Deserted: The Story of Haku and Tama…the Islanders

Brian Damage

The tag team scene in the WWF back in the 1980’s was definitely loaded. A variation of teams with different looks and styles made that division top notch. Tag teams like the British Bulldogs, Killer Bees, Can Am Connection, the Rougeau Brothers, the Hart Foundation and so on gave that division a lot of credence. Another team that popped up during this era were known as the Islanders of Haku and Tama. The team never really gets talked about in great detail. Their story, however, is a very interesting one nonetheless.

It began in 1985, when Vince McMahon’s expansion took control of the Montreal territory. Vince was able to scoop up the top stars of that territory including the Rougeaus, Dino Bravo and a wrestler named King Tonga. The WWF had hoped that King Tonga would be just as big a singles star as he was in Montreal, but unfortunately, Tonga simply didn’t connect with fans. In 1986, the Tonga Kid returned to the company and Pat Patterson saw that he and King Tonga worked well as a team briefly in Montreal and decided to pair them up in the WWF. 

Their names were changed to Haku (King Tonga) and Tama (The Tonga Kid) collectively known as ‘the Islanders.’ Initially, the Islanders were pushed as babyfaces and began a feud with King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd. Unfortunately, the feud was cut short after Studd quit the company to try and pursue a country music career. The Islanders continued to meander on the mid card with varying results. With the team struggling to create a fanbase, the main problem was Haku and Tama were not very strong on promos. Vince McMahon made the decision to turn Haku and Tama into heels and give them a manager.

It started with a “scientific” match between two babyface tag teams in the Islanders and the Can Am Connection. Manager Bobby Heenan appeared at ringside and aligned himself with the Islanders who then attacked Tom Zenk and Rick Martel. As with the feud with Bundy and Studd, the feud with the Can Am Connection was cut short when Tom Zenk abruptly quit the company. Instead of moving on to some other feud, the Islanders were booked as if they scared Zenk out of the WWF. The Islanders then went out and attacked Martel until Tito Santana made the save, forming Strike Force. 

According to Tama, he and Haku really enjoyed playing heels and were pushed hard by the company. Bobby Heenan as their mouthpiece helped make the team simply focus on wrestling while Heenan did all of the talking. Tama said he loved Heenan as their manager, but behind the scenes, they had no relationship with him. They never traveled together and only met up before their match was to begin. Tama said there was no heat between them and Heenan, just that they hung out in separate circles. 

The team was gaining momentum as heels and Tama revealed that there was a plan to put the world tag team titles on them at one point. He said that fell through most likely after repeatedly showing up late for shows. Despite not winning gold, the Islanders were still being pushed as a top tier team feuding with the British Bulldogs. The feud culminated with a six man tag between the Bulldogs and Koko B Ware vs the Islanders and Heenan at Wrestlemania IV. Vince wanted to continue taking those six man matches across the country, but Bobby Heenan refused to continue wrestling. 

That is when McMahon added journeyman wrestler Sivi Afi to the group as the third member of the Islanders. Afi was renamed High Chief Afi and patterned his new gimmick after High Chief Peter Maivia. So much so, Afi supposedly spent his own money getting fully tattooed from his waist down. Tama said that High Chief Afi didn’t really connect as a tag team partner. They wrestled one TV taping as a trio, before the Islanders suddenly split up. 

Tama unexpectedly quit the company in 1988, in what was believed to be in response to his uncle Sika being released from the WWF a few months earlier. Apparently, Tama was pressured by his family to quit in protest. Tama said that he and Haku stopped talking for years after Haku felt betrayed by Tama’s decision to quit. Haku ended up teaming with Afi for a few house shows, before Afi was let go and Haku was repackaged as King Haku.

The Islander tag team had so much potential and a series of unfortunate incidents curtailed their progress to become a truly great team.