Full Career Retrospective and Greatest Moments for the Barbarian

Wrestling history is chock-full of tough guys and brutes who pummeled and punished opponents en route to establishing their legacies in the industry. Superstars such as Greg Valentine, Haku, Stan Hansen, Vader and Paul Orndorff are just a few of the men who earned reputations for being the toughest of the tough.

Another was The Barbarian, a native of Tonga whose career began in 1981 and stretched well into the new millennium.

A respected veteran of the industry who succeeded as both a tag team and singles competitor, he spent the majority of his career as a hated villain, dishing out pain and suffering to the most popular babyfaces in professional wrestling.

Whether it was in WWE or WCW, whether he was managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan or Jimmy Hart, Barbarian was one of the most respected competitors the sport had to offer.

As he continues to make appearances all over the country as one-half of The Powers of Pain, teaming with The Warlord on independent cards, relive Barbarian's decades-long career with this look at his greatest matches and moments.

The Powers of Pain

Barbarian made his debut in 1981 and quickly earned a spot on the Jim Crockett Promotions roster. While he began his career as a babyface, working under the name King Tonga and teaming with future NWA world heavyweight champion Ron Garvin, it was not until he began teaming with The Warlord that he thrived.

Dubbed The Powers of Pain, the duo was physically dominant, their impressive physiques accentuated by the threatening paint that adorned their faces.

Their greatest rivals during that period of time were with the Road Warriors, who had a similar look. Together, the two teams engaged in some hellishly physical matches. The crowds were hot for the matches and the angles were spectacular. When Barbarian and Warlord injured the eye of Road Warrior Animal, the feud intensified.

Despite winning the world six-man tag titles with the great Ivan Koloff from Animal, Hawk and Dusty Rhodes, The Powers of Pain opted not to compete in an incredibly dangerous scaffold match and, instead, jumped to Vince McMahon's WWE.

There, the team was a major force in the tag division for two years, both as fan favorites and hated villains.

A rare double-turn at the 1988 Survivor Series saw Barbarian and Warlord align themselves with the dastardly Mr. Fuji, who led them into battle with his former charges in Demolition at WrestleMania V. In what was their biggest match to date, The Powers of Pain teamed with Fuji in a losing effort.

By 1990, McMahon had plans for them as singles Superstars and for the first time in his career, Barbarian would enjoy an extended run as a solo performer.

All by Himself

Barbarian was lucky enough to be paired with Bobby Heenan upon going solo. The Brain was the premiere manager in the sport, and being involved with him meant taking part in high-profile angles and matches.

Even though he looked ridiculous in his new getup, Barbarian picked up some impressive victories, including a WrestleMania VI squash over Hall of Famer Tito Santana.

The relationship with Heenan earned him a significant match against Big Boss Man at the 1991 Royal Rumble. After Heenan had repeatedly made remarks about the mother of the former correctional officer, the Boss Man's quest for Mr. Perfect's intercontinental title intensified.

In order to get the title opportunity, though, he had to go through every member of the Heenan Family, including Barbarian. In what was a significantly better match than it had any right to be, the heavyweights delivered a hard-hitting slugfest that saw Boss Man roll through a cross body block for the pinfall win.

While Barbarian was proving that he could succeed on his own, McMahon decided to pair him up with fellow Heenan Family member Haku, with whom he would become very familiar over the decade that proceeded.

They would drop a fantastic opener to The Rockers at WrestleMania VII before being fazed out as McMahon began focusing on younger talent.

A Brief Stop in Atlanta and a Return to WWE

Following his release from WWE, Barbarian showed up in WCW, where he earned a shot at the WCW world title held by Ron Simmons. He would lose that match but, by joining the likes of Cactus Jack, Tony Atlas and Jake Roberts, remained a high-profile star.

When he returned to WWE in 1994, The Barbarian ceased to exist and in his place was Sione, the newest member of The Headshrinkers tag team. Alongside Fatu, he would star in the company's lackluster tag division, but their pairing was short-lived.

By the time the summer of 1995 rolled around, The Headshrinkers were no more, and Barbarian was on his way back out of McMahon's company.

The Faces of Fear

Fans of wrestling during the boom of the 1990s recognize Barbarian best for his time spent as one-half of The Faces of Fear in WCW. With former partner and longtime friend Haku (renamed Meng in Ted Turner's company), they struck fear in the hearts of any and all teams unlucky enough to cross them.

Harlem Heat, The Nasty Boys, The Four Horsemen and even The Outsiders found out the hard way that while Barbarian and Meng did not win every match they wrestled, they would certainly make sure their opponents suffered.

While they were regular contenders to the tag titles, though, they never won them.

A brief rivalry with Meng occurred when the duo split, but it was relatively short-lived.

Barbarian's career as a performer on a national stage came to an end in April 2000.

Today, he continues to tour the country, partaking in autograph signings, conventions and even the occasional in-ring appearance.