Bad Luck Fale

Bad Luck Fale
Bad Luck Fale in September 2015
Birth name Fale Simitaitoko
Born (1982-01-08) 8 January 1982[1]
Tonga[1]
Alma mater Tokuyama University
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Bad Luck Fale[1]
King Fale[1]
Billed height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Billed weight 156 kg (344 lb)[1]
Billed from Kingdom of Tonga[1]
Trained by Yuji Nagata[2]
Debut 4 April 2010[1][3]

Fale Simitaitoko[4] is a Tongan New Zealander professional wrestler and former rugby union player. He currently works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling as Bad Luck Fale (バッドラック・ファレ, Baddorakku Fare).[1] He is a one-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion. His name literally translates to house in Tongan.

Early life

Simitaitoko was a rugby union player prior to him training and debuting for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He attended the strong rugby school of De La Salle College, Mangere East in Auckland, New Zealand and was a member of the 1st XV from 1999 to 2000, also making age grade rugby teams along the way. He then accepted scholarship to play rugby in Japan at Tokuyama University, alongside fellow New Zealander Sila Iona and Greame Brent, where they attended from 2001 to 2005. From April 2006 to March 2008, he played for the Japanese rugby union team Fukuoka Sanix Blues.[2] He would start training to become a professional wrestler in June 2009.[1]

Professional wrestling career

New Japan Pro-Wrestling

Early years (2010–2012)

Simitaitoko, working under the ring name "King Fale", made his in-ring debut on 4 April 2010, when he was defeated by Manabu Nakanishi.[1] Fale's earned his first win in New Japan just over a month after his debut, defeating Kyosuke Mikami.[5] Fale and Super Strong Machine entered the 2010 G1 Tag League, finishing last in their block and overall with zero wins and zero points.[5] Fale also took part in the 2010 J Sports Crown Openweight 6 Man Tag Tournament alongside Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson, making it to the second round before being eliminated.[5] Fale later faced fellow young lion Hiromu Takahashi in a three match series, winning all of them.[5]

In February 2011, Fale joined Yuji Nagata's Seigigun ("Blue Justice Army") stable along with Wataru Inoue and Super Strong Machine. At The New Beginning on 20 February, Nagata, Inoue, Fale and Hiroyoshi Tenzan faced Chaos (Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, and Yujiro Takahashi) in losing effort.[6] In the prelude to the 2011 J Sports Openweight 6 Man Tag Tournament, Fale again teamed with Inoue and Tenzan, losing to Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson) & Jyushin Thunder Liger. In the actual tournament, they were eliminated in the second round by Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) & Satoshi Kojima.[6] In April 2011, Fale took part in All Together, a joint show between New Japan Pro-Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah in the wake of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, unsuccessfully competing in The Destroyer Cup battle royal.[6] Fale teamed with Nagata in the 2011 G1 Tag League, finishing with one win and two points.[5] Bad Luck Fale lost his first match of 2012, when he teamed with Tama Tonga to take on Okumura and Yoshi-Hashi.[5] At NJPW's 40th Anniversary Show, Fale teamed with Tomoaki Honma to take on Chaos (Yoshi-Hashi and Yujiro Takahashi) in a losing effort. On 10 February 2012 at NEVER.8: Go to the Next Level, Fale unsuccessfully faced Yuji Nagata in singles action. Afterwards, he left for a fourteen-month learning excursion to the United States.[7] On 8 June 2012, Fale debuted for NWA Houston, losing to Mysterious Q.

Bullet Club (2013–present)

Fale with Bullet Club in September 2013

On 7 April 2013, at Invasion Attack, Fale, now performing as a heel, returned to New Japan as Prince Devitt's "bouncer" under the new ring name of "The Underboss" Bad Luck Fale.[8] Fale wrestled his return match on 3 May at Wrestling Dontaku, teaming with Devitt to defeat Captain New Japan and Ryusuke Taguchi.[9] Later that night, Fale and Devitt joined forces with Karl Anderson and Tama Tonga, forming a stable and dubbing themselves "Bullet Club".[10] Later in the year, Fale began his first major feud in New Japan with IWGP Heavyweight Champion Togi Makabe, who had been eliminated from the 2013 G1 Climax following interference from Fale during a match with Devitt.[11] From 23 November to 7 December, Fale and Devitt took part in the 2013 World Tag League, where they finished with a record of three wins and three losses, with a loss against the previously winless Captain New Japan and Hiroshi Tanahashi on the final day costing them a spot in the semifinals.[12][13] The rivalry between Fale and Makabe culminated in a King of Destroyer match on 4 January 2014, at Wrestle Kingdom 8 in Tokyo Dome, where Makabe was victorious.[14] Fale and Makabe again faced off on 15 March in the first round of the 2014 New Japan Cup, where Fale was victorious.[15] Fale made it to the final of the tournament before losing to Shinsuke Nakamura on 23 March.[16]

