The Life and Career of Yokozuna
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- Опубликовано: 26 сен 2024
- Wrestling Bios Presents - The Life and Career of Yokozuna
Rodney Anoaʻi, better known to the wrestling world as Yokozuna, achieved a high level of success during his run with the WWE. Although he wrestled as a representative of Japan, Yokozuna was actually Samoan and part of the famous Anoaʻi family. Relatives of Yokozuna include Umaga, Roman Reigns, Rikishi and The Usos.
The Yokozuna debut in the WWF / WWE would shake up the entire roster. In his second pay per view appearance, Yokozuna won the Royal Rumble match. In his third PPV appearance, Yokozuna won (and quickly lost) the WWF Championship at WrestleMania IX due to circumstances that are still talked about today.
Yokozuna recaptured the heavyweight championship and began a dominating run. The Undertaker vs Yokozuna feud was memorable, and he had the oppurtunity to work twice at WrestleMania X. As time went on though, Yokozuna would have problems that put his WWE to a halt.
This video looks at the life and career of Yokozuna. Topics covered include:
01:28 - Yokozuna and the Anoa'i Dynasty
02:17 - Yokozuna before the WWF, working as The Great Kokina
03:34 - Yokozuna WWF Debut
04:45 - Bret Hart vs Yokozuna at WrestleMania 9
06:00 - Hulk Hogan vs Yokozuna at King of The Ring 1993
06:54 - Lex Luger vs Yokozuna
08:23 - Yokozuna vs The Undertaker Casket Match at Royal Rumble 1994
09:18 - Yokozuna at WrestleMania X
11:07 - The last days of Yokozuna in the WWF
- Much More!
#wrestling #wwe #documentary
I haven't watched wrestling for 25 years but I still love these bios.
Fun fact: I was 10 years old and saw Yokozuna live at the Royal Rumble in Sacramento with a bunch of other people: my father, some friends, my sister, and a now-late family friend of ours named James Benoit (no relation to Chris Benoit). We had some absolutely amazing seats, and James took some extraordinary pictures with a high-end camera that I still have to this day.
After the Rumble, we all went into Old Town, and there was Brian Knobbs of the Nasty Boys eating ice cream at the ice cream parlor. We all shook his hand and sat down and had ice cream with him.
It was quite a surreal experience, and not one that I'll ever forget. RIP Rodney, James, and so many others.
Yoko and Owen are still one of my favorite tag teams Rip Yoko and Owen
They were totally opposite..yet somehow they gelled together. Yoko came back and was heavier than ever..so he was paired with Owen so there wouldn't be as much work fro him. Their feuds with Shawn Michaels and Diesel and The Smoking Gunns were one of the best of 95.
@@American-Zero back then random pairings worked if the wrestlers put in the effort
@@camrose2032 Exactly..it didn't matter if they were different..as long as they had chemistry in the ring and put effort into it, they worked out fine. I still consider Owen and Yoko a good underrated team.
American Zero That’s what makes them a great thing.
Yoko and Owen worked well together shame there resting in peace
He's a true legend , only man to have 4 wrestle mania matches in first two years !
D
Damn, you are right! I had never thought about this before, but it is an awesome fact.
2 of those, in fact 3 of them main events, as the Hogan match was impromptu
Melanie L. Wow I bet you’re fun at parties
@@melaniel.4269 well yoco was at the time winning his world title the youngest champion ..... He worked with Bret Hart ,Hogan , undertaker , Vader, tagged with Owen Hart , beating most of them at one point , not like that matters but clearly he was a great worker in his short time in the big leagues , so he worked with so many legends and so many of his family our legends I proclaime he's not just in company of legends he's a legend his dam self!
The Casket Match at Royal Rumble 1994 was a really great match. Such a brilliant wrestler, still a legend and should have had more recognition back in the day. R.I.P. Yokozuna. You'll never ever be forgotten!
He was 34?! Man, that's tough. Great video, as always.
That is very young. I am almost 33.
