Yokozuna (wrestler)

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Agatupu Rodney Anoa'i United States
File:0626 rodney full.jpg
Born(1966-10-02)October 2, 1966
Hilo, Hawaii, U.S.
DiedOctober 23, 2000(2000-10-23) (aged 34)
Liverpool, England
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Great Kokina
Kokina Maximus
Mr. Sumo
Wild Samoan Kokina
Yokozuna
Billed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Billed weight360 lb (160 kg; 26 st)-700 lb (320 kg; 50 st)
Billed fromJapan
Polynesian Islands
Trained byAfa Anoa'i[1]
Debut1984
RetiredOctober 23 2000 (death)

Rodney Anoa'i (October 2 1966 – October 23 2000) was a Samoan-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Yokozuna. The term yokozuna refers to the highest rank in professional sumo wrestling in Japan. Although the "Yokozuna" character was portrayed as a champion sumo wrestler, Anoa'i had never competed as an actual sumotori. Though Yokozuna wrestled as a representative of Japan, he was of Samoan origin and was accordingly billed as hailing from the "Polynesian Islands".[2] He was a two time WWF Champion and the first ever wrestler of Samoan descent to win the WWF Championship.

Career

American Wrestling Association (1984-1992)

Anoa'i's career in professional wrestling began as he grew up in a family full of wrestlers. His uncles were the Wild Samoans Afa and Sika, who trained him from an early age in the family business. Anoa'i took on the name of the Great Kokina while wrestling overseas in Japan. He also spent some time in Mexico learning the craft and gaining the experience necessary to be a star in the sport.[3] His first major exposure in the United States came in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) as Kokina Maximus.[3] Wrestling as a Samoan superstar, he was managed by Sheik Adnan El Kassey. His biggest achievement at that time was the kayfabe breaking of Greg Gagne's leg and ending his career.[3] At the time, he weighed less than 400 pounds, making him a lean wrestling machine, at least relative to his weight later in life (during his WWF career he weighed between 500 lb and perhaps as much as 800 lb (230–360 kg) at his heaviest).[2]

World Wrestling Federation (1992-1998)

1992

In 1992, Anoa'i was contacted by Vince McMahon of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was offered a new gimmick: Yokozuna. Managed by Harry Fujiwara (Mr. Fuji), Yokozuna was announced as a sumo wrestler competing under the Japanese flag.[3] His first pay-per-view victory came at Survivor Series 1992, when he squashed the much-smaller Virgil.[3][2][4]

1993

File:Yokozunafujiraw.jpg
Yokozuna (left) and Mr. Fuji on the very first episode of Monday Night RAW.

Soon, Yokozuna's career took off, and he headed into the 1993 Royal Rumble match at Royal Rumble 1993 billed as a potential favorite. He eliminated Randy Savage to win the Rumble, cementing his movement towards main event status.[1][3][3][5]

At WrestleMania IX, Yokozuna faced off against Bret Hart, for the WWF Championship. Hart had the match won with Yokozuna about to submit to the Sharpshooter, when Mr. Fuji threw salt into the champion's face. Blinded, Hart was then pinned by Yokozuna, who won the WWF Championship, causing a major upset, and officially making Yokozuna the seventeenth WWF Champion.[3][6][7] As he and Mr. Fuji celebrated, Hulk Hogan came out from the back to protest against the decision. Mr. Fuji then arrogantly challenged the Hulkster (offering to put the title on the line in the process) and Hogan accepted after Hart gave it his blessing. Fuji tried to blind Hogan with salt, but the move backfired, leading to Yokozuna being pinned in less than a minute. This gave Yokozuna the 2nd-shortest title reign in WWE history.[3][6]