On 21 June at Dominion 6.21, Fale defeated Nakamura in a rematch to become the new IWGP Intercontinental Champion.[17][18] From 21 July to 8 August, Fale took part in his first G1 Climax, where he finished third in his block with a record of six wins and four losses with a loss against Nakamura on the final day preventing him from making it to the finals.[19] On 21 September at Destruction in Kobe, Fale lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship back to Nakamura in his first defense.[20][21] In November, Fale entered the 2014 World Tag League, alongside stablemate Tama Tonga.[22] The team finished at the bottom of their block with a record of three wins and four losses.[23] In early 2015, Fale started feuding with Kazuchika Okada, which led to him picking up a major win on 5 March, defeating the two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion in the first round of the 2015 New Japan Cup.[24] Fale was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by Tetsuya Naito.[25] The rivalry between Fale and Okada culminated on 5 April at Invasion Attack 2015, where Fale was defeated by Okada.[26] From 20 July to 14 August, Fale took part in the 2015 G1 Climax.[27] Despite scoring a major win over eventual tournament winner Hiroshi Tanahashi,[28] Fale finished fourth in his block with a record of five wins and four losses and thus failed to advance to the finals.[29] Due to his win over Tanahashi, Fale was granted a shot at the Wrestle Kingdom 10 IWGP Heavyweight Championship match contract, but was defeated by Tanahashi on 27 September at Destruction in Kobe.[30]

On 4 January 2016, at Wrestle Kingdom 10, Fale took part in a match to crown the inaugural NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions, where he, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi were defeated by Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe and Toru Yano.[31] On 11 February at The New Beginning in Osaka, Fale, Tonga and Takahashi defeated the Briscoes and Yano in a rematch to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[32] After a three-day reign, they lost the title back to the Briscoes and Yano at The New Beginning in Niigata.[33] On 3 March, Fale scored a big win over Hiroshi Tanahashi in the first round of the 2016 New Japan Cup.[34] The following day, he was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by Michael Elgin.[35] Fale then started a new feud with Hiroshi Tanahashi,[36] as part of which he, Kenny Omega and Yujiro Takahashi unsuccessfully challenged Tanahashi, Michael Elgin and Yoshitatsu for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship on 23 April.[37] From 18 July to 12 August, Fale took part in the 2016 G1 Climax, where, despite scoring big wins over Naomichi Marufuji and reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada, he failed to advance from his block with a record of five wins and four losses.[38]

In February 2017, Fale opened his own wrestling school, the Fale Dojo, in Auckland, New Zealand.[39] The following month, Fale made it to the finals of the 2017 New Japan Cup, before losing to Katsuyori Shibata.[40] On April 9 at Sakura Genesis 2017, Fale attacked IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and challenged him to a title match.[41] The title match took place on May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2017 and saw Okada retain.[42] During the summer, Fale took part in the 2017 G1 Climax, where he finished third in his block with a record of six wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals. On August 11, Fale defeated Yuji Nagata in his former mentor's final G1 Climax match and afterwards bowed to him in a show of respect.[43] On December 17, Fale, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Bushi, Evil and Sanada) to become the new NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions.[44] They lost the title to Chaos (Beretta, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano) in a five-team gauntlet match on January 4, 2018, at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome.[45] The following day at New Year's Dash, they would regain the title from Chaos.[46]

Personal life

Fale is the cousin of Bullet Club stablemate Tanga Loa and adoptive cousin of Tama Tonga and Hikuleo. Fale and Tama had spent their early childhoods in Muʻa, Tonga without meeting. They were in the NJPW dojo at the same time and realised they were related when a relative commented on a photo Fale had posted on social media.[47] He is of Tongan ethnicity and is fluent in Tongan, English and Japanese.[4][48]

