 Umaga in May 2009 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Edward Smith Fatu (1973-03-28)March 28, 1973[2][4] |
| Died | December 4, 2009(2009-12-04) (aged 36) |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
Spouse | [5] |
| Children | 4, includingZilla Fatu |
| Family | Anoaʻi |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Armageddon 1 Eddie Fatu[1] Ekmo Ekmo Fatu[2] Jamal[2] Uso Fatu Umaga |
| Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 350 lb (159 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | "The Isle ofSamoa"[3] |
| Trained by | Afa Anoaʻi[2] |
| Debut | 1995 |
| Retired | June 8, 2009 |
Edward Smith Fatu[5] (March 28, 1973 – December 4, 2009) was an Americanprofessional wrestler, best known for his time withWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) under thering nameUmaga. Fatu was also known for his time withAll Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid-2000s, where he was a main eventer under the ring nameJamal.
He was a member of theAnoaʻi family, a renownedSamoan wrestling family. During his first stint with WWE billed as Jamal, he was part of tag team3-Minute Warning, with his cousinMatt Anoaʻi, billed as Rosey. He was released from the company in June 2003, later going toAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and becoming a mainstay for the company from late 2003 to 2005. In April 2006, Fatu returned to WWE under the ring name Umaga. Fatu went undefeated on theRaw brand throughout the year before finally suffering his first defeat in January 2007 at the hands of thenWWE ChampionJohn Cena. The following month, he won theWWE Intercontinental Championship for the first time, and won it for the second time in July 2007. He also appeared in the "Battle of the Billionaires"WrestleMania 23 match asMr. McMahon's representative. He was released by WWE in June 2009 and wrestled on the independent circuit until his death in December of that year.
Edward Smith Fatu was born in American Samoa on March 28, 1973, to Vera and Solofa Fatu. He was a member of theAnoaʻi family. His mother was the sister ofAfa andSika ofThe Wild Samoans.[5][7] He has two older brothers who are also professional wrestlers:Sam (The Tonga Kid) andSolofa Jr. (Rikishi). He was also the uncle ofJacob Fatu,Jonathan (Jimmy Uso)andJoshua Fatu (Jey Uso), andJoseph Fatu (Solo Sikoa), as well as a cousin of several professional wrestlers, includingRodney Anoaʻi (Yokozuna),Matt Anoaʻi (Rosey) andJoe Anoaʻi (Roman Reigns).[5] Fatu grew up in Samoa and played football in high school.[8]
Fatu trained with his cousinMatt Anoaʻi at the Wild Samoanprofessional wrestling school operated by members of their family. In 1995, with his training complete, Fatu debuted in his uncleAfa'sWorld Xtreme Wrestling (WXW) promotion.[2] From 1999 to 2000, he worked forFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in Japan.[4]
In 2001, Fatu, along with his cousin Matt, signeddevelopmental contracts with theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF), and were assigned toHeartland Wrestling Association (HWA), adopting the tag team name theIsland Boyz, and with Fatu using the ring name Ekmo. They won theHWA Tag Team Championship in November by defeatingEvan Karagias andShannon Moore. They also competed forMemphis Championship Wrestling (MCW), holding theMCW Southern Tag Team Championship on three occasions.[2]
Fatu (renamed to Jamal) and Anoaʻi (renamed to Rosey) made their main roster debut on the July 22, 2002, episode ofRaw as3-Minute Warning, a pair ofvillainous thugs.[2][9] They were hired as enforcers ofEric Bischoff, attacking random wrestlers each week, after Bischoff either gave people three minutes to entertain him before they were attacked or decided that three minutes of a segment was enough before the team appeared to end it.[4][9] They attacked numerous wrestlers at the orders of Bischoff, includingD'Lo Brown andShawn Stasiak. They also attacked non-wrestlers, includingring announcerLilian Garcia and former wrestlersJimmy Snuka,Mae Young andThe Fabulous Moolah.[2] Their most notable event came when they attacked twolesbians on the September 9 episode ofRaw.[10]
