Did Yokozuna...

[ejc8710]

Really deserve The title run he had in 1993 I thought he was a pretty shitty champion during this time while alot of other guys where over looked like Bret Hart Undertaker Macho Man Mr Perfect Lex Luger we also know that hogan didnt whanna drop the belt to bret but bret worked his ass off to get to where he was during that time but yoko didnt all yoko got was a big push so why did hogan drop the belt to him ?Looking back I think they should have kept yoko as a midcarder almost all of his matches where squash matches anyway but what do you all think of yoko as champion during this time did he deserve it ? your thoughts

 

[The Suplexer Perfecter]

Yokozuna was a monster heel, so yes he'd win in all squash matches. He got good heat, so he was fine being a classic monster heel champion.

He could also do a side kick which I've never seen ANYONE his size ever do.

But Hogan dropped it back to Yoko since he left again in 93 and Yoko was obviously the top heel and wanting to get his rematch, and I'm sure everyone else knows the story on the Lex Luger situation then.

I think Yoko having the title for 2 minutes was just as much as an insult. That was probably the first time EVER a world title was won and dropped in the same day, let alone it being incredibly short. Yes I know Andre won the title and was stripped of it, but he didn't job right away to lose the belt.

I personally think Yokozuna should be in the hall of fame. He did his role perfectly as a heel in the early 90s, was part of the Samoan Family tree, first Samoan WWF champion, and a little known fact is that he was the youngest champion ever, even being younger than The Rock when he won his first title even though they said Rock was the youngest champion ever.

 

[mdj2010]

Negative takes on Yokozuna's title reign shock me to this day. He was one of the best 'big men' to ver grace the squared circle. He was a monster that could make others look good, whilst his pace was unprecidented for a guy of such huge proportions.
The others you have mentioned had, or would go on to have their time. Don't forget that Yokozuna's title reign was also significant in the drive behind Lex Luger, now there is a push worthy of bringing into debate.
Personally, Yokozuna was one of the first guys I saw and thought 'how in the hell do you stop him?' For that reason alone, he was worthy of the top spot in the company and added to the Samoan legacy in the sport of wrestling.

 

[Papa Zapatista]

I was only a kid at the time, but he was one of my favorite wrestlers. As mentioned above me, he was a very effective monster heel. Compare him to Khali, Viscera, Mark Henry, or Abyss and you'll quickly see why he deserved the title. His skill in the ring and modesty backstage exemplified the perfect worker to award a title to. However, I can't for the life of me ever remember Yokozuna as a champion. Being 6 at the time, I guess those memories have escaped me.

 

[neildittmar]

A Yokozuna title reign was inevitable. The guy looked the part of a monster heel, acted the part to perfection, was incredibly mobile for his size, got good heat for a variety of reasons (size, "nationality", Fuji, etc.), and occasionally looked "beatable." Added to which, how he didn't regularly kill people with his Banzai Drop finisher astonishes me to this day.

I agree that Yoko dropping the belt to Hogan right after winning it from Hart could be conceived as shoddy booking and damaging to Bret. However, this was Wrestlemania and more importantly, early 90's Wrestlemania. The concept of a heel walking out with the title wasn't fully explored yet and hadn't been done prior. Hogan was still huge and him coming in, "defending" America, and righting a wrong was still very much present in the wrestling audience psyche. In short, Yoko beating Bret, then losing in record time to Hogan made sense at this point in wrestling history.

Yokozuna as a character/concept is still something that could be relevant today, provided some minor tweaks are employed. Problem is, the opportunity for Vince and company to find such a unique performer is slim. Yoko really did have it all and although quite expected, his early death was still a blow to wrestling in general. I think one would have a hard time finding a "giant" that came after Yoko that was so effective in putting the entire persona of a monster heel over.

Despite the somewhat short span of his career, Yoko should get a Hall of Fame induction, if not near-top billing within the next few years.

 

[Blade]

Ah, you're not thinking of the big picture, are you? You say Bret Hart had worked his ass off up to that point and yes, he had. And that's the reason Yokozuna had that title reign with all those squash matches. When WWF wanted to put the belt on Bret Hart, they wanted to do it properly. He was going to be the anti-steroid poster boy for the new era. He was great in the ring, had a non-steroid enhanced body and, of course, the hard work. The Yokozuna title reign allowed Bret Hart to get what WWF thought the fans thought Bret deserved and ergo, would make the most money.

