BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Allentown native Lance Anoa’i knocked out Amanpreet Singh in the second round of his Power Slap debut Friday, April 17, at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, on a card that ran the same weekend as WrestleMania 42.
The 34-year-old third-generation professional wrestler joined the Dana White-led slap fighting promotion after what he said was a sports hernia and a torn shoulder that cut short his WWE run.
Power Slap 19 marked the first bout under the promotion’s new five-year residency with MGM Resorts International, which runs through 2030 and calls for four events per year, according to a joint announcement from the two companies.
Power Slap was founded in 2022 by White, Lorenzo Fertitta and Craig Piligian in partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and is sanctioned by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
Competitors take turns delivering open-handed strikes to the face, with no defense permitted. The promotion airs its content exclusively on YouTube.
Anoa’i lost the coin toss and had to absorb the first slap. He went down and got back up.
“That was the toughest thing,” Anoa’i said. “And then I was kind of like, all right, now I got it out of me. Now I’m ready to go.”
Anoa’i closed the bout in the second round with a strike he said he wound up using the sidearm throwing motion from his baseball days in Allentown.
Video: LAS VEGAS — Lance Anoa’i, of Allentown, Pa., knocks out Amanpreet Singh in the second round of his Power Slap debut at Power Slap 19 on Friday, April 17, 2026, at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. (Power Slap)
“I was always a sidearm thrower — I just did my measurement right,” Anoa’i said. “I just cocked back and went, and I made great contact and laid my opponent down.”
Anoa’i is the grandson of the late WWE Hall of Famer Afa Anoa’i Sr. of The Wild Samoans and the son of former WWE wrestler Samu of The Headshrinkers.
He is a cousin of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Roman Reigns, who defeated CM Punk for the World Heavyweight Championship in the main event of WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium on April 19, two nights after Anoa’i’s debut.
Anoa’i said his family settled in the Lehigh Valley because his grandfather and The Rock’s father, Rocky Johnson, wrestled regularly at the Allentown Fairgrounds during television tapings for WWE’s predecessor, and eventually relocated there to stop traveling. The Rock spent time in the area as a kid as a result, he said.
LAS VEGAS — Lance Anoa’i, in black, walks out ahead of his Power Slap debut against Amanpreet Singh, shown on the screen behind him, during Power Slap 19 on Friday, April 17, 2026, at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. (Mike Kirschbaum/Schiaffo LLC via Power Slap)
Anoa’i said his family’s wrestling history shaped his decision to take the fight.
“My Samoan family is known for being real disciplined,” he said. “I did get hit as a kid, man — but not like that. We got hit hard when we got in trouble. And I’ll say, if I used to take it for free, why not just go and do this and give it a try?”
Anoa’i said he graduated from William Allen High School in 2010. He played baseball through high school before a torn knee ended his senior year, he said, and he made his professional wrestling debut the same year at Mountainville Memorial Hall in Allentown — the longtime home of World Xtreme Wrestling, the promotion his grandfather founded in 1996.
Anoa’i signed with WWE in 2024 and was released in October 2025 after he said he suffered a bilateral sports hernia and a torn shoulder that kept him out of action. Power Slap contacted him roughly a month later, he said, and invited him to its combine, where the organization signed him to a contract.
“Polynesian culture — we could hit hard and we could take a hit,” Anoa’i said of the pitch.
Training for Power Slap required a different approach than wrestling, he said. In addition to full-body workouts, he focused on neck and trap strength, hip mobility and jaw conditioning.
“You want a very strong neck for this sport,” Anoa’i said. “You need a very strong jaw to be able to take a hit.”
Power Slap non-title bouts run up to three rounds, with winners determined by knockout, technical knockout or judges’ decision under the same scoring system used in UFC.
The sport has drawn criticism from medical experts since its 2023 debut. Neurologists and brain-injury specialists have raised concerns about repeated open-handed strikes to the head, and at least one state, Alabama, has moved against the practice.
White has defended the promotion, arguing that adults have the right to choose to participate in combat sports and pointing to medical safeguards built into Power Slap’s rule set.
Singh, a 35-year-old Indian wrestler who performs as Mahabali Shera, has a background in professional wrestling that includes a run with TNA/Impact Wrestling and a brief stint in WWE’s developmental system in 2018. Anoa’i said he expected the fight to go the full three rounds.
“I definitely thought we might have went three rounds to a decision,” Anoa’i said. “I’m happy I got the knockout.”
Anoa’i said he now lives in Orlando, Fla., but still travels to the Lehigh Valley every month for wrestling dates. He said he will appear at the Allentown Fair on Sept. 3 as part of the “Stars, Stripes & Slams” card.
The fair said it will be the first professional wrestling event to headline the grandstand in 32 years. Though not yet officially listed, Anoa’i said he would be there.
Anoa’i holds the Battlefield Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Championship, according to Power Slap promotional materials, and said he plans to continue wrestling between Power Slap dates.
“I ain’t stopping Power Slap now,” Anoa’i said. “I’m in there, I’m ready to go. I don’t care who it’s against.”
Power Slap 19 was headlined by Dayne “Da Hawaiian Hitman” Viernes, who retained his Super Heavyweight Title over Makini “Big Mak” Manu by split decision, according to the official Power Slap results. Anoa’i’s bout does not appear in Power Slap’s published results for the card.
Anoa’i said it was a preliminary fight recorded for later release. The full fight is scheduled to be posted on Power Slap’s YouTube channel at 9 a.m. Thursday, April 23.
Asked what he would tell young people in the Lehigh Valley hoping to follow a similar path, Anoa’i said the answer was the same for any field.
“Lock in,” he said. “If this is something you really want to do — whether wrestling, sports, any kind, anything you want to do in life — you just want to make that your main focus. Get good grades in school, and just focus. Give it your all.”
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Jai Smith is the founder and editor of Lehigh Daily, covering local government and community across Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton. He built the site from scratch in June 2024 and runs it daily — reporting, photography, video, and development. A full-stack developer by trade, Jai has appeared on Lenfest panels on creator journalism and the evolving news landscape, participated in Knight Media Forum events, appeared on WHYY, and works with Free Press on state legislation to fund local news. He lives in Bethlehem with his family.