3-Minute Warning then began afeud withBilly and Chuck, interfering in theirstorylinecommitment ceremony, and defeating them on September 22 at theUnforgivenpay-per-viewevent.[9]Rico, Billy and Chuck's formermanager, also began to manage 3-Minute Warning during this time.[2] On November 17 atSurvivor Series, they competed in aneliminationtables match, which was won byThe Dudley Boyz (Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley).[9] The team lasted just shy of a year, with Fatu being released from his WWE contract in June 2003, reportedly after his involvement in a bar fight.[2][4]
On September 10, 2003, Fatu debuted inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name of Ekmo Fatu, helpingSonny Siaki defeatD'Lo Brown in acasket match. He then formed a tag team with Siaki. From October to August 2004, he teamed with Sonny Siaki to defeat the teams ofShark Boy and Mad Mikey,Danny Doring and Roadkill, andAmerica's Most Wanted. Fatu made his final appearance on August 11, 2004, where he lost toAlex Shelley.[2]
Fatu debuted inAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in November 2003 under his former ring name Jamal, immediately aligning himself withTaka Michinoku'sRoughly Obsess and Destroy (R.O.D.) stable. He most often teamed with fellow membersTaiyō Kea andBuchanan, though he began to receive a push as a singles wrestler in early 2004. Entering that year'sChampion Carnival, he failed to advance past the group stages, though earned a major upset win overKeiji Mutō. In May, he began a feud withToshiaki Kawada, setting his sights on Kawada'sTriple Crown Heavyweight Championship. The two fought for the belt on June 12 inNagoya, Aichi, where Kawada was victorious.[11] After this loss, Jamal spent the rest of 2004 primarily focused on the tag division, and on December 1, 2004, he and frequent partner Taiyō Kea won theWorld's Strongest Tag Determination League tournament, beatingKaz Hayashi andSatoshi Kojima in the final.[2]
The following month on January 16, 2005, they won theWorld Tag Team Championship for the first time, beatingNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) representativesHiroshi Tanahashi andYutaka Yoshie.[2] Following this win, he was once again pushed in that year's Champion Carnival, earning big wins over established names such as Kawada and Kojima on his way to the final, where he lost toKensuke Sasaki inTokyo. With a strong record of wins against champion Satoshi Kojima, Jamal began to pursue the Triple Crown once again in August, culminating in a match between the two inSapporo on September 1, where Jamal was once again defeated.[11] After this, he once again entered the Real World Tag League with Kea, however, they failed to advance past the group stages. Jamal left All Japan Pro Wrestling in December 2005.[2]
In December 2005, Fatu had re-signed withWorld Wrestling Entertainment.[2] Fatu returned on the April 3, 2006, episode ofRaw with a newcharacter called Umaga, the same name of the final and most painful part of theSamoan tattooing process, meaning "the end"; he was depicted as a destructivesavage who could be controlled only by hismanager,Armando Alejandro Estrada. Umaga attackedRic Flair in his debut at the orders of Estrada.[12] He then defeated Flair atBacklash on April 30.[13]
In mid–2006, Umaga started a winning streak against the majority of the Raw roster, including going over top starsJohn Cena,Shawn Michaels, andTriple H. His next feud started on August 20 atSummerSlam, where he was supposed to be anenforcer on behalf ofVince McMahon andShane McMahon during their match againstD-Generation X (Shawn Michaels andTriple H), only to be attacked byKane as he made his entrance.[14] Umaga feuded with Kane for the next two months until Umaga won aLoser Leaves Raw match on the October 9 episode ofRaw, sending Kane off of the brand.[15] After being separated by different brands, Umaga and Kane had one final match atCyber Sunday on November 5, where Umaga again defeated Kane.[16]
