Sunday went by very slowly, as I anticipated calling Lia Maivia the next day.  I spent the time playing cards with friends at the Armed Forces YMCA on Hotel Street. 

Monday arrived, and I called Lia.  She asked me if I would like to have lunch with her.  I told her I would, and we set up a time and place.  When I arrived, at the restaurant, Lia was with Lars Anderson, Polynesian Pro Wrestling’s Heavyweight Champion.  Lia introduced me, and said Lars was her partner. Lars asked me what I thought of the business, and if I thought it was real.  I told him I had always been a fan, and that I saw the wrestlers using moves to protect themselves when they took falls.  The wrestling was also real, including amateur moves.  Workers sometimes got hurt, and sometimes they pretended to be injured.  Lars asked me how I liked the show that Saturday night at the Palama Settlement Gym.  Being the fan I was, I told him it was enjoyable, not on the scale Don Owens had in Portland, but more like the ones Don put on at the National Guard Armory, in my hometown, during my teen years. 

Lia steered the conversation around to what my plans were, since moving to Honolulu.  As I told her Saturday night, I would look for work.  Lars asked me if I ever thought of getting involved in the business.  Of course I had!  They explained that they were looking for help, in the office, and wanted to know if I would like to invest in their business.  The deal was $2500 up front, and to work the first year, free, for the balance.  After that, I would get a percentage of the take.  They asked that I take time to think it over, and get back to them.

I went back to the Y and started thinking about what they had said.  I contacted a Vietnam veteran friend of mine, who was an attorney in Honolulu, and ran it by him.  He thought it would be a good deal, providing.  He really didn’t say what he meant by “providing”.  I would just have to take my chances, and watch my p’s and q’s, meaning I could use this as a learning experience, whether good or bad.

I called Lia the next day, and was told to come to the office, by the Ala Moana Shopping Center, on Kapiolani Avenue.  I showed up on time, and went over the ‘limited partnership’ contract with Lia and Lars.  I gave them the down payment, and started work.  First I was given a background on Polynesian Pro Wrestling, and how Lia had taken over after Peter’s death, from cancer, in 1982.  Peter had been responsible for training the other Samoan workers, including Sika and Afa Anoai, WWF Tag Team Champions.  More...