Jacob Fatu’s “Samoan Werewolf” nickname sounds like something cooked up in a wrestling locker room, but the real inspiration came straight from Twilight.
During an appearance on Stephanie McMahon’s What’s Your Story? podcast, Fatu explained that the gimmick goes all the way back to when he was first breaking into wrestling. At the time, he was working alongside Gangrel, whose vampire character immediately got Fatu thinking about the obvious rival creature.
“It started from the movie Twilight. It really did. When I first got into wrestling, my uncle Rikishi, we were doing this NFL/NBA different teams from different cities.”
Fatu also made sure to credit the people who helped train him. While Rikishi and other members of his family played a major role, he said Gangrel was also heavily involved in helping him learn the business. That’s where Twilight entered the picture. Gangrel was the vampire, so Fatu figured somebody needed to be the werewolf.
“When I first came in — I gotta be very clear — I was trained by my uncles and my father as well, but Gangrel had a lot to do with my training.”
“We were on the same team. He was a vampire. Twilight, vampires — needs a werewolf.”
The connection got even funnier because Twilight’s werewolf character was named Jacob. Fatu joked that there was one major difference between himself and Taylor Lautner’s character at the time.
“The guy’s name was Jacob, but I told my wife, I was like, ‘His body looks way better than my body.’ Shoutout to Jacob on Twilight. That’s how Samoan Werewolf came about.”
The nickname stuck, and years later “The Samoan Werewolf” has become one of the biggest parts of Fatu’s identity inside the ring. It turns out fans can thank Gangrel, a vampire gimmick and Twilight for putting the whole thing together.
Did you ever expect Jacob Fatu’s Samoan Werewolf nickname to come from Twilight? Let us know what you think in the comments.