What's a bigger reward in the wrestling industry than winning the world title at Wrestlemania? Winning the world title at Wrestlemania from a guy who was an unstoppable monster. What's a bigger draw in the wrestling industry than the top face winning the world title at Wrestlemania? Well, you see where this is going.

Yokozuna had his year or so of unstoppable-ness, Bret Hart was destined to become the WWF champion at Wrestlemania, it happened like it was supposed to happen, the fans went home happy as well as knowing that an exciting brother vs brother feud was coming up.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

The guy was a huge heel, Just as Hogan was leaving, VKM had to decide who he will have has the guy to lead the company forward, so whilst figuring that out, who better to give the title to than a monster heel at the time, we hadn't seen this kind of heel before, because he was foreign as well, it just added to it. Some people complain about the length of his reign, over 200 days I believe, for a heel to have a reign even last that long in the early 90's, you had to be something special, Yoko was that guy, sure he won squash matches, what do you expect with a guy of his size.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Yokozuna had all the makings of a great heel champion. He was foreign to start with, not Japanese but looked like a Sumo wrestler at any rate. He was huge and looked invincible and had a very dedicated and a very cunning manager with him as well. I just cannot see how anyone can say that he did not deserve the title.

Bret was a guy who in 1993 needed to be built. And with Hogan not being the one to do so, I cannot really see a better choice than YokoZuna in sight. Macho Man was a guy who was doing commentary at that time and few people wanted to boo him anyway. Undertaker had already become too cool to be a heel and Luger did not exactly cut it as a heel in the WWF and they ultimately turned him face.

Establishing Bret was WWF's endgame at this point and nobody could do it better than Yoko.

 

[The Crock]

Of course Yokozuna deserved his title run. I mean... just based on his look he would have been a shoo-in, he literally crushed everything in his path, it was only logical. As many others have said though, it was done to make Bret Hart look better, really. Bret had to face the immovable, the unbeatable Yokozuna after Yoko killed everything in his path, if he didn't deserve the title for that reason alone, then I don't know. On top of that, who else would have been able to carry the belt? They needed a change, they needed Yoko.

 

[Big Sexy]

Yoko was not only the right choice but really the only choice to be champion at that time. Even though Bret Hart was WWE champion he still didn't scream main eventer. He had the win over Flair to get the title but it was at a house show with little fan fair. He needed to go over someone dominant and since it wasn't going to be Hogan, Yoko was the most logical option. He was a monster heel that crushed almost everything in his path. He was seen as the guy who ended Hulkamania by defeating Hulk for the title at KOTR and though Undertaker and Luger came close to beating him and had even gotten the best of him, they still weren't able to get the title off him.

Yoko held the title for almost a year and was seen as a guy who couldn't be beaten because of his dominance and the fact that he was a heel with some outside help in guys like Mr. Fuji and Jim Cornette. When Bret Hart was finally able to defeat him at Mania 10 it was a huge deal and that is what really got Bret over as a legitimate main event guy.

 

[drobs85]

I agree with most, Yokozuna should have had a longer reign, as said already look what happened with Luger. This guy was incredibly good for his 666lb frame. And besides his matches were obviously squashes because of his size, next to impossible to actually clothesline or slam him down. But the guy had it. A sumo wrestler who actually wrestled, literally.

 

[mr.nobody]

Yoko's health caused him to not get the belt back or keep it longer. IMO they should of did this..... keep Luger a heel in 93 give him cornette after heenan leaves as his spokesman/manager( Luger had bad promos) .... push the Hogan job to summerslam93 to Yoko... Bret/Luger feud till survivor series then Bret starts with Owen while Luger turns face at royal rumble n wins but gets screwed by perfect at wmX gets rematchs at kotr and summerslam but still loses then Yoko could either lose to taker or diesel in msg both guys are opponents that makes sense to beat Yoko. Bret n Owen go the rest of the year and Luger n perfect do the samething.... perfect is annoyed by Narcissus n they feud over who really is perfect since the 93 angle never finished.... PS. If your wondering bout kotr 93 Bret still wins but Yoko is in the tournament probably eliminated by dq and you move perfect to the finals with Bret cause that match was great and can push the Luger angle instead of the king( hated the whole king/Bret angle) and Hogan goes over on..... my vote would be bigelow going with the whole we were friends back from bigelows last wwf run as the angle.( don't understand why bigelow never got pushed during the pre kliq days)