Jacob Fatu accused of no-showing charity event, keeping money

[Chris]

A Wisconsin-based nonprofit organization is saying Jacob Fatu no-showed a charity wrestling event and has not returned money he was pre-paid for the show.

Representatives for Jake's Network of Hope spoke with NBC 26 news on Thursday and alleged Fatu has "ghosted" them after failing to appear at its Hits For Hope fundraiser in April.

“Jacob called and said that there was a family emergency. We gave him the benefit of the doubt. At Jake's, we are 100% about family and I said, ‘if you can't make it, that's fine,’” said Jake's Network of Hope Director of Development, Jenn Harper.
“We rescheduled the flight that he missed originally, and about an hour after that flight took off, we were made aware from him that he wasn't coming. After that, he ghosted us, he ghosted the production team that puts together the wrestling show, and he ghosted the person that booked him for us," Harper said.

Harper continued to say the organization had already pre-paid Fatu $1030 for the appearance. They also spent $548 on his hotel, $657 on his initial flight, $348 on the rescheduled flight, which Harper says was made at his request, and an additional $50 on posters for him to autograph at the show. The total amount the organization says it is out as a result is $2633.

Harper also said that a "major name" from Fatu's family reached out to her regarding the incident and promised to attend the nonprofit's event next year. Jacob Fatu is the son of Samuel Fatu (The Tonga Kid/Tama) and is part of the Anoaʻi family dynasty. However, Harper did not reveal who from Fatu's family contacted her.

“It was kind of really out of the blue to get a phone call from somebody of that magnitude to say, ‘hey, what can we do? How can we help?’” Harper said.

The nonprofit organization continued to say they were inspired to speak out about the incident after reading of others who had similar experiences with Fatu. NBC is reporting Pro Wrestling KING in South Bend, Indiana is also alleging Fatu ghosted them in regard to a show on June 3.

"That's why at Jake's we decided that we wanted to speak up alongside of these organizations, so that this didn't continue to happen to other people," Harper said.

Fatu is featured in promotional material for the Hits for Hope fundraiser alongside Billy Gunn, Brian Pillman Jr, Tatanka, and Vampiro, who all worked the event.

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/other-wrestling/jacob-fatu-accused-of-no-showing-charity-event-not-returning-payment

 

[Hidden Blaze]

Really fucked up shit man, like no showing some regular indie show would be a little dickish, but whatever. But when it’s one for charity, nah that’s pretty god damn fucked up.

 

[Deezy]

Man's risking a bad rep over a grand.

 

[Butters]

good thing they dont post here anymore

 

[Chris]

Court Bauer has commented on the recent allegations regarding MLW National Openweight Champion Jacob Fatu.

Nonprofit organization Jake's Network of Hope alleges Fatu no-showed their event last month and has not returned money he was pre-paid to wrestle on the show. The nonprofit says Fatu has "ghosted" them since.

Bauer told In The Weeds recently that MLW is monitoring the situation.

"What I can say is that we're watching it very carefully. We take it very seriously. Fatu books himself on third-party shows, we have no involvement with that but it's something we've had meetings on and we're watching carefully and we're continuing to monitor it and learn more about it," Bauer said
"I think a lot of us, probably, work with charities, so when you see something like that, how does it make you feel? So, that's something that we are genuinely watching," he continued.

Fatu has not commented on the allegations from Jake's Network of Hope. However, the Wisconsin-based nonprofit told NBC that a famous member of the Anoa'i/Fatu family reached out and promised to attend the fundraising event next year.

Fatu recently won the MLW National Openweight Championship. He is scheduled to defend the title on Saturday at Never Say Never against Calvin Tankman. The show will be the first live event for MLW as part of the FITE+ program.

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/mlw/mlws-court-bauer-comments-on-jacob-fatu-charity-no-show-allegations

 

[Daddy Deville]

Oh Jacob !