Afa Anoa’i’s promotion shutting down due to his ongoing health issues

At the start of the year, we learned a bit about the health issues facing Afa the Wild Samoan when he suffered multiple heart attacks while hospitalized with a case of pneumonia. The wrestling world breathed a sigh of relief when the 81 year went home from the hospital, but it seems the health issues disclosed around that incident were just some of what the WWE Hall of Famer has been dealing with.

Word that Afa has also been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and has been experiencing dementia comes via the WXW promotion he’s run out of Florida since the mid-1990s. Because of its founder’s health, WXW has announced they’re shutting down in April.

They explained in a series of posts last night (Feb. 18) on X:

Good morning, WXW Universe.

Our wrestlers, staff, family, and fans are all heartbroken and reeling from the announcement last night from our beloved founder and Pops, Afa the Wild Samoan, that Saturday April 13th will be the last #WXWWrestling show. Instead of X-Treme War, that event will be called The Grand Finale.

After 27 years, WXW will be opening our doors one last time. This news was not easy to hear last night. Due to Afa’s serious heart condition, his mild-moderate vascular dementia with Alzheimer’s, and other health complications, he felt that April would be the perfect time to take our final bows and close an amazing 27-year chapter. Being that he is the heart and soul of WXW, his family tearfully agreed, and his wrestlers, though very sad, support his decision.

We’ll see you one more time in person, Saturday, April 13th for the Grand Finale super-show. There will be more matches, an earlier start time, and some big names from WXW’s incredible 27-year legacy. We love you all, thank you for all your support throughout these many years.

WXW also posted video of Afa and his family sharing the news at a recent event on their Facebook page.

Afa is part of the legendary Anoa’i family, as is his brother and Wild Samoans tag partner (and Roman Reigns’ father) Sika. Our thoughts are with Afa, the Anoa’is and his WXW family, and we’ll keep you posted with any details they chose to share about his condition.