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Fale Simitaitoko is a Tongan professional wrestler. 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 former one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion, a former three-time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion and a one-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion. His name translates to "house" in Tongan, which fits his wrestling persona as an immovable force.

Fale is one of the founding members of the infamous Bullet Club, an originally all-foreigner group that has seen great success in the company. The group and his dojo, the Fale Dojo has helped add a bridge for non-Japanese wrestlers to wrestle for New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

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 a 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.[4] Fale and Super Strong Machine entered the 2010 G1 Tag League, finishing last in their block and overall with zero wins and zero points.[4] 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.[4] Fale later faced fellow young lion Hiromu Takahashi in a three match series, winning all of them.[4]

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.[5] 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) & Jushin Thunder Liger. In the actual tournament, they were eliminated in the second round by Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) & Satoshi Kojima.[5] 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.[5] Fale teamed with Nagata in the 2011 G1 Tag League, finishing with one win and two points.[4] Bad Luck Fale lost his first match of 2012, when he teamed with Tama Tonga to take on OKUMURA and Yoshi-Hashi.[4] 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.[6] On 8 June 2012, Fale debuted for NWA Houston, losing to Mysterious Q.

Bullet Club (2013–present)[]

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.[7] Fale wrestled his return match on 3 May at Wrestling Dontaku 2013, where he and Devitt defeated Captain New Japan and Ryusuke Taguchi in a tag team match.[8] Later in the event, Fale and Devitt joined forces with Karl Anderson and Tama Tonga, forming a stable named "Bullet Club".[9] Later in the year, Fale began his first major feud in New Japan with former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Togi Makabe, who had been eliminated from the 2013 G1 Climax following an interference from Fale during his match with Devitt.[10] 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.[11][12] 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.[13] Fale and Makabe faced off again on 15 March in the first round of the 2014 New Japan Cup, where Fale was victorious.[14] Fale ended up making it all the way to the finals of the tournament, before losing to Shinsuke Nakamura on 23 March.[15]

On 21 June at Dominion 6.21, Fale defeated Nakamura in a rematch to become the new IWGP Intercontinental Champion.[16][17] 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 the finals.[18] On 21 September at Destruction in Kobe, Fale lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship back to Nakamura in his first defense.[19][20] In November, Fale entered the 2014 World Tag League, alongside stablemate Tama Tonga.[21] The team finished at the bottom of their block with a record of three wins and four losses.[22] In early 2015, Fale started feuding with Kazuchika Okada, which led to him picking up a major win on 5 March, defeating the former two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion in the first round of the 2015 New Japan Cup.[23] Fale was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by Tetsuya Naito.[24] The rivalry between Fale and Okada culminated on 5 April at Invasion Attack 2015, where Fale was defeated.[25] From 20 July to 14 August, Fale took part in the 2015 G1 Climax.[26] Despite scoring a major win over eventual tournament winner Hiroshi Tanahashi,[27] Fale finished fourth in his block with a record of five wins and four losses and thus failed to advance to the finals.[28] 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.[29]

On 4 January 2016, at Wrestle Kingdom 10, Fale took part in a match to determine 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.[30] 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.[31] After a three-day reign, the three lost the title back to the Briscoes and Yano at The New Beginning in Niigata.[32] On March 3, Fale scored a big win over Hiroshi Tanahashi in the first round of the 2016 New Japan Cup.[33] The following day, he was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by Michael Elgin.[34] Fale then started a new feud with Hiroshi Tanahashi,[35] 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 April 23.[36] From July 18 to August 12, 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.[37]

