team Champions Crowned". PWInsider. Archived from the original on January 8, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ^ Tessier, Colin (October 29, 2023). "Lance Anoa'i Confirms MLW Release". Wrestlezone. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  13. ^ Thompson, Andrew (June 22, 2023). "NOAH reveals participants in 2023 N-1 Victory tournament". Post Wrestling. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  14. ^ "SmackDown: January 2, 2015". WWE. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  15. ^ "Lance Anoa'i On If He Feels Pressure Being Related To The Rock And Roman Reigns". WrestlingInc. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  16. ^ "Lance Anoa'i Appears On WWE Raw To Face Shane McMahon; "AEW" Chants Ensue | Fightful News". www.fightful.com.
  17. ^ Black, Matt (November 7, 2024). "Report: Lance Anoa'i Signs With WWE". Wrestlezone. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  18. ^ Thompson, Andrew (October 10, 2025). "Lance Anoa'i Announces Departure From WWE: "I Didn't Have The Best Of Luck Since I Arrived"". Fightful.
  19. ^ Ross, Patrick (September 10, 2024). "Full 2024 PWI 500 list revealed". aiptcomics.com. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
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