Stevie Ray Once Saw Haku Use His Finisher In A Bar Fight: “The Tongan Death Grip Is Real”

Stevie Ray had to break up a fight which involved Haku. 

In an episode of his new podcast Stand Up for Greatness, Stevie Ray told a story about watching Haku (formerly known as Meng) getting into a bar fight in a small town. He said he entered the town alone but soon found the other wrestlers at a bar near his hotel. 

“Bismark, North Dakota…I’m by myself I think, I wasn’t riding with anyone, had never been to this town before. It’s a town of a lot of Native Americans actually. It was the first time I had been around so many Native Americans, which I thought was kind of cool. The show was not until the next day…It’s a big bar, a big cowboy club right across the parking lot from the hotel that I’m staying in,” said Stevie Ray. 

Haku was infamous among wrestlers as being a bar-room brawler and one of the toughest guys in professional wrestling. When Stevie Ray entered the bar, he was witness to one of Haku’s fights. 

“I walk in, I look across the club way over, and I see a bunch of the boys by the bar. As I’m walking over there. I see this scrum. This scrum breaks out. All kinds of shit is flying, people flying,” said Steve Ray. “I get closer, I go through a couple people and Haku has a guy in the fucking Tongan Death Lock or whatever the fuck it was,” he continued.  

Haku was rushed out of the bar by Stevie Ray, who had to physically pry Haku’s hand from the bar patron’s throat. Stevie Ray said he took Haku back to the hotel and calmed him down. He claimed his main concern was keeping Haku out of jail. 

Stevie Ray could not pin down the timeline of the event. He knew he was not in Harlem Heat anymore because Booker T was not with him, but beyond that, he could not speak to the exact date. At the time, Haku was known as “Meng” in WCW. Stevie Ray wanted to tell the fans Haku’s finisher was everything it seemed to be. 

“True story, If anyone’s ever seen the Tongan Death Grip on television, it’s real,” said Stevie Ray. 

Haku used the Tongan Death Grip in a series of squash matches. The move is a grip on the front of his opponent’s neck and he would pin them while holding the move. 

Stand Up For Greatness with Stevie Ray is available on TitleMatchNetwork.com.