Yokozuna and Hogan continued to feud for the next few months, leading up to King of the Ring 1993 where Yokozuna's billed weight increased from 505 pounds to 550. Once again, Hogan seemed to be in control, but the champion underestimated the deceitful tactics of Mr. Fuji. A "Japanese photographer" posing as a member of the legitimate Japanese wrestling press and planted at ringside by the group, aimed his lens at Hogan and pressed a button, shooting a blast of fire into his face. This allowed Yokozuna to take Hogan out with Hogan's own leg drop and reclaim the WWF Championship, after which Yokozuna proceeded to hit Hogan a Banzai Drop in the corner.[3][8][9] Soon after, Hogan left the WWF to pursue other interests, which left Yokozuna and Fuji to claim that they had ended Hulkamania (to wit, that would be Hogan's last appearance in the WWF for 9 years). To celebrate, he held a "Bodyslam Competition" aboard the USS Intrepid on Independence Day. Many wrestlers and athletes alike tried to slam Yokozuna, with no success. As Yokozuna thought that there would be none left to challenge him, Lex Luger flew in by helicopter, stepped forward, and slammed him on the deck. It was claimed by announcer Bobby Heenan that the move pulled by Luger was a hip toss rather than a bodyslam as Yokozuna was running at Luger when he slammed him, but the slam was ruled legitimate. This made Luger the next major challenger to Yokozuna's title reign.[3][10]

At SummerSlam 1993, Yokozuna and the newly-reborn patriot Luger fought it out for the WWF Championship. Luger took control late in the match, scoring on Yokozuna with a bodyslam and flying forearm (it was stipulated that Luger must wear a protective pad over it, but it was torn off in the course of the match). Luger had metal plates put into his arm, making it a formidable weapon as Yokozuna was knocked out of the ring, unconscious, and lost via countout. The title did not change hands, but the match's result made it seem like Luger had a chance against his gigantic foe. The contract Luger had signed for the match, as orchestrated by Yokozuna's new spokesman and advisor Jim Cornette, stated that if he did not win the championship, he would not get another shot at the title.[3][11] Yokozuna and Luger continued to feud until Survivor Series 1993, where each chose a team of allies for an elimination match. The match was billed as an All Americans (Lex Luger, The Undertaker and Steiner Brothers) vs. Foreign Fanatics (Yokozuna, Quebecer Jacques, Ludvig Borga and Crush) contest.[3][12]

Yokozuna's next challenger was The Undertaker.[1] The two first squared off against each other as parts of their respective teams at Survivor Series. Prior to the match starting, the two stood nose-to-nose as a tease to the crowd as to the possibility of those two facing each other. However, the Undertaker was not tagged into the match until after it was just him and Luger on the American Team. When the Undertaker entered he beat down on Ludvig Borga but was knocked down by Yokozuna. Yokozuna then gave the Undertaker a Banzai Drop, but the Undertaker sat up when Yokozuna went for a second Banzai Drop. The two then brawled outside, where Yokozuna seemed to be completely overmatched. They were both eliminated by double countout.[2][3][12]

1994

Eventually Yokozuna was forced to accept a Casket match with The Undertaker. The match occurred at Royal Rumble 1994, where all the odds looked to be in the Undertaker's favor. However, after a lengthy match, Mr. Fuji called out the troops, bringing a dozen heel wrestlers out to aid Yokozuna in attacking the Undertaker. After a lot of struggle (as well as damaging the Undertaker's "magic" urn), the group managed to shove the Undertaker into the casket, giving the win to Yokozuna. As they celebrated afterwards, however, a mysterious figure appeared on the Titantron, looking like the Undertaker inside the casket. He opened his eyes and said the Undertaker would not rest in peace; he then disappeared in a smoke and light show, rising to the top of the Titantron and seemingly levitating all the way to the arena ceiling. He then vanished. This storyline was used to allow the Undertaker to rest for several months to recover from lingering real-life injuries.[3][13]

Later, in the actual 1994 Royal Rumble match, the last two competitors, Lex Luger and Bret Hart, fought and eliminated each other simultaneously. Since the winner of the Royal Rumble was to become the number one contender to Yokozuna's title, it was decided that both wrestlers would get a shot at the title at WrestleMania X.[14] By virtue of winning a coin toss, Luger got to wrestle Yokozuna first at the event. The winner of that match would go on to face Bret Hart later in the evening with the title on the line.[15] To obviate the risk of outside interference, both title matches were scheduled to have special guest referees. Mr. Perfect was the special guest referee for the Luger/Yokozuna bout. Luger seemed to have the match well in hand and had knocked out Yokozuna with the bionic forearm in the middle of the ring. He also knocked out Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette, who tried to enter the ring. However when Luger went for the pin, Perfect occupied himself with the unconscious Fuji and Cornette who were still lying on the ring apron. When Luger got angry and pushed Mr Perfect, he was disqualified, thus making Yokozuna the first heel champion to successfully defend the WWF Championship at a WrestleMania.[2][3]

