Author: If the name Meng or Haku doesn’t ring a bell, perhaps you know him better by the name of Tonga Fifita, Prince Tonga, King Tonga, or King Haku. He is the most terrifying man ever to step foot inside a squared circle.
Meng
[/meษชn/g]
noun
1. A four-letter word that stands for danger.
2. If near, high risk ofย harm or injury; risk; peril.
If you’re still not familiar with who he is, let us introduce you to one of the most terrifying men in professional wrestling.
Grab a coffee, an alpha brain, or some protection, and come along for a dangerous ride. Here are the tales of one of professional wrestling’s toughest men, Meng, as told by some of the business’s biggest names!
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1. Meng on His Reputation of Being the Toughest Man in the Locker Room
“Wrestlers just wanna throw my name out for the heck of it. I think we were all tough. You had to make the people believe in wrestling for us to make some money. For us to have all those angles on TV, and to bring them back for all this good stuff. Everybody was tough those days to make money and protect the business.”
2. Rick Martel on Professional Wrestling’s Tough Man, Meng
“Wrestling — you don’t have to convince ME that it’s real. Convince the people, y’know? I mean, that’s what the ‘art’ of wrestling is. We all know it’s a work. So, man, LOOK like you’re taking my head off, but don’t really.
“I’ll give you an example. King Haku. I would put this guy against anybody [in a real fight]. He could kill anybody — this guy’s a killing machine. Ask anybody in professional wrestling, ‘Who’s the toughest motherf***er you’ve ever met?’ It’s this guy.
“[But, in the ring] he’d give you a side-kick or whatever and [you would barely feel it].
“That. That is the art.”
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3. Ric Flair on Comparing MMA Fighters to Meng
"Donโt ever think that anybody would mess with Haku. If he was a young guy and he got into MMA, my god โ heโd have done everything! He was the toughest son of a b**** Iโve ever met in my whole life. No lie, take my word for it."
4. Perry Saturn on Meng
Perr Saturn, after being asked who would win in a fight between The Barbarian, Meng, Scott Norton, Jim Duggan, Fit Finlay, Scott Steiner, Rick Steiner, and himself:
"Meng. Nobody else would stand a chance. Not even a question. He could kill everyone without blinking, and there is nothing anyone could do about it."
5. Ted DiBiase on Meng Breaking Up Fights
“One time, we were in a rough part of St. Louis for a show. Everyone had been drinking, and a large fight broke out, which resulted in the police showing up. Meng had a few drinks but saw the fight break out, so he started trying to break it up. In the process, police thought he was part of the fight and maced him then handcuffed him. Meng was cuffed behind his back, looked at the police, and snapped the handcuffs.”
6. Bobby Heenan on the Toughest Man He Ever Met
“Meng is the toughest man — not just wrestler — I’ve ever met in my life. A fight once broke out in a bar, and Meng took his two fingers on his right hand, his index finger and trigger finger, and he reached into the guyโs mouth, and he broke off the guyโs bottom teeth. If I hadnโt been there and seen it himself, I wouldnโt believe it.
“The only two men in the world that Andre [the Giant] feared were Meng and Harley Race.”
7. Rick Steiner on Meng Fighting Off Police Officers
“One time, Meng fought off eight police officers. They shot him with mace, and he closed his eyes and sucked it in. He just opened his mouth and took a deep breath. I mean, some of the stuff he did was like, โWhat the hell?โ Scotty and I always thought we were tough guys, but that was before we met Meng.”
8. Arn Anderson on “Tough Men” Compared to Meng
“There are three types of men in the world. There are tough men, there are wrestler-tough men, and then thereโs Meng. He was in a completely different category than anyone else on the planet. There was one instance where a large cowboy was arguing with Meng, and he pushed the cowboy through two different sets of doors using only one hand.”
9. Meng Chokes Brutus Beefcake After Complaining about a Match
One of the most famous stories happened during his time as Haku in the WWF. Brutus Beefcake had gone to management and complained that Haku slapped him too hard during their match. When Haku found out, he walked straight to Beefcakeโs locker room and grabbed him out of the shower. He started choking him and lifted him two feet in the air while everyone else looked on because they were too scared to step in and break it up. Eventually, Hulk Hogan came in and talked Meng down.
10. Eric Bischoff on Being Afraid to Fire Meng in WCW
“Meng was never fired from WCW because no one was brave enough to do it. On one particular day, Greg Gagne and I walked into the locker room and interrupted a conversation between Meng and Chris Candido, Chris Jericho, and Tammy Sytch. Meng immediately looked at the pair of us and said, "Hey! Apologize to my friends. Iโm talking to them." The entire room went silent, and everyone just froze. It was then that I realized the stories about Meng werenโt just legends. Gagne and I apologized to them and waited for the conversation to finish before speaking with Meng.”
