Jim Cornette Reviews A&E's Yokozuna Biography
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
- From Episode 287 of the Jim Cornette's Drive Thru
Artwork by Travis Heckel!
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My mom was a Yokozuna fan. She knew despite the wwfs efforts to paint him as a bad guy. That Yokozuna was good. I was like mom he's a bad guy! She said no he's not. He's just misunderstood. Then he turned face and she was right. RIP Yokozuna and mama
Ask the jobbers he squashed 4real
your mama is based as hell
Jesus lmao
@@paraelamantedelibros7957yeah I find it weird everyone who says yokozuna was a “great guy” always leave out that he ended dozens of people’s careers
"Yoku was doing cardio by walking to his car" - Jim Cornette
*Yoko.
I'll never forget Yoko's early days in the WWF. He was a monster, a force of nature, and from the sounds of it, one of the nicest guys to ever set foot in the squared circle.
As a kid I hated him. He definitely did his job as a heel. What a talent.
It was amazing how fast he was when he first came in wwf
Bret always said Yoko would sit at a bar, stirring the same jack and diet coke, missing his family. If you best friends with Taker, you got to be nice and tough lol
Remember seeing Yokozuna at live show here in Denver. He was wrestling the Undertaker. After the match he was going back to the lockeroom . My mom yelled at him for beating the Undertaker. Yokozuna looks at my mom and says " I'm sorry maam." He winked and slapped hand. Cool experience
Oh bullshit
For me, every Yoko move looked like a Finishing move to me. Even a body slam.
His leg drop should have been grounds for prosecution for attempted murder.
Exactly the look they wanted. It was perfect his moveset looked like he killed crushed them.
His spinning heel kick was a thing of beauty
He did a great sidewalk slam.
Bundy, Bam Bam, Vader and Yoko all scared the hell out of me growing up. I miss them all so much.
Bundy didn't scare me so much after seeing him on married with children lol
WCW era Vader... one of the most terrifying big men. Criminally under used in WWE.
Yoko's time at the weight loss camp was basically that episode of South Park when Cartman got sent to one himself, and he bribed a kid to bring him food
Kinda reminds me of an episode of Hey Arnold where the fat kid, Harold, went on a weight loss cruise and came back much larger.
The Movie Heavyweights
I remember that episode😅
I can't be the only one who thinks it made sense for Savage to attempt a pin on Yoko during the Rumble. I always viewed it as a reflex, a muscle memory mixed w/ a momentary lapse of judgement. Savage hits his finisher, then, as he's done thousands of times, he immediately goes for the cover.
A moment made better by the amused frustration in Monsoon’s voice, “Pinfalls don’t count!”
Nah. If Savage was green as grass that might fly, but how many battle royals (royales?) had he been in at that point? I mean, wasn't he the last guy to get eliminated the year before?
Savage also vaulted himself out in 92 to chase Roberts through habit of how he left the ring. They let him back in claiming you can't eliminate yourself even though Andre did it before
Savage often forgot the rules as part of the ‘madness’ on adrenaline so i guess he just wanted to put over Yokozuna being strong and didn’t think going for the cover would be unbelievable for his character.
@@Cruising_On_Lake_Havasoma I see your point. However, how many top rope elbow drops had Savage delivered in a battle royal/Royal Rumble match? I'd venture to say you can count them on one finger. I say this only because this was back when wrestlers had logic and used strategy. Unlike today where those 2 words are deader than... Well, Savage (rip). To come off the top was viewed as risky and inane. Unless, as someone in this comment section mentioned, your character is built on Madness, and you know in order to beat Yokozuna you must come out guns blazing. No holding back. You must go... for the gusto. You see, Savage had spent the past few months as a color commentator. He watched as the erstwhile Kokina Maximus decimated his opponents. Carving a swath of scarred superstars w/out breaking a sweat. And So, thinks to himself "Thats how I can beat him. I'm gonna make him move, I'm gonna get him off kilter, I'm gonna make Yokozuna work... That will work for me, Brother." Once the Royal Rumble boils down to Savage and Yokozuna there's a snafu. Macho Man realizes Yoko's got excellent movement and plenty of gas in the tank. This is when the MADNESS overtakes Savage. So, Savage snaps like some sort of beef jerky stick, goes full bore, and uses everything in his arsenal to try and thwart this unbeatable behemoth. While in the midst of a blitzkrieg of feet and fist, Savage gets lost in the moment. He works himself into a frenzy, so much so his psyche splits. He's on autopilot yet discombobulated. He's so confused he doesn't know if Tuesdays come in twos or once a week. All he knows is that it's Kamikaze time. He might not live, but neither will this jap. Then, a cacophony of sounds (redundant?) BOOM, BANG, SPLAT, AND SMACK... The fat japs on his back. Savage is stunned yet spent. He swiftly realizes he must capitalize. But how? W/ what? Savage takes a deep breath and peers out at the crowd. Then reflexively, out of battle tested behavior he pulls the slide back to find one round cocooned in the chamber. Savage climbs to the top rope and the rest is history. Thats my theory/opinion. Or I'm a retarded phaggot and you along w/ the majority of people are correct in thinking it was a nonsensical spot. And you know what? I'm okay w/ the latter being the widely accepted opinion.
