MLW star Jacob Fatu is in hot water, after accusations that he scammed a local charity out of their hard-earned money.
Fatu is one of the top young wrestlers on the indie scene, and part of the legendary Fatu wrestling family. He is cousins with Roman Reigns and The Usos.
Nonprofit organization Jake’s Network of Hope says pro wrestler Jacob Fatu agreed to appear at a fundraising event for them.
However, when the time came for his to appear at the show, he was nowhere to be found.
The event, which was called Honor Bound: Hits for Hope took place on April 29, 2023 and took place at the Alexander Gymnasium at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Some big stars had been booked for the event. WWE legend Tatanka and Mexican icon Vampiro were booked the event, as were AEW talent like Brian Pillman Jr and Billy Gunn.
“He ghosted us. The production that puts together the wrestling show, and he goes to the person that booked him for. He ghosted them.”
Jen from Jake’s Network of Hope, on Jacob Fatu.
Jacob Fatu was one of the featured names advertised for the show, given his main event status in Major League Wrestling.
He was paid for the event up front, but when it came time to perform, he claimed a “family emergency” and refused to show up.
The charity in question was “Jake’s Network of Hope”, and Jen from the charity spoke to NBC 26 about Jacob Fatu scamming them out of their money.
“Jacob called and said that there is a family emergency. We give him the benefit of the doubt at Jake’s. We’re 100% about family. And I said if you can’t make it, that’s fine.” Jen said to NBC 26.
“All we asked was that the nonprofit be reimbursed for the money they spent booking him and for the plane ticket we’ll reschedule. The flight that he originally missed was about an hour before the flight took off.”
“We were made aware by him that he wasn’t coming. After that, he ghosted us. The production that puts together the wrestling show, and he goes to the person that booked him for. He ghosted us.”
Jacob Fatu was not available to comment on the matter, but as of the time of wriitng doesn’t appear to have returned the money.
A member of the Fatu family did agree to appear on the next event, although that version did not want to be named on the news report.
This stunt could put Fatu’s future in jeopardy. Both AEW and WWE will be wary of working with him in the future, due to having issues with reliability and defrauding a charity.
If you use any quotes from this article, please give a H/T to Atletifo for the transcription.