Later in the night, Yokozuna defended the championship again, this time against the former champion Bret "Hitman" Hart. For this match, Roddy Piper was the special referee. When Cornette tried to interfere to break a pinfall, Piper decked him. At the end of the match, Yokozuna seemed ready to hit his finishing maneuver, the Banzai Drop, when he lost his balance and took a fall from the ropes. Hart got the pinfall victory, finally taking the title away from the long-running champion who reigned for 280 days.[3][16] Afterwards on television, Cornette would blame the fall on a concussion suffered from Luger's forearm plate.

Yokozuna's main-event status soon began to fade away, as he never again fully challenged for the WWF Championship. He began tagging briefly with Crush, another Mr. Fuji star.[3] In May 1994, on a Monday Night RAW episode, Yokozuna was challenged by Earthquake to an actual sumo match. On May 16 1994, Earthquake beat Yokozuna in the only (worked) sumo match[17] until WrestleMania 21, between Big Show and an actual yokozuna, Akebono.[18] At King of the Ring 1994, Yokozuna and Crush failed to win the WWF Tag Team Championship from The Headshrinkers (Samu and Fatu).[19]

Yokozuna then had to deal with the "rebirth" of the Undertaker, who immediately came after the foe who had taken him out of action. The two met in another casket match at the Survivor Series 1994, this time with actor/karate expert Chuck Norris as the special enforcer to keep the other heel wrestlers away from ringside. Without their help (although Irwin R. Schyster did successfully interfere on Yokozuna's behalf), Yokozuna could not win and eventually ended up locked inside the casket. This was Yokozuna's last main event run in the WWF for a time, as he wrestled only briefly on the mid-card before taking some time off.[3][20]

1995

In April 1995, Owen Hart began promising that he would have a great tag-team partner to face off against The Smokin' Gunns (Billy and Bart) at WrestleMania XI for the WWF Tag Team Championship. At the event, Yokozuna was revealed as his partner, and the surprisingly diverse tag team managed to take out the Gunns and take away the WWF Tag Team Championship.[3][21][22] The two would remain a tough tag team for a few months, defending against teams like the Allied Powers (Lex Luger & Davey Boy Smith),[23] the Smoking Gunns,[24] and others. Still, by this point it was obvious that Yokozuna was no longer in great shape, having gained too much weight (he was estimated to be at around 700 lb (320 kg) at this point, although he was billed at 641 lb). Hart carried the team, much like Haku carried the Colossal Connection when André the Giant's health was faltering.[3]

At In Your House 3, Yokozuna teamed up with Davey Boy Smith to take on Shawn Michaels and Diesel (the back story being that Hart was supposedly with his wife as she gave birth to one of their children) with Diesel's WWF Championship, Shawn Michaels' WWF Intercontinental Championship and Owen/Yoko's WWF Tag Team Championship on the line. During the match, Owen Hart came to the ring, only to be pinned by Diesel.[3][25] The next day, due to protests from the team and the legal help of Clarence Mason, President Gorilla Monsoon reluctantly returned the belts to Yokozuna & Hart, since Hart was not an official part of the match.[3][26] Unfortunately for the team, their second reign was much shorter, as the Smoking Gunns defeated them that night for the belts.[2][27]