11. Meng Sets Jesse Barr Straight in Puerto Rico
On a trip to Puerto Rico [in 1987], fellow wrestler Jesse Barr decided to kick dirt onto a man who was digging ditches. Meng was upset by it and told Barr he shouldnโt have done it. Barr decided to get in Mengโs face and argue with him, which turned out to be a bad idea. Meng grabbed him and popped his eyeball out of the socket. Some wrestlers claimed he completely tore it out, but Meng said that wasnโt true.
“I didn’t take his eyeballs off. I was ready to, my hands were in there, ready to take his eye off, but then I realized how stupid we were. ย Here, we are brothers on the road together. I told Jim after all these things, and he got fired for it, and all these things here. And I feel bad for him. It was something that happened at that moment.” – responding to the above incident.
12. Meng on Taking Particular Offense When Anyone Called Wrestling Fake
“When I walk in, and you tell me it’s fake, I’ll show you how fake the business is,” Meng once said. “Whether I take your teeth out or take your eyeballs off or whatever it was in those days. Maybe they’re going to kick my butt around, but watch it – I’m coming back and finding you. But those were those days. I’m glad nobody picked up a gun and shot my a**. But in those days, that’s how it was. It’s my love for the business.”
13. Kevin Sullivan on Working with Meng in WCW
“On one occasion, when I was a booker in WCW, I asked Meng to do something that wasnโt major, but it wasnโt completely the right thing to do. Meng got a little upset, and it was the most scared I’ve ever been in my entire life, despite Meng not being that angry.
“I’ve also used Meng to my advantage when I had to inform a few guys that they would be losing an upcoming match. When the wrestlers became upset and told me they refused to do the job, I told them that, instead of arguing, I would just go get Meng and have him take care of the situation. The guys immediately agreed to lose their matches if I promised not to go get Meng.”
Kevin Sullivan was a wrestler/booker in WCW, and they traveled together quite often when they were on the road. He told a story to WWE Classics when the duo went to a tavern to grab a few beers before heading to their hotel. According to Sullivan, it was obvious that they weren’t locals, so when they walked into the bar, a guy playing pool called Meng a horrible, derogatory word.
“The next thing I know is that Meng goozles the guy like Mr. Spock,” Sullivan said. “It was fast and furious. He then grabbed another guy who tried to get involved and knocked him unconscious.”
“After that, things got even crazier.
“Meng bit through the guy’s shirt like a wolf bit a chunk out of the guy’s back, then spit it on the floor,” he said. “I said, ‘It’s time to go.'”
Sullivan said that as they drove from the bar, he saw police cars pulling into the parking lot, but authorities didn’t pursue them, and no charges were ever filed.
14. Meng Recounts an Infamous Airport Incident
“It was in Baltimore Airport. There was a hotel there. We were staying at another hotel – the Marriot or something. There was another hotel there, though. It was hopping at the time. The music was playing, and it was packed. It was during the week, I believe.
“Me and Siva Afi went over, and there were lots of babyfaces there at the bar. So we went and sat in the other corner away from them. When they were ready to close, we had a few drinks, and on our way out, there were five guys just sitting there. Of course, the same thing came outโthe ‘fake’ stuff.
“‘Hey, are you guys with those guys – wrestlers? The fake wrestlers on TV?’ You know.
“I said, ‘Yeah. I’ll show you.’ I reached over without thinking – there are four other guys there (laughs) – grabbed his face, and bit his nose off. Then the fight started. Me and Siva kind of cleaned house there and left. I’ll never forget it (laughs).”
15. Jake Roberts on Meng
“If I had a gun and was sitting inside a tank with one shell left and Meng is 300 yards away, heโs mine, right? Well, the first thing Iโm going to do is jump out of the tank and shoot myself because I donโt want to wound that son of a b**** and have him pissed off at me."
What is Meng / Haku Up To Today?
Meng has made a few appearances in New Japan Pro Wrestling in recent years and also manages the car spa at a Toyota dealership in Florida. The lesson to take away from all of this? Don’t try to haggle in a complimentary ‘New Car Smell’ air freshener for your car – you might lose an eye!
While this piece shares many stories proving why he was one of the toughest S.O.B.’s the business has ever seen, having read this piece, Bobby Fulton of The Fantasticsย got in touch to say, “[He’s also] one of the nicest!”
These stories may also interest you:
- Harley Race โ Tales of His Tenacity and Strength
- Mad Dog Vachon โ An Animal in and Out of the Ring!
- Steve Blackman โ Taking Names and Taking on Life
Sources used in this article:ย wrestlezone.com, Highspots, Martel Shoot, Perry Saturn YouShoot interview, Heenan shoot interview, Arn Anderson autobiography:ย 4 Ever, Rick Steiner shoot, Jake Roberts shoot,ย droptoehold.com, World Wrestling Insanity, mandatory.com
Some of the quotes used in this article were compiled by Matt Pender and shared here with thanks to our friends over at ‘Wrestling’s Glory Days’ Facebook page.
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