Umaga, having still not been pinned, was then deemed the number one contender for theWWE Championship and placed into a feud with then-champion John Cena over the title. Cena retained his belt at theNew Year's Revolutionpay-per-view on January 7, 2007 by pinning Umaga with aroll-up, officially ending his undefeated streak.[17] In that time, Umaga was never pinned or made to submit on television, but he suffered two losses by disqualification and another in a doublecountout.[11] For the rest of the month, Armando Alejandro Estrada played down Cena's victory, claiming it was a fluke, until aLast Man Standing rematch was signed for theRoyal Rumble on January 28.[18] On an episode ofRaw between the two pay-per-views, Umaga attacked Cena causing aworked injury to hisspleen and putting the match in jeopardy.[19] Cena (kayfabe) refused a medical exam, the results of which could cause him to forfeit his title, and then defeated Umaga at the Royal Rumble after wrapping a loosened ring rope around his neck during anSTFU.[20]
On the February 19 episode ofRaw, Umaga was named Vince McMahon's representative for "Battle of the Billionaires" withDonald Trump atWrestleMania 23. Immediately after choosing Umaga, McMahon granted him a match against theIntercontinental ChampionJeff Hardy, which he won to win the Intercontinental Championship.[21] AfterBobby Lashley was named Trump's representative, the two began a feud which lasted even beyond WrestleMania.[22] At WrestleMania on April 1, Umaga lost the Battle of the Billionaires'hair versus hair match and caused McMahon to get his head shaved.[23] On the April 16 episode ofRaw, Lashley interfered in a match and helped aplanted fan,Santino Marella, defeat Umaga for the Intercontinental Championship.[24] On April 29 atBacklash, Umaga, Vince, andShane McMahon wrestled Lashley for hisECW World Championship in ahandicap match, winning the title for Vince.[25] Umaga would continue to be involved with that feud, competing atJudgment Day on May 20 in a rematch for the ECW World Championship, which was once again a handicap match with the McMahons and Umaga taking on Lashley, which Lashley won. However, Lashley did not win the ECW World Championship because he pinned Shane and not the champion, Vince. The feud culminated on June 3 atOne Night Stand, with Umaga aiding Vince in defending the ECW World Championship against Lashley in a Street Fight, which Vince lost.
In June, Umaga was re-entered into a feud with Marella. When they met at theVengeance pay-per-view on June 24, Umaga was solidly in control of the match, but lost by disqualification when he disregarded the referee's instructions and continued to punch Marella.[26] In a rematch on the July 2 episode ofRaw, Umaga defeated Marella to win the Intercontinental Championship for the second time.[27] On the August 6 episode ofRaw, Umaga turnedface by joining forces with John Cena to faceCarlito andRandy Orton in a tag team match on August 13,[28] which they won.[29] He defeated both Carlito andMr. Kennedy in atriple threat match atSummerSlam on August 26 to retain the Intercontinental Championship.[30] He then interrupted a match between Kennedy and the returning Jeff Hardy the following night onRaw, assaulting Hardy and leaving him lying in the ring,[31] thus turning heel once again. One week later, on the September 3 episode ofRaw, Umaga lost the Intercontinental Championship to Hardy.[2]
Later that night, he teamed with Carlito in a handicap match againstTriple H, after which Triple H struck him several times with his signature sledgehammer, injuring him.[32] He was given a match against Triple H on October 7 atNo Mercy, which was changed to a title match for the WWE Championship during the event when Triple H won the title earlier that night. Umaga was defeated by Triple H in their match.[33] AtSurvivor Series on November 18, his team lost to Triple H's team in aSurvivor Series match.[34] On March 30, 2008, atWrestleMania XXIV, Umaga was defeated byBatista.[2]
On the June 23 episode ofRaw, Umaga was drafted to theSmackDown brand, as a part of the2008 WWE draft.[35] Umaga suffered a tornPCL at a live event inJohnson City, Tennessee, on August 2. After two promos hyping his return to the brand, on the January 30, 2009, episode ofSmackDown, Umaga returned with a new entrance theme, defeatingJimmy Wang Yang. Umaga then suffered his first defeat since his return against Triple H by disqualification on the March 6 episode ofSmackDown, afterThe Legacy attacked Triple H.
