In the past month, Solo Sikoa has begun paying tribute to his uncle Umaga by utilizing the Samoan Spike to put opponents out of commission. He's taken out the likes of Matt Riddle and Elias with the move.
Umaga famously used the move during his run in WWE which included a feud with John Cena, a run with the Intercontinental Champion, and a WrestleMania match against Bobby Lashley.
Speaking to Joseph Staszewski of the New York Post, Sikoa revealed whose idea it was for him to use the Samoan Spike on WWE television.
"Both," He replied when asked if it will be used as a finisher or a move to send opponents to the hospital. "Put him out of commission and as a finisher. It will definitely be one of my finishers now moving forward. The idea came from Hunter [Triple H]. Hunter pulled me aside. I think it was Paul Heyman’s idea, too, so Hunter wanted to run it by me. He goes, 'I know your uncle was a big part of your guys’ family. I know what he meant to you guys. I wanted to ask you if you would be OK using the spike?' I was like, I don’t know. I kind of want to stay away from it because that’s his thing. And he was like, 'I know he passed away and yesterday was his anniversary,' which was a Sunday and the next day was Raw. He goes, 'I think it will be cool if you pay a tribute to him on TV by using the spike.' I was like, 'You know what man? Yeah, let’s do it.' Once he said that I kind of got emotional. I was like, wow. For those who don’t remember who Umaga was, now I’m about to refresh their memory. It was a pretty cool moment for me to pay tribute to him."
Umaga tragically passed away in 2009. Sikoa is coming off a victory over Elias on the December 12 episode of WWE Raw.
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