1996

Yokozuna had little continued success in 1996. He competed in the 1996 Royal Rumble match, managing to eliminate three wrestlers (Bob Backlund, King Mabel, and Swat Team member #2) before being tossed out by Shawn Michaels, the eventual winner. Soon after, Yokozuna dropped Jim Cornette and Mr. Fuji and began a short face stint. He spoke English to the fans and challenged newcomer Vader to numerous matches after the two had several run-ins while both were in Cornette's stable. It was during this feud that Yokozuna teamed up with Ahmed Johnson and Jake Roberts in a six-man tag-team match at WrestleMania XII facing off with Vader, Owen Hart, and Davey Boy Smith (the British Bulldog). The feud took a painful turn a few months later, when Vader jumped on Yokozuna's leg, supposedly breaking it. A forklift had to come down to ringside to lift Yokozuna out, showing how his weight had gotten out of control. He took some time off to slim down, then reappeared at the Free for All just before SummerSlam 1996, facing off against a relative newcomer in Stone Cold Steve Austin. Yokozuna took the advantage near the end of the match, but when he went for the Banzai Drop, the rope broke, sending him crashing back down. Austin attained the easy victory. He would appear at one more WWF pay-per-view, still going after Vader at the 1996 Survivor Series, but that match ended with all remaining wrestlers being disqualified.

1997-1999

Yokozuna stayed on the WWF roster for a while afterwards, as he worked to lose the weight that he had put on. Despite dropping a reported 100 pounds (45 kg), he still could not lose enough to satisfy the WWF officials. He was unable to pass a physical required for professional wrestlers by the New York State Athletic Commission and was eventually released from the WWF in 1998, although rumors persisted for many years that he would be brought back if he lost enough weight.[2]

Independent circuit (1999-2000)

After his WWF career ended, he performed for various independent promotions. The last major appearance for Yokozuna was at October 1999's Heroes of Wrestling pay-per-view, where he looked massively overweight compared to his WWF days. At the event, Yokozuna tagged with a very sluggish Jake Roberts against the team of King Kong Bundy and Jim Neidhart.[2]

Personal life

Anoa'i was a member of the famous Anoa'i family; The Rock, Rikishi, Samu, Rosey and Umaga were among his cousins, and Afa and Sika were his uncles. He had two children, Jason and Keilani.[28]

Death

On October 23 2000, Anoa'i died of a heart attack while on an independent wrestling tour in Liverpool, England where he was to wrestle in Worthing the next day.[29] Shortly after his death, his old WWF "nemesis" The Undertaker paid tribute to him by wearing a Yokozuna T-shirt during a match on Monday Night RAW.[1]

Wrestling details

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Yokozuna's WWE Profile". WWE. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Yokozuna Bio". Obessedwithwrestling.com. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "Yokozuna Bio". Accelerator 3359. Retrieved 2008-01-12. Cite error: The named reference "acceleratorbio" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Survivor Series 1992 official results". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  5. ^ "1993 Royal Rumble match". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  6. ^ a b "WrestleMania IX main event". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  7. ^ "Yokozuna's first WWE Championship reign". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  8. ^ "King of the Ring 1993 results". p.w.w. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  9. ^ "Yokozuna's second WWE Championship reign". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  10. ^ "Yokozuna Bodyslam Challenge results". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  11. ^ "SummerSlam 1993 main event". Accelerator 3359. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  12. ^ a b "Survivor Series 1993 main event". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  13. ^ "Royal Rumble 1994 official results". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  14. ^ "1994 Royal Rumble match". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  15. ^ McAvennie, Mike. "Dis-Owen-ed". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  16. ^ "WrestleMania 10 main event". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  17. ^ "Monday Night RAW results 1994". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  18. ^ "WrestleMania 21 official results". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  19. ^ "King of the Ring 1994 results". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  20. ^ "Survivor Series 1994 main event". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  21. ^ "WrestleMania XI official results". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  22. ^ "Owen Hart and Yokozuna's first World Tag Team Championship reign". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  23. ^ "In Your House 2 results". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  24. ^ "In Your House 1 results". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  25. ^ "In Your House 3 results". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  26. ^ "Owen Hart and Yokozuna's second World Tag Team Championship reign". WWE. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  27. ^ "Monday Night RAW results 1996". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
  28. ^ Anoa'i died October 23, 2000 - According to his gravestone
  29. ^ "Yokozuna dead at 34". slam.canoe.ca. Retrieved 2007-06-28.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Yokozuna_(wrestler)&oldid=183881603"