On the May 1 episode ofSmackDown, Umaga returned from a two-month hiatus, attackingCM Punk on multiple occasions, repeatedly interrupting Punk's attempts to cash in hisMoney in the Bank briefcase.[36] On May 17 atJudgment Day, Umaga defeated Punk,[37] but lost to Punk atExtreme Rules on June 7 in a Samoan Strap match, ending their feud in what was Umaga's last appearance in WWE.[38] On June 8, 2009, WWE announced that Fatu was released from his WWE contract.[39] It was later revealed that his termination was due to violation of theWellness Policy; even though this was only his second failure, his refusal to enter rehabilitation led to his dismissal.[6]
On July 11, 2009, Umaga appeared at theWorld Wrestling Council (WWC) in Puerto Rico, defeatingMr. Anderson (formerly Mr. Kennedy).[40] In November, Umaga appeared onHulk Hogan's Hulkamania Tour of Australia under the ring name Uso Fatu.[41] On November 24, Fatu defeatedBrutus "The Barber" Beefcake, and two days later, he andOrlando Jordan lost to Beefcake and Mr. Anderson.[11] On November 28, 2009, Fatu wrestled his final match, where he was defeated by Anderson.[11] Shortly before his death, Fatu reportedly reached an agreement to return to WWE at theRoyal Rumble in January 2010.[42]
Fatu and his wife L.T. had four children,[5] one of whom, being his sonIsayah, is also a professional wrestler, having trained inBooker T'sReality of Wrestling promotion in December 2022.[43] He would make his professional wrestling debut on July 15, 2023 under the ring name "Zilla Fatu", but left the promotion three months later with Booker T citing irreconcilable differences. They later reconciled and Isayah returned to working for ROW.[44][45]
During the weekend of August 30, 2007, articles posted bySports Illustrated, theNew York Daily News, andThe Washington Post named Fatu as one of many superstars to have purchased pharmaceuticals from anonline pharmacy, which was a violation of the WWE "Talent Wellness" program. Fatu specifically was said to have receivedsomatotropin, a growth hormone, between July and December 2006, after the "no drugs from online sources" rule was instituted.[46][47] In June 2009, Fatu violated the Wellness Policy once again; due to his uncooperation and refusal to attend drug rehabilitation, he was released from his WWE contract.[6]
On April 27, 2008, Fatu's mother Vera died after a seven-year battle with cancer.[48]
On December 4, 2009, Fatu was found by his wife on the couch in theirHouston, Texas home, unresponsive and with blood coming from his nose. A 911 call was made and Fatu was rushed to a hospital by ambulance. Paramedics determined Fatu was suffering a heart attack and they were able to restart his heart, although he showed no signs of brain activity. He was kept on life support for much of that Friday, and later suffered a second heart attack; he was ultimately pronounced dead at around 5:00 p.m. CST.[4][49][50] He was 36 years old. Toxicology reports revealed that Fatu had the drugshydrocodone (a painkiller),carisoprodol (Soma, a muscle relaxant), anddiazepam (Valium) in his system. Houston medical examiners also found that Fatu had both heart and liver disease. It was determined that the combination of Fatu's repeated drug use and his heart disease ultimately led to his death, which was officially ruled to have been due to a heart attack brought on by an acute toxicity of multiple substances.[51] On the day of his death, his nephewsThe Usos (Jonathan andJoshua) signed their developmental contracts with the company throughFlorida Championship Wrestling.[52]
His other nephew,Joseph (better known as Solo Sikoa) uses the Samoan Spike as his finisher in tribute.
His son,Isayah (better known as Zilla Fatu), also uses the Samoan Spike as his finisher.[53]
As Umaga, Fatu appears as a playable character inWWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007,[54]WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008,[55]WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009,[56]WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010,[57]WWE 2K22 asdownloadable content,[58]WWE 2K23,[59]WWE 2K24, andWWE 2K25 as both Jamal and Umaga.
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Lashley (Donald Trump's hair) | Umaga (Vince McMahon's hair) | Detroit, Michigan | WrestleMania 23 | April 1, 2007 | [Note 1] |
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