Fale is in a relationship with go-go dancer Pieter, also known as the "Tokyo Latina", who has made appearances for NJPW as a valet for Fale's Bullet Club stablemate Yujiro Takahashi.[49]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 バッドラック・ファレ. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=9201&name=
  3. ↑ http://www.puroresucentral.com/kingfale.html
  4. 1 2 Umbers, Dylan (9 January 2018). "Meet the Underboss: NZ's first-class flying loser". NZ Herald. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=9201&page=4&s=100
  6. 1 2 3 http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=9201&page=4&s=0`
  7. ↑ "NEVER. 8 ~ Go to the Next Level ~". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "Invasion Attack". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 6 May 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  9. ↑ レスリングどんたく 2013. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  10. ↑ "「イッツ・リィィィアル!! 」なんとアンダーソン、トンガとも合体!!　デヴィットが外国人軍団"Bullet Club"結成!!". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). 3 May 2013. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  11. ↑ 真壁１・４ドーム大会でダブルヘッダー志願. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). 2013-11-29. Retrieved 2013-11-29.
  12. ↑ "World Tag League 2013". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  13. ↑ "World Tag League 2013". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  14. ↑ "バディファイトPresents Wrestle Kingdom 8 in 東京ドーム". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-01-04.
  15. ↑ "New Japan Cup 2014". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  16. ↑ "New Japan Cup 2014". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
  17. 1 2 "Dominion 6.21". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
  18. ↑ Caldwell, James (2014-06-21). "NJPW news: Key results from Saturday's "Dominion" PPV featuring U.S. stars in top title matches". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2014-06-21.
  19. ↑ "バディファイトPresents G1 Climax 24". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
  20. ↑ "Destruction in Kobe". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  21. ↑ Caldwell, James (2014-09-21). "Caldwell's New Japan PPV results 9/21: Complete live coverage of "Destruction in Kobe" - Nakamura regains IC Title, Tanahashi vs. Shibata, A.J. Styles, new Jr. Hvt. champion, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  22. ↑ "『World Tag League 2014』出場チーム＆公式戦が決定！ 棚橋はヨシタツとタッグ結成！ 桜庭、AJ、柴田、ROH、NWAも参戦!". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). 2014-11-11. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  23. ↑ "World Tag League 2014". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  24. ↑ "New Japan Cup 2015". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  25. ↑ "New Japan Cup 2015". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2015-03-08.
  26. ↑ "Invasion Attack 2015". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 9 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  27. ↑ Sempervive, Mike (July 18, 2015). "The Big Audio Nightmare's Guide to the annual New Japan G1 Climax". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  28. ↑ Caldwell, James (2015-07-29). "NJPW G1 Climax Night 7 results 7/29: A.J. Styles vs. Naito, Tanahashi vs. Bullet Club, Nakamura misses third straight show, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2015-08-14.
  29. ↑ "バディファイトPresents G1 Climax 25". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2015-08-14.
  30. ↑ 棚橋がファレ下しＩＷＧＰ挑戦権利証死守. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). September 28, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  31. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (January 3, 2016). "Wrestle Kingdom 10 live results: Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  32. 1 2 "The New Beginning in Osaka". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  33. ↑ "The New Beginning in Niigata". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  34. ↑ Macklin, Matthew (March 3, 2016). "3/3 New Japan Cup first round report". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  35. ↑ "New Japan Cup 2016". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved March 4, 2016.
  36. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (April 9, 2016). "NJPW Invasion Attack live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Championship". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Road to レスリングどんたく 2016". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  38. ↑ "2016 New Japan G1 Climax Results". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  39. ↑ "【新日本】ファレの夢 母国ニュージーランドをプロレス大国に！". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). March 15, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  40. ↑ Rose, Bryan (March 19, 2017). "New Japan Cup finals live results: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Bad Luck Fale". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  41. ↑ Rose, Bryan (April 8, 2017). "NJPW Sakura Genesis live results: Okada vs. Shibata". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  42. ↑ Rose, Bryan (May 2, 2017). "NJPW Wrestling Dontaku live results: Okada faces Bad Luck Fale". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  43. ↑ Rose, Bryan (August 11, 2017). "NJPW G1 Climax 27 A Block finals live results: Naito vs. Tanahashi". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  44. 1 2 "JRA presents Road to Tokyo Dome". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  45. ↑ Renner, Ethan (January 3, 2018). "NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 live results: Okada-Naito, Omega-Jericho". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  46. ↑ Denney, Brian (January 6, 2018). "NJPW NEW YEAR'S DASH RESULTS: JERICHO APPEARS, BULLET CLUB FRICTION". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  47. ↑ Tama Tonga (16 July 2016). "Episode 5: Bad Luck Fale". audioboom.com (Podcast). MLW Radio Network. Event occurs at 13:10. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  48. ↑ Tama Tonga (16 July 2016). "Episode 5: Bad Luck Fale". audioboom.com (Podcast). MLW Radio Network. Event occurs at 24:58. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  49. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (August 21, 2017). "August 21, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Ric Flair in critical condition in the hospital, G1 Climax finals, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 18. ISSN 1083-9593.
  50. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2017". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
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