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If you would like to send flowers, please send them to:
The Crossing Christian Church
7950 W. Windmill Lane
Las Vegas, NV 89113
(Please note that all flower donations must arrive 3 hours prior to
the service).
Services are as follows:
Friday, December 18th, 2009
Edward " EKI " Fatu 's Family Service
THE CROSSING Christian Church
7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
7950 W. Windmill Lane
Las Vegas, NV 89113
702-947-2080
www.thecrossingonline.com
Saturday, December 19th, 2009
Edward " EKI " Fatu's Memorial Service
Family and Friends
THE CROSSING Christian Church
10:00 AM - NOON
7950 W. Windmill Lane
Las Vegas, NV 89113
702-947-2080
Just posted by Dave Meltzer:
http://www.f4wonline.com/content/view/11548/
Umaga passes away
Dave Meltzer updated the sad news last night of the passing of Edward
"Umaga" Fatu who died in a Houston hospital:
Fatu died after suffering two heart attacks, the first last night and the second during the afternoon, at the age of 36. He was probably the most talented worker inside the ring of a legendary family that had probably a dozen wrestlers including Afa, Sika, Samu, Rosey, Manu, Black Pearl, L.A. Smooth and brothers Solofa (Rikishi) and Sam (Tonga Kid) as well as a number of football players in the family as well.
WWE is working with his family and there may be a service Tuesday or
Wednesday since a lot of the crew would be able to attend since Smackdown
is being taped in Houston. Fatu was living in Spring, TX, a Houston suburb,
and lived near Shelton Benjamin, Shad Gaspard, MVP and Great Khali, and
was business partners with Charlie Haas.
My thoughts are with the entire family and the friends of Eddie during this difficult time. - Brett
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Statement from World Xtreme Wrestling C4 and 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
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Wrestler 'Umaga' Edward Fatu dies of heart attack, friend
says
By Emanuella Grinberg, CNN
December 4, 2009 11:36 p.m. EST
(CNN) -- Wrestler Edward Fatu, better known as the hulking, tattooed WWE superstar "Umaga," died Friday of a heart attack in a Houston, Texas, hospital, a family friend said.
Born in American Samoa, Fatu, 36, was a member of the famous Anoa'i wrestling family, which includes cousin Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, his two uncles, who wrestled as The Wild Samoans in the 1980s, and brothers, Sam "Tonga Kid" and Solofa Jr. "Rikishi," according to Wrestlers Rescue, a support group for retired professional wrestlers.
The two-time WWE Intercontinental champion, also known as "The Samoan Bulldozer," squared off with the likes of Triple H, The Game and Ric Flair before the WWE terminated in contract in June for having violated the WWE's Wellness Program and refusing to enter rehab, the WWE said on its site.
The organization offered its condolences to his family in a brief statement on its site.
To friends and family, Fatu was a devoted father who was looking forward to spending more time with his children after leaving the WWE.
"He had his demons, but he found a lot of strength in his family,"
said Dawn Marie Psaltis, family friend and founder of Wrestlers Rescue.
"He was always a jokester, he was always playing a practical joke
on someone. He comes from a long line of professional wrestlers and did
his family proud."
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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"
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Lilian Garcia shared this photo on her twitter page:
Just heard news about
Eddie aka Umaga. So sad. Loved him. Pra... on Twitpic
Just heard news about Eddie aka Umaga. So sad. Loved him. Prayers 4 him
& family.
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Hurricane Helms shared this photo with us:
Adam, Big Uce, Matt
& Shane. on Twitpic
Adam, Big Uce, Matt & Shane.
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RealKellyKelly
rip.ecki u will be truly missed...my thoughts and prayers go out to u
and your family
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MATTHARDYBRAND
I'm gonna miss "Uce"-Eddie "Umaga" Fatu very, very
much. He was one of my true friends & an amazing person. May God be
with ya-love ya man.
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TNADixie
On behalf of everyone at TNA, our thoughts and prayers are with the entire
Fatu family.
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tnalisamarie Tara from TNA:
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BETHBRITTBRAND
Jeff Hardy's wife:
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HeymanHustle The world is minus one very cool Samoan tonight. We offer our most profound condolences to the Fatu Family.
Edward "Eddie" Fatu
Born March 28, 1973
Died December 4, 2009
Edward "Eddie" Fatu, better known as Umaga, was was a member of the Anoa'i wrestling family. His mother, Vera, was the sister of Afa and Sika of the Wild Samoans. His two older brothers, Sam (better known as Tonga Kid / Tama) and Solofa Jr. (better known as Rikishi), are also professional wrestlers. The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, is his cousin.
