Early years (1973–1979) The team began its career in
Stu Hart's
Calgary, Alberta,
Canada based
Stampede Wrestling in 1973, where they won the
Stampede International Tag Team Championship on two occasions. Then they went to
Vancouver and won the tag titles there. In 1975 they made their debut in the United States for
Big Time Wrestling in Detroit. They spent the majority of the 1970s in various
National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territories.
World Wrestling Federation (1979–1980) In 1979, the Wild Samoans joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). They were initially billed as simply "The Samoans" before reverting to their better-known name. Occasionally, they were introduced as "Lou Albano's Wild Men" during TV tapings. They made their
Madison Square Garden debut on January 21, 1980, in a
WWF Tag Team Championship match against
Tito Santana and
Ivan Putski, who retained their title. In a rematch on March 19, they were also victorious. During the match, Albano tried to interfere on the Samoans' behalf by attempting to hit Atlas over the head with a chair. On August 15, 1997, both men reunited for one night teaming with
Disco Inferno,
Gene Ligon and the Big Cheese as they defeated
Ken Timbs, George Love, Jay Love, Gary Royal and Kane Adams at IWA Night of the Legends in Kannapolis, North Carolina. ==Post-tag team careers==