In February 2017, Fale opened his own wrestling school, the Fale Dojo, in Auckland, New Zealand.[38] The following month, Fale made it to the finals of the 2017 New Japan Cup, before losing to Katsuyori Shibata.[39] On April 9 at Sakura Genesis 2017, Fale attacked IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and challenged him to a title match.[40] The title match took place on May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2017 and saw Okada retain.[41] 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.[42] 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.[43] 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.[44] They would regain the titles the following night. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku, Fale and G.O.D. lost the titles to their stablemates Marty Scurll and Young Bucks. From July 14 until August 10 Fale took part in the 2018 G1 Climax, finishing the tournament with a record of three wins and six losses, due to most of the matches ending in a disqualification due to excessive outside interference of Loa and Tonga, who Fale joined the Bullet Club OG as part of the Bullet Club Civil War. Some tatics such as excessive outside interference and ref bumps led to them being ejected from the arena by NJPW President Harold Meij on August 11, who had previously threatened to suspend them for three months and a fine. From July 6 until August 10, 2019, Fale took part in the 2019 G1 Climax, where he finished the tournament with a record of four wins and five losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. From November 15 until December 6, Fale and Chase Owens took part in the 2020 World Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of three wins and six losses, failling advance to the finals of the tournament.

On January 4, 2021, on the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 15 in Tokyo Dome, Fale, BUSHI, Chase Owens and Toru Yano won the New Japan Rambo, after Fale eliminated eight wrestlers from the match, including young lions Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura at the end to become the participants to decide the inaugural KOPW 2021. The following day, on the second night of Wrestle Kingdom 15, Fale failed to win the match to decide the provisional KOPW 2021 Champion, with Toru Yano winning the match. In March, Fale took part in the 2021 New Japan Cup, losing in the first round to Toru Yano on March 5. From November 14 until December 12, Fale and Chase Owens took part in the 2021 World Tag League finishing the tournament with a record of six wins and five losses, failling to advance to the finals of the tournament. In March 2022, Fale took part in the 2022 New Japan Cup, losing in the second round to Hiroshi Tanahashi. On May 1 at Wrestling Dontaku, Fale and Owens won the IWGP Tag Team Championship by defeating United Empire (Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb) and Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) in a three-way match, only to lose the titles back to Cobb and O-Khan on June 12 at Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall. From July 20 to August 16, 2022, Fale took part in the 2022 G1 Climax, finishing the tournament with a record of two wins and four losses, failing to advance to the semifinals. From November 22 until December 14, Fale and Owens took part in the 2022 World Tag League. Following three matches, where Fale and Owens scored two victories, they were forced to pull out of the tournament, after it was announced that Owens would be absent for the remainder of the tournament, following the passing of a family member, leading them to forfeit the remainder of their matches.

Personal life[]

Fale is the cousin of Bullet Club stablemate Tama Tonga, with both having spent their early childhoods in Muʻa, Tonga without meeting. They were in the NJPW dojo at the same time and realized they were related when a relative commented on a photo Fale had posted on social media.[45] He is of Tongan ethnicity and is fluent in Tongan, English and Japanese.

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.[46]

Fale also runs his own professional wrestling school Fale Dojo in Auckland, New Zealand that has seen a few of its notable alumni in NJPW (Aaron Henare, Jay White).

Professional wrestling persona and style[]

When Fale first turned his back on Yuji Nagata and most of New Japan's fan favorites, he became known as The Underboss of Prince Devitt and Bullet Club, carrying Devitt to the ring. After a few years, Fale decided to embrace not being a low-key member of Bullet Club, renaming his persona The Rogue General. Fale, being a larger wrestler has always utilized power-based moves in his arsenal. Being a villainous character, he uses his power to inflict more pain than necessary and to control the opponent's pace. He is also known to attack ring announcers before his match. Despite having the power (and at some times in his career, the athletic) advantage over most of his opponents, Fale's character has always tried to take the easy way out and cheat during matches.

Fale's big moves include a jumping splash, the Grenade,a Thumb Lariat (succeeded after choke-lifting the opponent with his other hand), Bad Luck Fall, a release Crucifix Powerbomb and different variations of a Schoolboy sweep.

