Umaga | |
---|---|
Umaga in 2009
|
|
Birth name | Edward Smith Fatu |
Born |
American Samoa, United States |
March 28, 1973
Died | December 4, 2009 Houston, Texas, United States |
(aged 36)
Cause of death | Heart attack |
Spouse(s) | L.T. Fatu (m. 2001; his death 2009) |
Children | 4 |
Family | Anoaʻi |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Ekmo Ekmo Fatu Jamal Umaga |
Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
Billed weight | 350 lb (160 kg) |
Billed from | The Isle of Samoa |
Trained by | Afa Anoaʻi |
Debut | 1995 |
Edward Smith "Eddie/Eki" Fatu (March 28, 1973 – December 4, 2009) was an American Samoan professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment in the 2000s under the ring names Umaga and Jamal.
He was a member of the Anoaʻi wrestling family and frequently worked as a part of a tag team – variously named The Island Boyz, the Samoan Gangstas, and 3-Minute Warning – with his cousin Matt Anoaʻi. During Fatu's first stint with WWE, he was known as Jamal and Matt was billed as Rosey. In early 2006, Fatu returned to WWE. Repackaged under the ring name Umaga, Fatu went undefeated for many months on WWE's Raw brand throughout much of 2006, before suffering his first defeat under the Umaga name in January 2007. The following month, he won the WWE Intercontinental Championship for the first time, and won it for the second time in July 2007.
FATU was born on March 28, 1973 to Vera and Solofa Fatu, Sr. Fatu was a member of the famous Anoaʻi family. His mother, Vera, was the sister of Afa and Sika of The Wild Samoans. His two older brothers, Sam and Solofa, are also professional wrestlers, he was the uncle of The Usos and he was a cousin of Roman Reigns, Yokozuna and Rosey. On April 27, 2008, Fatu's mother died after a seven-year battle with cancer.
Fatu trained to become a professional wrestler at the "Wild Samoan Pro Wrestling Training Center" operated by his Uncles, Afa and Sika. In 1995, with his training complete, he started wrestling for Afa's World Xtreme Wrestling (WXW). The next year, both Fatu and his cousin Matt were brought into the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to take part in an angle with Solafa Fatu, Jr., Fatu's brother and Matt's cousin, that ended up being quickly dropped.