RIP Umaga

[D]

dead at 36

DAMN


RIP



Former WWE Superstar and Intercontinental champion Umaga (Edward Fatu) aged 36, was hospitalized in Houston in a life threatening condition.

He was reportedly found unconscious by his wife in front of the television with blood coming out of his nose.

[D]

- Umaga has been taken off life support according to a source. He is believed to have suffered a heart attack.

[EricxGNRxSTARx]

FORMER WWE STAR EDDIE 'UMAGA' FATU HOSPITALIZED, SERIOUSLY ILL
by Mike Johnson & Buck Woodward @ 2:40 PM on 12/4/2009

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 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. A WWE source, when contacted, noted that the company was aware and that it was a "grave situation."

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.

[EricxGNRxSTARx]

12/04/2009 at 06:15 PM

According to a report from Dave Meltzer, Eddie "Umaga" Fatu at this point is still alive and in a hospital in Houston. The family is being gathered and, without a miraculous recovery, it is just a matter of time until the bad news comes.

The family asks that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

[D]

damn this sucks

[BlowUpYourVideo]

wwe.com is saying he has died. (http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/12849630).

Only 36. I wouldn't like to speculate on what happened but he's the second ex-WWE guy to die in their thirties this year....

RIP

[EricxGNRxSTARx]

The Anoai family issued the following statement on Friday night:

Statement from World Xtreme Wrestling C4 & the Anoai Family:

WXW C4's Statement On The Passing Of Eki "Umaga" Fatu

12/04/09 - On behalf of the Anoai Family and front office of WXW C4 it is our sad duty to announce that earlier today, December 4th, we lost another member of not only our wrestling family, but immediate family.

Eki "Umaga" Fatu passed away today in Houston at the age of 36. While we mourn the passing of Eki, we also remember all the good times that we were able to share with him and the smiles on the millions of fans faces around the world when he walked to the ring to do what he loved most: wrestle.

During this difficult time, we please ask for the fans and the press to respect the privacy of his family during this tough time. When there is more information to be made public, his family will do so. The worst thing that could happen would be to have false information about this horrible situation out there, only to make the situation even worse.

We'd like to thank everyone for their sympathy and prayers and ask that everyone celebrate the life of Eki Fatu.

[Axl4Life]

R.I.P. Dude

[AtariLegend]

Best wishes to his friends and family.

-R.I.P.-

[Izzy]

Jesus

...does sort of flesh out his WWE exit, he wouldnt do the drug tests - dead at 36, he was doing something nasty

Shame this just keeps happening

RIP

[Yankee1012]

RIP Umaga

Sad to see him go.

[Hammy]

Crazy, whenever I go away something mad seems to happen.

This is a damn shame.  In-Ring he was one of the best big men of recent years without a doubt, he and Jeff Hardy had a fantastic in-ring chemistry and a World Title reign wouldn't have been that crazy if not for Triple H squashing him 500 times in a row.

R.I.P.

[Hammy]

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.

[slashsfro]

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.

This even makes the story even more sad and tragic.  I will always remember watching him on some WWE ppv last year and he was squaring off against (Cena or Kane or Batista) and the crowd sort of starts chanting his name and pretty much cheering him on even though he was the heel at the time.

[BlowUpYourVideo]

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.

This even makes the story even more sad and tragic.  I will always remember watching him on some WWE ppv last year and he was squaring off against (Cena or Kane or Batista) and the crowd sort of starts chanting his name and pretty much cheering him on even though he was the heel at the time.

I remember back when Santino was a smiling, happy babyface and Umaga attacked him after a match or something and the crowd started chanting "one more time". Which may have been more to do with dislike for Santino, but still kinda funny.