Author Topic: Umaga Dies (Read 7167 times)

mass 04 · « **on:** December 04, 2009, 11:30:14 AM »

Edward Fatu, 36, is hospitalized in Houston and in what was described as life threatening condition by a long-time friend.

Details are sketchy at this point but he apparently fell asleep last night while watching television, and several hours later, his wife found him not breathing with blood coming out of his nose and he was rushed to the hospital.

source-fw4online

mass 04 · « **Reply #1 on:** December 04, 2009, 11:51:16 AM »

FORMER WWE STAR EDDIE 'UMAGA' FATU HOSPITALIZED, SERIOUSLY ILL
By Mike Johnson on 2009-12-04 14:40:33

Former WWE Intercontinental champion and one-time Wrestlemania headliner Eddie "Umaga" Fatu is hospitalized in a ICU unit in Houston, Texas. There have been reports making their way among the wrestlers that Fatu has died and/or is brain dead but sources close to Anoia family will only confirm that he is hospitalized at this time.

Eddie Fatu, best known to wrestling fans as Umaga, was born on March 28, 1973. A part of the famous Anoai Samoan wrestling family, his early career was spent mostly in tag team action with his cousin Matt Anoai as The Island Boys in WWF developmental HWA.

After working various territories here and overseas, Fatu and Anoai were christened "3-Minute Warning" (Jamal and Rosey) by WWE in 2002, where they were essentially henchmen for then Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff. He was released from WWE in the summer of 2003, reportedly after being involved in a fight in a restaurant. Matt stayed on as Rosey, best known as Hurricane Helms' Super Hero In Training.

Fatu then wrestled as Ekmo for TNA, and also began working for All Japan Pro Wrestling. During his time in All Japan, his work improved greatly, and in 2005 he resigned with WWE and the Umaga character debuted in 2006. Before signing with WWE again, he also made regular appearances for the now-defunct Major League Wrestling promoted by Court Bauer in Florida.

Initially managed by Armando Alejandro Estrada, Umaga wrestled main event level stars such as Ric Flair, Triple H, Shawn Michaels and had what was considered one of John Cena's best matches ever at the Royal Rumble in January 2007. This was followed by the highest profile match of his career, as he was Vince McMahon's "hand-picked" wrestler against Bobby Lashley (who was representing Donald Trump) at Wrestlemania 23, which was the centerpiece of that year's promotion for the event in Detroit. Umaga lost and as a result, Lashley, Trump and special referee Steve Austin shaved Vince McMahon bald.

Umaga remained a mid to upper card performer for the company, until a torn PCL sidelined him in 2008. During that time off, he was suspended by WWE when his name came up among a list of performers who had received prescriptions from an online pharmacy, a violation of the company's Wellness Policy. He returned to the ring in January 2009, and appeared to be geared up for another big push with rumors of a big program with The Undertaker on the Smackdown brand. He was released suddenly in June of 2009 after his second Wellness Policy violation. WWE later disclosed that Fatu refused to enter rehabilitation, as outlined in their policy (a second violation meant automatic rehab), and he was promptly was let go.

Fatu then wrestled on international and independent shows using variations on the Umaga name (like "Rumaga"). He claimed several months back that he might be returning to the company while booking out of a scheduled DVD interview, but nothing came of it. He ended up booked on Hulk Hogan's Australia tour as his brother, the former Rikishi, booked the undercard talent, working with Ken Anderson.

Our best wishes to the Anoai family and Fatu's friends, family and fans during this sad time.

mass 04 · « **Reply #2 on:** December 04, 2009, 04:15:33 PM »

wwe.com

WWE would like to express its deepest condolences to Mr. Fatu’s family, friends and fans on his tragic passing. Mr. Fatu was under contract with WWE at various time periods and most recently performed under the name "Umaga." Mr. Fatu's contract was terminated on June 11, 2009.

mass 04 · « **Reply #3 on:** December 04, 2009, 04:26:50 PM »

Sad on the one hand that he leaves behind a family, but Vince offered him help and he didn't take it so...
A really great big man though, he'll be missed. On a weird note his last match was with Ken Anderson on the Hulk tour, who also wrestled Eddie Guerrero in his last match.

chaos · « **Reply #4 on:** December 04, 2009, 08:25:01 PM »

Crazy, too young.

PIP

flexingtonsteele · « **Reply #5 on:** December 04, 2009, 08:30:22 PM »

P.I.P

cheftim · « **Reply #6 on:** December 04, 2009, 09:57:32 PM »

This cannot go on much longer can it? It just amazes me how often this happens.

leonp1981 · « **Reply #7 on:** December 04, 2009, 10:06:31 PM »

I just woke up and saw this, it's another shockingly young death. He obviously had a few issues which led to his release from WWE, I'm hoping that these weren't a contributing factor, but I'm not holding my breath. Condolences to his family.

I wonder if WWE will mention it at all?

Montague · « **Reply #8 on:** December 05, 2009, 12:40:36 PM »

Or will they kind of brush it under the carpet like they did with Test?
Granted, he wasn’t under WWE contract at the time he died, but neither were guys like Hennig, Davey, etc. who got on air tributes.

Hell, Vince sent WWF reps and tribute footage down to Gordon Solie’s wake, and he never even worked in the fed!

