Yokozuna

[123NewChamp]

For all my old school Wrestling fans from 1992-1996. I was watching and catching back on some old times on some great wrestlers, and one of them was Yokozuna. For those of you that don't know, Yokozuna debuted in WWF in 1992 with his Manager Mr. Fuji. Became a 2 time WWF Champion, Joining Jim Cornette and Tag Champ with Owen Hart, and was let go and went on to retire due to weight problems, and later died in the year of 2000.

So My question is if not for the weight problems, what would've became of Yokozuna's WWF Career?

Well me personally, when he debuted, he was already 505 lbs, then grew to 550, then 600, then 650 to an unontrollable 700 lbs. But I beleive if he would've stayed at 505 lbs or even at 550 lbs. His career would've lasted longer with WWF. He was a big draw, and one of the most popular wrestlers back in the day. And was pretty agile for a guy his size. Yeah Yokozuna was a big dude, but Vince and the talent scouts saw something in him. And he was worthy of the 2 title reigns he got and coulda had at least 1 more round early to mid 1996. But although he kept gaining weight he was still a dominant superstar but his push was still getting away from him. I could see him wrestling and basically making it to 1998 or 1999, and if he hit the 400 lbs. mark maybe 2000. But after basically collapsing the ring and almost ending Stone Cold's Career in Summerslam 1996, that was the final call to let yoko go. But I could see Yokozuna having at least one more Tag Team Title Reign and WWF Championship Reign. And also if not for his weight issues, I don't know if he still be alive but he would've lived longer as well. He was 34 when he died. And he had such huge promises in WWF, and it would bee awesome to see what would've became of Yokozuna if not for the weight issues. What you all think?

 

[berlinbrawler]

The ring collapsing was actually a planned spot. He didn't nearly end Austin's career. It was all in the script. It is likely that the decision to let Yoko go had been already made well before the match.

Nevertheless it goes without saying that his weight issues cut his career (and his life) short and there might have been several more championship runs for Yoko. I don't think he would have fit well into the Attitude Era, though, so I would say he could have lasted another two years tops.

 

[ahoyhoy]

Monster heels usually have a limited time frame in any wrestling promotions and only Undertaker and Abby really disprove a theory of longevity. Yoko had long left the main event scene and once that happens, his impact was nullified. It didn't help that his character couldn't speak English considering that managers usually only have a limited shef life too.

So I suspect if he sorted himself out and hopefully even lost a few pounds, he would have had to reinvent his character the way his family did to get anywhere.

One of the most underrated wrestlers of all time though.

 

[Wald]

Great wrestler, provided the WWF with the perfect heel champion at the time and when you keep in mind that Vince to the point always preferred face world champions you can see how much his 9 month reign at the top mattered. provided a great moment for Bret at WM10 when he toppled him too, and went on to form a tremendous partnership with Owen. I was a fan.

That said I think his time in the main event scene was over once Bret defeated him at Wrestlemania. They protected him slightly, making it look like Bret had a dose of luck on his side with the rope wobble, but after the great underdog face topples the monster heel the heel rarely ever gets back to where they were.

I could see him sticking around the tag division though and maybe having one more monster vs monster feud with Taker or Kane before retiring however. The guy drew money, could work and made anyone that beat him look impressive, he was a great asset to have so Vince would have kept him around if he could have controlled his weight issues

 

[DeathClutch]

Yoko wasn't anything special but he was he was huge, heel and was a credible monster but 1995 once he and Owen dropped the tag belts was the end for Yoko. He was kept in WWE until late 1998 but wasn't used and was trying to lose some weight as per WWE's request. He didn't so they cut him, seems fair enough to me.

I liked Yoko but the longevity of his career was never one that would span more 7 years, he wasn't able to put on great matches he needed guys like Undertaker (or the casket match concept) and Bret who would work around Yoko to get him over, shame but true. For his WWE career being so sucessful was due to his weight more than talents.

 

[Big Sexy]

Yokozuna was such a wasted talent because he couldn't keep his weight down. If you go and watch his early matches from when he was around the 500 pound mark, you see arguably the most agile superstar to ever be in the ring at that size. He had a lot of offense in his arsenal and was a big time talent. As he got bigger, however, that talent started to fade because he was simply too big and that was the down fall of his career.

For those who think he wouldn't have fit in the Attitude Era, I disagree completely. The Attitude Era was all about guys getting rid of gimmicks and being extreme versions of themselves. Yoko had already started speaking English late in his WWE career and he could have easily come out and talked about his Samoan heritage and how the WWE forced him into a gimmick that he didn't want. Around that time he could have lost more weight to fit his new character and been around 400-450 pounds (about the size of Rikishi). I'm not saying he would have been a perennial main event superstar but he could have still been successful.

At the end of the day it all comes down to his weight. Had he stayed around 500 as Yoko and dropped to 400-450 during the Attitude Era with a new character then he would have had a longer and more successful career.

This promo shows he has passable mic skills as well.
[YOUTUBE]oYKALe5pkTU[/YOUTUBE]

 

[thebromm]

Aparently nobody knows this. But, I want to say it was early to mid 1999, Yoko was dieting and trainig for his WWF return. When I read the WWF.com article he had been down to something like 490 lbs. He and the WWF were planning his return. It was just too little too late.

As far as some of the points that I read. He didnt speak English because he was billed as being from Polynesia. And in his hey day, managers had an infinite shelf life. Had he stayed a heel which he was much better suited for, he would've been around a very long time. He never would've had to cut a promo. Jim Cornette would have done it and better then anybody today, at least in my opinion.

