Anecdotes

Is Tongan, and -- contrary to popular belief -- is not a member of the Samoan Anoa'i wrestling family.

As The Barbarian, was one half of the Powers of Pain tag team in the WWF, along with Terry Szopinski (aka "The Warlord").

As the Powers of Pain, he and Terry Szopinski (aka "The Warlord") were managed by 'Mr. Fuji'. When the team broke up, The Warlord began being managed by Ken Johnson (aka "Slick") and The Barbarian was managed by Bobby Heenan, becoming a member of the Heenan Family.

After Headshrinker Samu no-showed a WWF live event where he was advertised, Sione was hired by the WWF to join Headshrinker Fatu, forming a new combination of the tag team, The Headshrinkers.

When he is not travelling or wrestling, he runs a small construction company in his home state of North Carolina.

Is one of only two Tongans to have wrestled for both the WWF & WCW. The other is his former tag team partner Tonga Fifita (a.k.a. Haku/Meng). Coincidentally, both men trained in Japan as Sumo wrestlers, prior to their professional wrestling endeavors in the United States. They also attended the same all-boys high school in Tonga in the early 1970s.

Was considered for a part in Sylvester Stallone's Over the Top - Le bras de fer (1987). He was flown to the set, but ended up not being used in the film.

Was heavily criticized on Twitter by wrestler Shelton Benjamin for allegedly not paying wrestlers who traveled to Nigeria for a charity wrestling tour partly organized by Sione and his wife in 2011. The trouble stemmed from dishonest Nigerian promoters who stole the proceeds from ticket sales, leaving the Vailahis in a difficult situation.

Wrestler

Before becoming a professional wrestler, competed in the sport of Sumo in Japan.

In WCW, he formed a tag team with Tonga Fifita (aka "Meng"), known as The Faces of Fear. The Faces of Fear became part of the Dungeon of Doom.

Was trained for the pro-wrestling ring by Red Bastien.

His son Peter Vailahi signed with the BYU Cougars in February 2005 as an offensive lineman, but mutually agreed to be released from his scholarship later that year to play closer to home. Peter was also named the 2004 Southwestern 4A defensive player of the year, while playing for E.E. Waddell High School in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Through his wife's side of the family, he is related to Jordis Unga, of Rock Star: INXS (2005) fame.

Has one brother and nine sisters.

Uncle of women's wrestler Lei'd Tapa, a.k.a. Lei'D Tapa.