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Official word is out that Eddie Fatu (aka Umaga, Ekmo and Jamal) was taken off of life support, after having suffered a heart attack earlier today. Having wrestled for many different organizations, Eddie is probably most famous for his stints in WWE as Jamal (along side his cousin Matt Anoa'i, aka Rosey) in 3-Minute Warning, or as the Samoan Bulldozer Umaga. Like so many other Samoan professional wrestlers, he was a skilled and ultra-versatile performer.

Despite his immense size - a near 300 pound super-heavyweight (often billed at 350 lbs.) - he was lighting quick and very agile. Throughout their stays in WWE, Eddie and Matt would stun audiences, by regularly flying off the top rope... A rare feat for super-heavyweights, in the WWE. I've seen Eddie go nearly the full length of the ring, attempting a body splash. I've seen guys literally half his weight struggle to get that much distance off of ropes, or even cables. But Eddie wasn't just a bunch of fancy moves - he could really sell offense and defense, and had exceptional ring awareness and was tuned into the audience. As a monster heel, he didn't just squash people with a few power moves, he was terrorizing everyone at ringside with his focused high-energy presence and guttural yells. He knew how to work to the crowd, took his time when menacing his opponent, and would build up his moves so they looked even more devastating to the audience. For a dude his size, he was also a pretty safe worker. He knew how to execute humongous moves and convincingly throw his weight around, without crippling anyone or taking any great liberties with other talent.

I've always been a big fan of Samoan professional wrestlers, since I was a kid. The legendary Anoa'i family has been booked every which way imaginable, from franchise-carrying babyface superstars to monster heels, and everywhere in between. With a little creativity, whole organizations could be booked around standouts, like Eddie's cousin, Dwayne Johnson, whoe helped carry the WWE for years as The Rock. Rodney Anoa'i, as Yokozuna, was one of the most dominant heels in the mid '90s. In teams, they could be utilized as powerhouse stables, or even feuding amongst their ranks. As such, I was excited when Eddie & Matt (previously working as the Island Boyz) showed up years back, as Eric Bischoff's enforcers - 3-Minute Warning. They came in strong, but were quickly split up (much too soon, IMO). When Eddie stormed back as the monster heel Umaga, I saw limitless potential for his character. I always wanted to see him and Matt teamed back up, as a modern day equivalent of the Wild Samoans. Incorporating Afa Jr. or Jon Fatu (son of Solofa Fatu Jr., aka Kishi) would have also been sweet, though I think it also would have been cool if they built them up by feuding against one or both of them. Really, there were just so many ways to utilize the current generation of Samoan wrestlers, and the industry takes a great hit in the loss of Eddie Fatu.

Cross-posted on my Livejournal - Re: Eddie Fatu