I never realised he was that young, he looked old because being fat ages people
@@melaniel.4269 Also, him wanting to reach the record of the heaviest wrestler ever meant that he was killing himself health-wise & likely knew it.
@JV Harbin the wasn't fat because he wanted entertain people . He was fat because he chose to be.
I guess that's why he was agile as he was.
I was so glad to find out that the Undertaker and Yoko were good friends outside the ring!
Good to know they also worked a decent feud together
Didn't everyone Yoko
Love yoko
They were really close
They were the best of friends. Very close. Part of the BSK group. Undertaker even acknowledged him during his hall of fame speech
One of the few guys that was liked by all his peers
Samoan people are friendly, but don't piss them off. Samoa!
I love the Respect you show these Athletic Performers
Loved yokos early days in the wwf he was surprisingly agile for such a big guy and teaming him with Cornette was great
Yokozuna was awesome!!! May he rest in peace.
Yoko had the best belly to belly suplex.
Damn right!
Close but I'm gonna have to give that award to Scott Steiner
belly to bellies*
Yokozuna was AWESOME! Great guy too. Respects to him and his family.
One of the all-time great Bigs. Yoko was incredibly light on his feet for a 500+ lb dude
He was an incredible villain in a time when the wwe was in the toilet I look back today at his feud with the hitman and i remember being at the edge of my seat with butterflies in my stomach wondering, How is the hitman going to beat this beast?
He was one of their only big villains in 93
It wouldve been better imho if wwe had kept some talent from the golden era
Not many could beat Yoko in this time period.. only Savage, Bret, Taker, and Luger.
Man if only he took better care and was there in the attitude era. Can you imagine feuding with the rock?? Oh and I have his name tattooed bc his kind nature made him an inspiration.
I just found this YT channel and I'm finding it to be very entertaining!! In this, societys darkest hour, we need more channels like this to pass the time. Great work guys!
Undertaker is such a damn legend...... He's in everybody's bio even tho it isnt about him lol. My man
I feel stupid now thinking he was Japanese when I was growing up 😂
Me too 😅
That's because he played the character so well. Rip big man.
It’s cool... I thought Undertaker was actually a dead man💀
I did too
@@MrAhmes2001 He is if I ever see him again.
One of my all time favourites. I was young in his heyday & genuinely bought that he was unstoppable etc. How the Hitman was going to beat him was beyond me and his matches with the Undertaker had me on the edge of my seat. Wrestling at its best - terrific stories told with limited movesets. As an adult I've come to really appreciate performances of this ilk. Very rare in today's high flying period to see that.
Until watching this I never considered how Yokozuna felt after losing his first title reign to Hogan really in a matter of seconds. I just thought about Bret Hart but in all honesty the ending was messed up all together.
Understandable. I hated the ending.
Hogan sucks
Hogan gets what he wants brother sadly
Yup hogans ego wins out no matter what, that was the very sad reality at the time unfortunately
I loved Yokozuna he was so intimidating when I was a little kid. Glad his legacy is better recognized.
Yokozuna looked about the same size as Umaga earlier in his career.
RIP to Yokozuma!!!! One of the all time favorite wrestlers!👍👍👍👍
I remember starting watching wrestling right before WrestleMania X and being so scared of Yokozuna as a kid. Yokozuna was the first great heel I got to see and along with Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, and The Undertaker was the stars that made me fall in love with wrestling.
I don't feel I ever appreciated Yokozuna as a kid. But I do now watching this back.
i grew up on pro wrestling in the early 90s and I really enjoy channels with so much information. This is time well spent to me.
I love the ending with the music and pictures.
One of the best big men in the business period, RIP Rodney
Great video and good to see some of the backstage photos of Rodney with members of BSK. I grew up watching him and was very entertaining. RIP big man.
One of my favorite wrestlers of all time. Rest In Peace Yokozuna/ Rodney Anoa’i
One of my all time favorite wrestlers. For a guy his size, he moved pretty good. I miss Yokozuna.