In wrestling[]

  • Finishing moves
    • Bad Luck Fall (Throwing crucifix powerbomb)[47][48] – 2013–present
    • Choke Lariat Slam[49] / Grenade[50] (Chokeslam transitioned into a thumb thrust to the opponent's throat) – 2013–present
    • Samoan drop[1] – 2010–2012; used as a signature move thereafter
    • T-Shock (Double underhook overhead gutwrench backbreaker rack drop)[1] – 2010–2012
    • Tombstone piledriver[51][52] – 2017; parodied from Kazuchika Okada
  • Signature moves
    • Body Avalanche
    • Boston crab[3]
    • Cliff Hanger (Diving clothesline)[53]
    • Diving crossbody
    • Falling Coconut (Diving splash)[54]
    • Headbutt drop[3][53]
    • Lariat
    • Running splash[53]
    • Seated senton, as a sunset flip counter
    • Shoulder block
    • Spear
    • Two-handed chokelift
  • Nicknames
    • "Tropical King" (as King Fale)
    • "Tonga-ban Gojira"[55] (Japanese for "Tongan Godzilla")
    • "The Underboss"[7]
    • "The Rogue General"
  • Entrance themes
    • "Let's Get Crazy" by Yonosuke Kitamura[1][56][57]
    • "The Underboss" by Yonosuke Kitamura[57][58]
    • "Last Chance Saloon" by Deviant and Naive Ted[59] (Used while a part of Bullet Club)
    • "Shot'Em" by [Q]Brick[60] (Used while a part of Bullet Club)

Championships and accomplishments[]

References[]

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 ja:バッドラック・ファレ (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Retrieved on 2017-07-23.
  2. 2.0 2.1 http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=9201&name=
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 http://www.puroresucentral.com/kingfale.html
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=9201&page=4&s=100
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=9201&page=4&s=0`
  6. NEVER. 8 ~ Go to the Next Level ~ (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Retrieved on 2013-04-07.
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  8. ja:レスリングどんたく 2013 (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2013-05-03.
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  10. ja:真壁1・4ドーム大会でダブルヘッダー志願 (in Japanese). Tokyo Sports (2013-11-29). Retrieved on 2013-11-29.
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  15. New Japan Cup 2014 (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2014-03-23.
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  21. 『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! (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling (2014-11-11). Retrieved on 2014-12-05.
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  40. Rose, Bryan 2017-04-08. NJPW Sakura Genesis live results: Okada vs. Shibata . Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved on 2017-04-27.
  41. Rose, Bryan 2017-05-02. NJPW Wrestling Dontaku live results: Okada faces Bad Luck Fale . Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved on 2017-05-03.
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  43. 43.0 43.1 JRA presents Road to Tokyo Dome (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Retrieved on 2017-12-17.
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  45. Tama Tonga. Episode 5: Bad Luck Fale audioboom.com MLW Radio Network. (16 July 2016).
  46. 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. 
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  55. ja:「バッドラック・フォールは世界で最もデンジャラス」スマホサイトで"トンガ版ゴジラ"ファレに直撃!! (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling (2014-06-13). Retrieved on 2014-06-14.
  56. ja:新日本・携帯サイトの"着うた"で、アンダーソンの新入場曲! ベンジャミンの入場曲を8月3日(金)配信!! 真壁独占インタビューも掲載!! (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling (2012-07-31). Retrieved on 2013-07-03.
  57. 57.0 57.1 Kitamura, Yonosuke. Prowrestle theme music list (in Japanese). RMLabel. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.
  58. 好評を博したテーマ曲CD第2弾「NJPWグレイテストミュージックII」が10月9日発売!闘魂Shopで予約受付中!! (in Japanese). New Japan Pro Wrestling (2013-09-18). Retrieved on 2013-09-19.
  59. Last Chance Saloon (Bullet Club Theme) . DeviantandNaiveTed.Bandcamp.com (2014-02-14). Retrieved on 2014-02-19.
  60. [Q]Brick 2014-05-22. "Shot'Em" Bullet Club 2nd Theme . SoundCloud. Retrieved on 2014-11-10.
  61. Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2015 . The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved on 2015-10-05.
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