The aftermath of the world cup was similar to the last, as coach John Mitchell was dropped.
In November 2008, Fatu's wife, Theresa Fuavai-Fatu,[11] went into cardiac arrest while giving birth. In late 1989, Samu withdrew from in-ring competition and The Samoan SWAT Team was renamed "The New Wild Samoans". He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names The Tonga Kid and Tama and with World Championship Wrestling as The Samoan Savage. On 25 September 2007, Umaga released a book detailing his career. Umaga would not be play again in the tournament despite being declared fit to play in the semi-final by then All Blacks doctor John Mayhew. Their cousin Jerry Collins was also an All Black. After playing 74 test matches for his country, Umaga confirmed his retirement from international rugby at a press conference on 10 January 2006. After helping Toulon exit relegation trouble (they ultimately finished ninth that season), he retired as a player, and remained at Toulon as assistant coach for backs under Saint-André. 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. They also attacked non-wrestlers, including ring announcer Lilian Garcia and former wrestlers Jimmy Snuka, Mae Young and The Fabulous Moolah. [1], Umaga played wing for the Wellington Lions in 1994 and quickly became a fixture in the starting line-up alongside his brother who also played on the wing. [40] In a rematch on July 2, Umaga defeated Marella to win the Intercontinental Championship for the second time. stable. [27] Umaga's captaincy began well, with victory in the first six tests, including two victories against World Cup holders England. He placed him in the recovery position and for this act, the Council of the International Fair Play Committee awarded Umaga the Pierre de Coubertin medal for outstanding sportsmanship.
[19] With a strong record of wins against champion Satoshi Kojima, Jamal began to pursue the Triple Crown once again in August, culminating in a match between the two in Sapporo in September 1, where Jamal was once again defeated. Fatu specifically was said to have received somatotropin, a growth hormone, between July and December 2006, after the "No drugs from online sources" rule was instituted. O'Driscoll required surgery on a dislocated shoulder and missed the rest of the tour. On September 24, 2003, Fatu debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the ring name of Ekmo Fatu, helping Sonny Siaki defeat D'Lo Brown in a casket match. [4], On December 4, 2009, Fatu was found by his wife in their Houston, Texas home, unresponsive and with blood coming from his nose. Randell himself was Māori and did not wish to play against them, and Umaga was placed on the wing a position stated he didn't want to play. Fatu appeared as "The Tonga Kid" in the opening scene of the 1986 film Highlander, where he was involved in a six-man tag team match with Greg Gagne and Jim Brunzell against The Fabulous Freebirds at the Meadowlands Arena. [38] The Hurricanes reached the semi-finals for the third time in four years. He most often teamed with fellow members Taiyō Kea and Buchanan, though he began to receive a push as a singles wrestler in early 2004. Since 2016 he has been coach of the Blues in the Super Rugby competition. Houston medical examiners also found that Fatu had both heart and liver disease. On November 21, 2009, Umaga teamed with Orlando Jordan to lose against his brother Rikishi and Brian Christopher.
[29], Umaga, having still not been pinned, was then deemed the number one contender for the WWE Championship and placed into a feud with then-champion John Cena over the title.
[3] On April 27, 2008, Fatu's mother died after a seven-year battle with cancer. On July 11, 2009, Umaga appeared at the World Wrestling Council (WWC) in Puerto Rico, defeating Mr. Anderson in a singles match.
After playing 7 games he officially retired as a player at the end of 2011 ITM cup season. [28] Umaga came off the bench against South Africa at his home ground Westpac Stadium. [1] Fatu was renamed to Tama, while Fifita was renamed to Haku. "Twins delivered by emergency C-section as CPR revives mom", "Pregnant Mom's Heart Stops; Gives Birth, Comes To", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sam_Fatu&oldid=979827764, American professional wrestlers of Samoan descent, Articles with dead external links from October 2010, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan Scholarship Award (, This page was last edited on 23 September 2020, at 01:03. He played for the Hurricanes from Super 12's inception in 1996 and took over the captaincy in 2003. He scored a try in his debut test match.