The Islanders The Islanders were a professional wrestling tag team . The members were Haku ( Tonga Uli ' uli Fifita ) and Tama ( Sam Fatu ) , and they wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation . They were managed by Bobby Heenan and had a memorable feud with the British Bulldogs in which they kidnapped their pet mascot Matilda . They were also very briefly joined by a " third islander " Sivi Afi . History . Formation . Prior to being known as Haku , Fifita wrestled as King Tonga , entering the WWF in late - 1985 . He bodyslammed Big John Studd on a televised show at a time when Studd was being billed as a man who couldn ' t be slammed . Fatu , meanwhile , wrestled in the WWF in 1984 as the Tonga Kid , who aided Jimmy Snuka in his feud against Rowdy Roddy Piper . Fatu disappeared shortly after the Piper feud and returned to the WWF in mid - 1986 . He was almost immediately put into a tag team with King Tonga , given their new names and christened The Islanders . Initially , they wrestled as a faces . Face run . Initially , the Islanders wrestled preliminary matches . They won most of the matches and occasional got matches against higher card teams , such as the Hart Foundation or The Dream Team . Their big break came in October 1986 when they won a tag - team battle royal at Madison Square Garden , last eliminating the favored King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd . While it appeared initially that a feud with Studd and Bundy was on the horizon , that idea was scrapped when Studd left the WWF . The Islanders soon found themselves on the lower end of the card , losing to more established tag teams such as The Dream Team , Nikolai Volkoff & The Iron Sheik , and Don Muraco & Bob Orton , Jr . . During this period , the WWF was loaded with great tag teams , and the Islanders were lost in the mix during early 1987 . They were the first team to wrestle the Hart Foundation on television after the Harts won the titles in January , but lost . They soon found themselves in a long losing streak against a new team , Demolition . They began wrestling other face teams during this period , usually the Rougeau Brothers , and these matches were typically a double disqualification . With little momentum , the Islanders were left off the biggest card of the year , WrestleMania III . Heel Turn . Shortly after WrestleMania , the Islanders continued the losing to Demolition , but were scheduled for a match on the " WWF Superstars of Wrestling " . Their opponents were the popular Can - Am Connection ( Rick Martel & Tom Zenk ) , in what was billed as a scientific match . Manager Bobby Heenan appeared at ringside during the bout , seemingly surprising both teams , the referee , and the commentators . The confusion allowed the Islanders to attack the Can - Ams from behind , giving the Islanders a countout win . Tama ' s gave a flying headbutt to Tom Zenk on the arena floor as Bobby Heenan gloated over his new tag team . A summer feud with the most popular tag team in the federation was brewing , but was scrapped when Tom Zenk departed the WWF . The Islanders appeared at the very first Survivor Series . They were part of the 10 team survivor Tag Team elimination match . While Haku lay on the mat during the match , Dynamite Kid of the British Bulldogs attempted a falling headbutt from the top rope ; announcer Jesse Ventura immediately pointed out Dynamite Kid ' s mistake in mentioning , " Oh , no , you don ' t want to butt heads with these South Sea Island Boys . " Dynamite Kid was practically knocked out , as Haku shook his head , arose , and landed a throat kick to Dyanmite Kid , pinning him . As heels , The Islanders had two major feuds . The first was with Strike Force , who were formed in the wake of Tito Santana saving Martel — now without a tag team partner — from the Islanders ' 2 - on - 1 attack . The second was with The British Bulldogs , whose mascot Matilda was " dog - napped " by The Islanders on an episode of " WWF Superstars of Wrestling " ; in the weeks following the " dog - napping " incident , the Islanders and Heenan brought a leash to the ring and — to taunt their foes — would pantomime feeding and caressing a dog . The two teams met on opposite sides of a 6 - man tag team match ( along with Koko B . Ware teaming with the Bulldogs and Bobby Heenan with The Islanders ) at WrestleMania IV . " High Chief " Afi joined the tag team to make a trio for one episode of WWF Superstars of Wrestling , taped April 21 , 1988 and aired on May 7 , 1988 . However , the trio would not last long . Tama ' s last match with the WWF took place on April 24 , 1988 in Toronto ' s Maple Leaf Gardens and Haku and Afi would wrestle only a small number of matches through May as the Islanders before Afi was released . Haku stayed in the WWF for several more years afterwards as both a single and tag team wrestler .