I don’t know what the deciding factor is that they use, but ever since the Benoit cluster-fukk, WWF has tried to put as much distance as possible between itself & ANY kind of negative publicity (direct & indirect).

mass 04 · « **Reply #9 on:** December 05, 2009, 06:26:36 PM »

On behalf of my family, the Anoa'i and Fatu family, we are devastated and shocked by the loss of our Eki. Our son, nephew, brother, cousin, husband, father. Our hearts are broken, and words can't express what each of us are feeling. It is so comforting to know how loved Eki is by his family, peers, friends, and most of all his fans. When I received that a.m. phone call that my nephew was in the hospital, I dug deep and prayed and cried and begged for a miracle. When we lost Eki, I knew it was God's will, and that he is with my sister, his mother, who passed just a year ago.

We are making our plans now for our farewell to Eki, but I wanted to take this time to thank everyone for all of the thousands of posts, emails, letters, and cards. Although I have not been able to bring myself to answer them personally, your kindness does not go unnoticed. I want to especially thank our WWE family and Stephanie McMahon for everything, and her phone call was very comforting to me in my time of sorrow.

God bless each and every one of you, and I've said it a hundred times, the best people in the world are our wrestling people. You'll never find a more dedicated group of people.

Be safe and be healthy, and love one another.

God bless,

Afa the Wild Samoan
"Pops"

cobra_4 · « **Reply #10 on:** December 05, 2009, 07:02:49 PM »

Damn that sucks, He had huge potential, I was hoping he would find his way to TNA.

mass 04 · « **Reply #11 on:** December 05, 2009, 07:18:00 PM »

leonp1981 · « **Reply #12 on:** December 05, 2009, 07:55:45 PM »

Quote from: Montague on December 05, 2009, 12:40:36 PM

Or will they kind of brush it under the carpet like they did with Test?
Granted, he wasn’t under WWE contract at the time he died, but neither were guys like Hennig, Davey, etc. who got on air tributes.

Hell, Vince sent WWF reps and tribute footage down to Gordon Solie’s wake, and he never even worked in the fed!

I don’t know what the deciding factor is that they use, but ever since the Benoit cluster-fukk, WWF has tried to put as much distance as possible between itself & ANY kind of negative publicity (direct & indirect).

I think it would be nice gesture from Vince if they did mention it, considering how long the family has been involved with WWE.

mass 04 · « **Reply #13 on:** December 05, 2009, 08:08:36 PM »

Quote from: leonp1981 on December 05, 2009, 07:55:45 PM

I think it would be nice gesture from Vince if they did mention it, considering how long the family has been involved with WWE.

I bet they at least show a graphic. He worked for them very recently. Maybe not a bell salute and all that stuff but im sure he'll get a mention.

Montague · « **Reply #14 on:** December 05, 2009, 08:30:08 PM »

If only for the family, as Leon mentioned.

mass 04 · « **Reply #15 on:** December 07, 2009, 08:30:18 PM »

He didn't get a mention, can't say im suprised. I don't blame Vince, last time he did a tribute without all the facts in it didn't end so well. It's a damned if you do-damned if you don't. He's paying for the funeral and offered to send him to rehab, thats better than a 5 second graphic.

leonp1981 · « **Reply #16 on:** December 07, 2009, 09:08:56 PM »

Quote from: mass 04 on December 07, 2009, 08:30:18 PM

He didn't get a mention, can't say im suprised. I don't blame Vince, last time he did a tribute without all the facts in it didn't end so well. It's a damned if you do-damned if you don't. He's paying for the funeral and offered to send him to rehab, thats better than a 5 second graphic.

Did you notice Jericho was wearing a black armband? At least someone marked his passing.

mass 04 · « **Reply #17 on:** December 07, 2009, 09:22:25 PM »

Quote from: leonp1981 on December 07, 2009, 09:08:56 PM

Did you notice Jericho was wearing a black armband? At least someone marked his passing.

yeah, Primo and Bourne did too. It's tricky with the PG stuff, Linda running for senate, the media haters i can understand them not wanting to acknowledge a death most likely caused by drugs. Not saying its right, but i get it.

benchmstr · « **Reply #18 on:** December 07, 2009, 09:24:34 PM »

pics or it didnt happen

bench

mass 04 · « **Reply #19 on:** December 09, 2009, 06:10:00 AM »

that sucks...

Eddie "Umaga" Fatu was set to return to World Wrestling Entertainment by the end of the year or early 2010, reports The Sun.

WWE officials confirmed to The Sun that Fatu would have been back on the roster had he passed a screening test. Fatu only had two strikes on his record when he was released by WWE this past June after refusing to enter a rehabilitation center following his second violation of the company's drug testing policy. Had he returned to the company, his previous two offenses would have remained.

In October, Umaga told colleagues that he was speaking to WWE about returning to the company. This was the reason he gave for pulling out of a previously scheduled 'shoot' interview filming.

Figure Four Weekly's Bryan Alvarez also reports that Hulk Hogan wanted to bring Fatu to TNA following the 'Hulkamania' tour of Australia. However, he told people there was no way he was going to TNA and that he was heading back to WWE once the tour had commenced.

One WWE source said they expected him to return by the Royal Rumble providing he passed his screening test.

Fatu died on Friday after his wife found him unresponsive inside their Houston area home. He reportedly died of a heart attack. The official report on his death is expected to be released this week.

Fatu's passing was not acknowledged during last night's episode of Monday Night Raw.

Playboy · « **Reply #20 on:** December 14, 2009, 04:38:46 AM »

I've been away on holidays and I just found out about this. Tragic....he was great to watch. RIP.