In a no-holds-barred interview on the Cheap Heat podcast, Jacob Fatu opened up about the long road that brought him to WWE, sharing candid reflections on his troubled past, his family, and his gratitude ahead of this Sunday’s United States Championship Steel Cage Match against Solo Sikoa at SummerSlam.
Fatu, a member of the legendary Anoa’i dynasty, didn’t shy away from discussing his past. “When I was 18, I got, what, 211 robbery,” he revealed, adding that he was incarcerated more than once. He recounted a pivotal moment in jail when his parents visited him behind bars. “Man, seeing my parents come visit me in that thing… that was the worst,” he said. “That’s why I’m so thankful I’m here, because I know what it could have been.”
Though widely considered a top talent during his MLW run, Fatu revealed he stayed quiet after his contract expired in 2024. “I never asked my cousins for a job,” he said, but noted that William Regal kept in touch. Ultimately, it was Paul Heyman who made the official call. “Mr. Heyman had always been tapped in… Paul Heyman’s really been around the family.”
Watching The Bloodline dominate WWE inspired Fatu. “I’m a fan of my brothers,” he said. “What they were doing up here… okay, the independents can’t get them, we’ll get the closest thing—Jacob Fatu.” That motivation helped fuel his own rise as a feared independent star before finally joining WWE.
Fatu addressed his personal and professional conflict with Solo Sikoa, whom he faces inside a steel cage at SummerSlam. “Solo’s done a lot. Like in those promos, he is right,” Fatu said. “Before I got to WWE, I didn’t care about nothing but myself.” But Fatu sees the match as deeper than a feud: “At the end of the day, it’s family. If you don’t fight with your family, man, you ain’t family.”
Throughout the interview, Fatu repeatedly credited his wife and faith for keeping him grounded during his darkest moments. “If you don’t got nobody outside when you go to jail, you’re not getting commissary… that’s why I knew my wife was the one,” he said. “So when they say, ‘congratulations, Jacob Fatu, you deserve it,’ nah, bro, that woman—and God—done put a whole lot of hard work into this.”
Jacob Fatu challenges Solo Sikoa for the United States Championship in a Steel Cage Match this Sunday, August 3, on Night Two of WWE SummerSlam, streaming live on Peacock and the WWE Network.