Once saw the mighty Yoko wrestle Bret Hart for the title circa 1993 at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. What a spectacular show they put on considering it was a non televised relatively small venue. Yoko was the champ and for a while I actually thought that maybe it would switch hands and they would mention it on TV in the coming days (remember, it was a non televised show). Fuji (in the corner of Yoko) hit Bret with the Japanese flag causing him to fall from the top rope and of course everyone knows the rest.
Thanks for this. You know...Im not a huge(har-dee-har-har)Yokozuna fan, and not a big fan of WWF or WCW at this time...but I enjoy all of your videos and looking at this man and era in a greater context is interesting. So thanks for another great video!! Wrestling Bios is my favorite non-humor wrestling nostalgia channel.
Rest in Life and in Peace Yokozuna.
I was shocked when I learned that Yoko is not really Japanese as a kid, lol. He was definitely one of my favorites. May he RIP. 💔🙏🏻
One of the greatest big men in all of professional wrestling R.I.P big man you are missed
Was so funny when Savage tried to pin him in the Royal Rumble
When I was a kid i remember going to a raw show and one of the first matches was Yoko vs Lex. Awesome 👍
Excellent tribute video. Rodney's weight was always a health issue. No one should weigh 500+ lbs. For the mass he carried though, Rodney was freakishly agile in his initial run. Being chosen to be world champion for a year is an accomplishment. He was a legit, dominant, monster heel, which made him a great champion. He looked good with the world title over his shoulder. He made his family & nation proud.
I actually lived across the street from fatu in Pensacola Florida who was his family and met Yoko on. Several occasions he was very nice guy rakishi also is his family and lives in Pensacola florida
Imagine the difference if WWF would've signed him back after he lost 100 pounds that motivation could've lead to him losing more weight or caring about his health going forward instead of giving up and wanting to become a 900 lb wrestler
Thank you for making this video and not mentioning that horrible Heroes of Wrestling PPV. Your videos are always great, again thank you.
@FieryReign
Check out the documentary about it on Kim Justices channel. What an absolute bus crash of a ppv ha ha
Yokozuna will always be my absolute favorite. Rest in peace Rodney!
Man you just dont stop the quality content, you must be saving Regal pt 4. Thanks for being my favorite RUclips channel
He was CCW tag champ with my friend Pretty Kurt Adonis. He was a genuinely very nice person.
So glad I found this Chanel !. It’s becoming one of my faves
It's really sad to know his weight is what put him out of WWF and that it eventually led to an early death. What if he hadn't been so heavy? We'd still be talking about him today.
Loved yokozuna when I was a kid he could really move for as big as he was
2021 still here. You are a Legend
oh yeah sat on bus watching this its awesome!!!
Yoko was also a member of the BSK along with taker savio the Godwinns The Godfather And rikishi...R.I.P. yoko..
Forgot Brian Adams
Christopher Chisholm yes indeed Brian Adams was also a member of the BSK...R.I.P.
My dad did some security work for USWA when they did shows in Kentucky, of all the stories he would tell the wildest centered on Yokozuna. Yokozuna got arrested for assault or some other druken behavior as my dad put it the problem as the cops would find was that yoko was so large there wasn't a cop car around that could actually fit him in without scraping the pavement. They ultimately had to comendeer a flatbed truck to take him to the station.
Oh wow
Well done sir. Yoko was the heel of my childhood.
Yokozuna always was a classic heel and did a great job. I enjoyed his work
I wonder if, in an alternate timeline, it would have been Yokozuna trying to push Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania instead of The Rock.
Imagine Yoko and Umaga vs Rock and Reigns
Some of the best wrestling content on RUclips right now... Thanks Bio's
Interesting stuff, I never heard that he wanted to try to gain weight to be the heaviest pro wrestler, I had heard he had a food addiction and thats why he kept putting on weight. Great video as always.
One of the greatest big men in pro wrestling, thanks for the awesome vid bud.
