Eki "Eddie"[6] Fatu[2][5] died he was 36 . Fatu was a Samoan-American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Umaga. He was best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment, where he was a two-time Intercontinental Champion.(March 28, 1973 – December 4, 2009)
He was a member of the Anoa'i wrestling family and frequently worked as a part of a tag team – variously named The Island Boyz, the Samoan Gangstas, and 3-Minute Warning – with his cousin Matt Anoa'i. During Fatu's first stint with WWE, he was known as Jamal and Matt was billed as Rosey. In late 2005, Fatu returned to WWE. Repackaged under the ring name "Umaga", Fatu went undefeated for many months on WWE's Raw brand throughout much of 2006, before suffering his first defeat under the Umaga name in January of 2007. Known by his many nicknames, including "The Samoan Bulldozer" and "The Samoan Savage", Fatu died on December 4, 2009, as a result of a heart attack.
Articles posted by Sports Illustrated, the New York Daily News, and The Washington Post during the weekend of August 30, 2007, named Fatu as one of a number of superstars to have purchased pharmaceuticals from an online pharmacy, a violation of the WWE "Talent Wellness" program. Fatu specifically was said to have received somatropin, a growth hormone, between July and December 2006, after the "No drugs from online sources" rule was instituted. Fatu violated this rule again in 2009. Due to his unwillingness to seek rehabilitation, Fatu was released from his WWE contract.[51][52]
Fatu was born in San Francisco,California, a member of the famous Anoa'i wrestling family. His mother, Vera, was the sister of Afa and Sika of the Wild Samoans, and his later Umaga gimmick would be compared to their "wildness".[7] His two older brothers, Sam (better known as Tonga Kid and Tama) and Solofa Jr. (better known as Rikishi), are also professional wrestlers who have achieved success of their own.[5] Dwayne Johnson, known in wrestling as The Rock, is his cousin.
On April 27, 2008, Fatu's mother Vera died after a seven-year battle with cancer.[53] A few days prior to December 4, 2009, returning home to Spring, Texas, Fatu had just completed a wrestling tour with Hulk Hogan in Australia.
On December 4, 2009, Fatu was hospitalized after his wife found him not breathing with blood coming out of his nose a few hours after he had fallen asleep the night before while watching television. He was rushed to a local hospital in Houston, Texas and was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit.[54] It was reported that Fatu had suffered a heart attack.
Fatu was pronounced dead around 6:00 PM EST after suffering a second heart attack.[5][55][56]
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