Trained by Afa, Eddie made his debut in 1995.
Eddie and his cousin Matt wrestled as the under various tag names including:
The Island Boyz, the Samoan Gangstas, and 3-Minute Warning.
However, it was his stint in the WWE, as Umaga, that Eddie was best known
for.
Eddie had just returned home to Spring, Texas, having completed a wrestling tour with Hulk Hogan in Australia.
The following information is courtesy wikipedia:
World Wrestling Entertainment (2002–2003)
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. Instead they were sent to the WWF's "farm
territory" Heartland Wrestling Association, where they formed a tag
team which stayed together through various promotions, including Memphis
Championship Wrestling and Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, holding championships
in both under the names Samoan Gangstas and Island Boyz. In 2002 the team
was brought back to the (now renamed) World Wrestling Entertainment as
3-Minute Warning, a pair of enforcers for Raw brand General Manager Eric
Bischoff. The team lasted just shy of a year, with Jamal being released
from his WWE contract in June 2003, reportedly after his involvement in
a bar fight.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003)
After his release from WWE, Fatu reverted to the name Ekmo – used
when he was a member of the Island Boyz team – and began working
for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He worked for TNA between June
and November 2003, during which time he was put into a tag team with Sonny
Siaki. The team feuded with America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James
Storm). Both the tag team and Fatu's time in TNA came to an end when he
decided to take bookings in Japan.
All Japan Pro Wrestling (2003–2004)
Fatu left TNA for All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he used the name Jamal,
the same name he'd used as a member of 3-Minute Warning. He was again
used as a part of tag teams, first forming a short lived team with Justin
Credible before forming a more permanent team with Taiyo Kea. With Kea
he held the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship and won the World's
Strongest Tag Team League tournament in 2004. The team also wrestled a
stint in Hawai'i Championship Wrestling, holding the HCW Kekaulike Heritage
Tag Team Championship once.
Return to WWE (2005–2009)
In December 2005, Fatu re-signed with World Wrestling Entertainment.[12]
Initial signs pointed to a reunion of 3-Minute Warning, with the former
team of Matt Anoa'i (Rosey) and Fatu (Jamal) wrestling in dark matches
together before episodes of Raw. However, Rosey was released from WWE
before the team could be brought to the main show.
Raw (2006–2007)
Fatu at a WWE Raw house show.Fatu re-debuted on the April 3, 2006 episode
of Raw with a new gimmick similar to that of Kamala and The Headshrinkers.
Now called Umaga, the same name of the final and most painful part of
the Samoan tattooing process, meaning "the end", he was depicted
as a destructive savage who could only be controlled by his manager, Armando
Alejandro Estrada. The pair started out feuding with Ric Flair, whom Estrada
interrupted in the middle of a promo to tell how much of a fan of his
he used to be, but that now he was old and needed to retire. It was in
offering the fans a new "hero" to watch that he introduced Umaga,
who proceeded to beat down Flair. For the next few weeks Umaga participated
in squash matches, destroying various jobbers, until he dispatched Flair
at Backlash at the end of the month.
The summer months saw Umaga winning matches against the majority of the Raw roster, including the likes of Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and John Cena, who at the time was still WWE Champion. His next actual feud started at August's SummerSlam, where he was supposed to be an enforcer on behalf of The McMahons (the heel gimmicks of Vince and Shane) during their match against D-Generation X (Shawn Michaels and Triple H), only to be attacked by then face, Kane as he made his entrance. Kane and Umaga feuded for the next two months until Umaga won a Loser Leaves Raw match, sending Kane off of the brand. After being separated by different brands, Umaga and Kane had one final match at Cyber Sunday where Umaga again defeated Kane after fans selected him over Chris Benoit and The Sandman to be Umaga's opponent for the night.
Umaga, having still not been pinned in the WWE, was then deemed the number one contender for the WWE Championship and placed into a feud with then-champion John Cena over the title. Cena retained his belt at the New Year's Revolution pay-per-view by pinning Umaga with a roll-up, officially ending his streak, which had lasted 34 televised matches and spanned from his re-debut in April 2006 to January 2007. In that time Umaga was never pinned or made to submit on television, although he did lose two matches by disqualification and another went to a double countout. For the rest of the month, Estrada played down Cena's victory, claiming it was a fluke, until a Last Man Standing rematch was signed for the next pay-per-view, the Royal Rumble. On an episode of Raw between the two pay-per-views, Umaga attacked Cena causing a worked injury to his spleen and putting the match in jeopardy.Cena kayfabe refused a medical exam, the results of which could cause him to forfeit his title, and then defeated Umaga by submission, wrapping a loosened ring rope around his neck during an STFU.