I was there at the Royal Rumble 94. Providence Civic Center, Undertaker rising to the rafters was awesome as a 12 year old. All I remember from the match is this drunk guy behind us screaming repeatedly: “Put him in the caaasket!” RIP big fella
Cornette is the man tho. Lovem or Hatem. Do a Cornette vid. ❤🤘
Yaaas! I second that. I met Cornette when I was in 3rd, maybe 4th grade...just bumped into him at a gas station down south, and even thoygh this was the 80s and he was 110% in heel Cornette character, he was VERY gracious and classy...signing my PWI and taking a few pics with me. Very cool guy.
Man with his career...that would be a long video. Lol. Corny is the man
Corny is a legend.
I saw yokozuna few months before he died at a wrestling show at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Oldham UK. He tagged with Rikishi
great video and tribute to a once in a lifetime wrestler. thank you
No man his size could float so beautifully
You're doing really great! No matter what video i watch...it's allways very entertaining.
Great video, mate, keep up the good work!😀
Dude I like to be entertained but don’t die for it
Love this video/tribute to the great Yokozuna. Keep up the great work.
One of my favorite wrestlers up there with other greats I like like mick Foley, big show, umaga, the rock, and bo Dallas lol
Brilliant video about yokozuna loved it very interesting to watch thanks for the upload hope to see many more to come
Another awesome video. Thank you!
34??? Jesus he was a young man! When I was in my early teens and it was all about PPV and Royal Rumble on SNES he was THEE heel! Obviously his size has much to do with who he was but in retrospect, he didn’t need to be the big. The guy could wrestle. Sad loss,thanks for the memories. Great video as always!!
He accomplished so much in such a short time that most wrestlers would in three times the amount. Finding out how young he was, the would've, could've and should'ves just once would have given him many more years of success, maybe a long life to enjoy retirement.
Love all your videos, thank you for all your hard work
I could imagine him in the attitude era
Yokozuna as a heel with an updated attitude during the attitude era really could had worked
Wasim Perviz good feud’s with Kane
@@NinjaStudent-yo5ws would had been interesting
This one was awesome but a little sad at the end
RIP Yokozuna. He did so much in a short life.
Thanks for another great bio
Great video
Been waiting for this one, awesome work
Loved yoko, just the sort of heel missing from the wwe these days
I miss Yokozuna. He is still a big part of the WWE Network and many can relive his classic moments and matches
🙌🏿 your channel is AMAZING
as much as to this day, I still think luger should have won the title at summerslam 93, yoko's professionalism in handling that entire mania 9 issue, is why he had such a long reign. and he was mega over as a heel.
Awesome Bios! Harvey Whippleman was the guy who took that picture.....
Truly amazing content and presentation. Really happy I found your channel. RIP Yoko
Your retrospectives are pleasingly nostalgic.
This might be your best video ever. RIP Yokozuna.
I remember one of the wrestlers coming back to his gym in Rhyl after wrestling in Liverpool saying that one of the wrestlers was found dead in their hotel, I was shocked when he said it was Yokozuna.
Thanks for another good video.
One of my favorite RUclips chennels going!
One of my favorite wrestlers ever
This was beautiful
Very inciteful wrestling bios didn't know about the early days of Yokozuna🙌🏻💯
Thank you x1000! God Bless!!!
Great job on the bio!!
One of the greatest!
900 pounds??? How would he have lost weight when he reached his goal
He never reached 900lbs
@@MrJobelp then he died
Hence why I said "how would he have"
Well... flossing would probably take off 6-7lbs with him. It's a start.
Love your Bios.
I don't subscribe to many channels but I made sure I subscribed to your channel.
I noticed you don't have a bio of Haku/Meng.
One of the all time great tough guys in the ring
Hm. One dislike? Hi Hitmeng!
Been looking forward to this one
Rest in peace big yoko we miss you 😔
I remember watching him in Mexico (as kokina) love his match against canek for the uwa championship
Great video!!!
This Video !! This Wrestling Time !! Awesome!! My best Wrestling years 💪🏼WWF♥️