 

[The Brain]

Even if he hadn’t gained all the weight I don’t think Yoko would have lasted in the WWF. With the rise of Austin, DX, Rock, Foley, etc., I think Yoko would have been pushed to the background. The weight gain was obviously his biggest problem but turning face didn’t do Yoko any favors. It was interesting to hear him speak fluent English after years of silence but I think that killed his mystique a bit and suddenly he wasn’t as intimidating as he once was.

Had he not gained so much weight my guess is Eric Bischoff would have thrown a bunch of money at him and Yoko would have joined WCW in early 1997. He would have been the next big WWF name to jump ship and join the nwo. I have an image in my mind of Yoko standing in the ring with Hogan and company wearing the nwo t shirt. I never liked it when my WWF guys went to WCW but that could have been pretty cool. I know the problem with the nwo was how it became so overcrowded but Yoko would have been a great fit. The nwo started with big names who jumped from the WWF. I’m sure Bischoff would have loved to have him. He could have renewed his feud with Lex Luger and gone on to work with The Giant. I’m sure eventually Hogan would want to go against him to avenge his loss from 1993. Even though I was a WWF guy I would have been interested to see Yokozuna in the nwo in 1997.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

Even if Yoko would have been able to control his weight, I do not think he would have been a World Champion again in his career. Monster heels, in general, are good for one run only and Yoko did have a glorious run in 1993. Once they are beaten though, they tend to lose a bit of their credibility as their character is mostly based on the fact that they are unbeatable. They lose their aura once they are beaten. Also with the emergence of guys like Austin, HHH, Rock, Kane and with guys like Hart, Michaels, Vader and Undertaker having already cemented themselves as main eventers, it would have been hard for Yoko to get back to the main event. Yokozuna was good but the guys that I mentioned were just plain better and also much more versatile.

He could have held a place as a midcard face though had he not had weight problems. He was over with the crowd as a face and could have continued till 1998 at the very least. I do not think that he would have been a part of the Attitude Era come what may. For all we know maybe WWF would have stuck him in silly storylines had he been available in that era. Maybe he would have had to team up with Katenkai or maybe WWF would have tried to form a storyline around the fact that he had a small penis despite his huge size. Yeah, it sounds kind of ******ed but WWF did do those kind of crude storylines in that era. At any rate I do not think that he was ever going to be as dominant as he had been in 1993.

 

[RicoLen]

Let's think about this a bit, really. In 1996, were Yoko still at a manageable weight he would have had to compete with Austin, Pillman, Bret Hart, and the likes of those. There was also a tag team division that was very much alive, but struggling for some consistency. Yoko, in the 500 lbs range, would have likely stayed in the tag division, and paired with The Sultan, aka Rikishi. It's VERY possible, given the climate of people breaking down the 4th wall, and calling out Vince, etc., that Yokozuna would have done the same, said, hey you know what, Vince? I'm not even Japanese! I'm Samoan! And my name his Rodney Anoa'i, and I'd like to introduce my new tag partner, my cousin Fatu (Rikishi's old name during the new generation era).

Sultan would never have come to be. Yokozuna and Rikishi would be the new natural disasters kind of tag team, and in 1997 when everyone was creating 4-man gangs, Yokozuna and Rikishi would have added Umaga (who started wrestling in 1995, but didn't debut in the WWF until 2002), and Rocky Maivia.

Yes, I'm saying that if Yoko stayed a good weight, he would have been a central figure in a Samoan stable and The Rock's start would be VERY different, because Dwayne would have joined them and not the Nation of Domination. They probably would have been face, and Rocky's edgier side would not have come to the forefront until that stable finally fell apart like all stables do, and Rocky finally turned heel.

As far as Yokozuna is concerned, I think had he stayed a good weight, then today, people would be talking about him like "Yeah he was a WWF champion when he first started out, and he was cool, but he didn't REALLY hit his stride until the attitude era began and he formed the Samoan stable."

 

[Pedigree1]

i liked yoko always have always will!! When he made his debut in 92 i thought as a youngster this guy is a monster.. Mr Fugi as his manager i thought sky is the limit for him and to a short time it was!! Yokos problem as its been pointed out was his weight gain he just couldnt stop gaining the weight!! He was extremely agile very credible and just had that monster look about him!! when he hit over 6 bills he was in danger health wise never mind career wise!! I was very sad when he passed at age 34 i for one still miss yoko and put in dvds to relieve his career highlights!!

 

[ironsheik84]

Just like the Big Show, Rikishi, Mabel/Vicera/Big Daddy V, etc there is a limiting factor to people their size, but seeing Yokozuna do a straight kick to the head was always amazing in my eyes.

I think Yokozuna would've gotten another reign or two, if not the attitude era maybe a little while after (just like Kane, but maybe not as long a time in-between) especially in the period where the Rock, Austin, etc had left the WWE.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

I'm glad Yoko wasn't around for the Attitude Era. Knowing Russo and Vince, he would've ended up in some racial, bigoted angle or a sexual chocolate role. I like Brain's idea of Yoko joining nWo; him and Giant would've torn shit up.

That being said, what a talent! I remember his side-kick and how much it mesmerized that a big man could do that. Taker unbuttoning his shirt to show his YOKO tee after his death, respect. One of the 5 best big man of all time, easily.