Though he was out of the world title picture, Umaga was named Vince McMahon's "representative" for the WrestleMania 23 "Battle of the Billionaires" with Donald Trump. Immediately after choosing Umaga, McMahon "granted" him a match against the Intercontinental Champion, Jeff Hardy, which he won handedly to take the title.After Bobby Lashley was named Trump's representative, the two began a feud which lasted even beyond WrestleMania.Despite Umaga losing in the "Battle of the Billionaires" hair versus hair match and causing Vince McMahon to get his head shaved, the McMahons (Vince and Shane) continued to second him to the ring. Two weeks after WrestleMania, Lashley interfered in a match and helped a planted fan, Santino Marella, defeat Umaga for the Intercontinental title. At the April 29 Backlash event, the team of Umaga, Vince, and Shane McMahon wrestled Bobby Lashley for his ECW World Championship in a Handicap match, winning the title for Vince.
Umaga would continue to be involved with the Lashley/McMahon feud, competing at Judgment Day in the return match for the ECW Championship, which was once again a Handicap Match with the McMahons along with Umaga taking on Bobby Lashley. The feud culminated at One Night Stand, with Umaga aiding The McMahons in defending the ECW Championship against Bobby Lashley in a Street Fight Match, which Umaga and The McMahons lost.
In June, Umaga was re-entered into a feud with Marella, the man who won his Intercontinental Championship earlier in April. When they met at the Vengeance pay-per-view, Umaga was solidly in control of the match, but lost by disqualification when he disregarded the referees instructions and continued to punch Marella. In a rematch on July 2, Umaga beat Marella to win the Intercontinental Title back.Not long after, he seemingly started a face turn, joining forces with John Cena against Carlito and Randy Orton.After defeating both Kennedy and Carlito in a triple threat match at SummerSlam to retain his Intercontinental Title,Umaga interrupted a Raw match between Kennedy and a returning Jeff Hardy, assaulting Hardy and leaving him lying in the ring thus turning heel again. One week later, on the September 3 Raw, Umaga lost the Intercontinental title to Hardy in a singles match. Later that night, he teamed with Carlito in a handicap match against Triple H, after which Triple H struck him several times with his signature sledgehammer, injuring him. He was given a match against Triple H at No Mercy, which was changed to a title match for the WWE Championship during the event when Triple H won the title earlier that night. Fatu was defeated by Triple H in their match. At Survivor Series his team of MVP, Mr. Kennedy, Finlay and Big Daddy V lost to Triple H's team. Coming up to WrestleMania XXIV, Fatu started feuding with Batista, but he lost to him at WrestleMania. Upon Jeff Hardy's return, William Regal sent Umaga into the ring to "punish" Jeff, thus reigniting the feud between them. Umaga would go on to face Jeff Hardy at WWE One Night Stand in a Falls Count Anywhere Match, which Umaga lost.
SmackDown and departure (2008–2009)
On June 23, 2008, Umaga was drafted from the Raw brand to the SmackDown
brand, as a part of the 2008 WWE Draft. After having a short lived rivalry
with Mr. Kennedy and The Big Show, Fatu suffered a torn PCL at a SmackDown
live event in Johnson City, Tennessee on August 2 during a match with
Jeff Hardy.
On the January 30, 2009 episode of SmackDown, Umaga returned to action with his unstoppable persona and won his return match against Jimmy Wang Yang. Umaga then suffered his first defeat since his return by losing to Triple H by disqualification, after Triple H was attacked by The Legacy (Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, Jr. and Cody Rhodes). After a short hiatus, he returned on the May 1, 2009 episode of SmackDown, attacking CM Punk on multiple occasions, repeatedly interrupting Punk's attempts to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase.[45] At Judgment Day, Umaga defeated Punk, and on the May 22 episode of SmackDown, he spoke in English for the first time under the Umaga gimmick, when he challenged Punk to a Samoan strap match. At Extreme Rules(which was his final match in the WWE) Umaga lost to Punk, and Punk later cashed in the Money In the Bank later that night to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Jeff Hardy.
On June 8, 2009, Umaga was released from his WWE contract.