That Banzai drop always looked brutal
especially when he was droppin on a jobber....yikes
Yoko simply going over to the turnbuckles and stepping one foot over the bottom rope for support to get to the second rope got the crowd reacting. It was awesome!
Bret said it taking the Banzai Drop felt like a giant pillow falls onto you and didn't hurt at all.
@@desisdosis473that was true, but only if you were 1. One of the bigger stars on in the company or 2. One of the really respectful jobbers.
It's well known that Yoko would absolutely *fuck up* jobbers with the Banzai drop if Yoko didn't like them.
What cracked me up was the first time I ever heard him do an interview out of character. I was expecting this broken English hard to understand conversation, and his English was better than mine, and then come to find out he was born and raised in the United States. Well played Yoko… Well played.👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
The saddest part about Yoko was he didn't know any better and wanted to be the heaviest wrestler ever not realizing his diet and size were slowly killing him. For as big as he was, he was so gifted and if you watch his stuff when he was about three thirty, he moved around the ring like a cat which was incredible for a man his size.
Hearing Macho Mans commentary on Hogan's black eye, now knowing he's the one that gave it to Hogan is honestly some of the best stuff I've ever heard on commentary. 😂
I'm SHOCKED to hear Jim describe Yoko's Bonzai Drop on him as "being like a pillow" because I've heard Bruce say that exact thing and I've never believed it. Bruce was on the money!
Neither guy was a jobber, of course. Yoko fucked up almost every jobber he came into contact with with that move.
I used to love Bruce’s show.
But Conrad and his adds turned me off. Every 4 mins.
I believe that in 1996 that they did want him to come to WCW. I think it was Kevin Nash or Scott Hall were asking him to go with them and be a "Samoan Gangsta rapper". But Yoko refused to leave because he didn't want to betray anyone. I imagine Yoko as a Samoan gangsta might have been his gimmick had he made an Attitude era return.
That would have been something
Imagine if he lost the weight he needed to get healthy, and made a comeback in the WWF during the attitude era with that gimmick! The storylines, matches, and feuds we could have seen at that time....Stonecold Steve Austin, the Rock, Mankind, HHH, Kane, Rikishi, and rekindling the feud with the Undertaker, but as the American Badass! That would have been some amazing stuff!
Would have love to see him with sunglasses and leather jacket as part of the Hart Foundation like it was originally planned.
It was actually Konnan who was proposing that. According to him a Yoko had been going back and forth with Bischoff, one day Scott hall got him on the phone and came off too pushy so Yoko backed out.
Yoko just comes across as such a cool,loving,laid back guy. sad that hes not around today.
Especially when they showed his grandson. You'd just know that Yoko would've been the lovable, fun grandpa to that kid.
As a kid watching Yokozuna vs Undertaker was fun,especially seeing Yoko being scared of the deadman's promo & the casket matches.
Oh those were classic I loved his facials when he would get scared with the casket
@@aliciasimmons8473 Same here. He was so “evil” to me, that finally seeing someone shake him finally felt satisfying 😂. I wish I could watch this documentary about Yokozuna.
Good fucking times, Yoko Vs Bret at Wrestlemania 10 was also a classic
@@desisdosis473sold* not "selled" 😂
You can hear Jim trying not to get emotional at some points.
"He gave me a check so that my kids would have heat". That line got me
Nobody is better than YOKO with Mr. Fuji & James E Cornette.
Trifecta of awesomeness
cool
Yoko, "The Ultimate Uce"
Yokozuna is the reason I found out about Jim. When I was kid I loved watching Taker and yoko go at it and Jim was always there with Mr Fugi. Good times.. We miss you yoko!!
Finding out that he wasn't really japanese was one of the most shocking moments of my young life 😂
Saaame!!!
My uncle was a mark until about the mid 90's and would always tell me how it was fake, Vince was the owner and Yokozuna was actually Samoan.
I really thought he was Japanese as well, double shock to learn that Mr Fuji was Hawaiian lol
@@ActionJacksonForever He was mixed race, Japanese and Hawaiian.
Even Back in the 90s, the German commentators announced Yoko always as "Polynesian representing Japan".
When I was a kid, the Banzai drop was like the scariest finisher ever. I always asked my dad how the hack did those guys Yoko sit on were still alive lol
I love when he'd squash two guys in a handicap match, stack them on top of each other, then Bonzai Drop both of them at once at pin them. Wasn't a legal pin but the ref still counted because fuck it, not like the jobbers were getting back up anyway.
@@Cruising_On_Lake_Havasoma lol ! That made my day. I needed a good laugh 😂 .
The banzai drop is one of the most painful looking finishers of all time.
I thought the same thing too when I was a kid but just goes to show you how safe the guy was I mean if he was off the guy taking it would of been gone dam shame he's gone only 34 R.I.P Yokozuna
I legitimately felt sorry for hacksaw jim Duggan. As a kid i thought that yoko messed him up so bad that he had to leave WWF so he joined wcw lol
Always amazing to me that this family pretty much passed the baton to the next to shine in the company..yoko to the rock to rikishi to Umaga to rosey to the usos and Roman and now Solo. They've done so much for the wrestling business
It’s always the guys who were absolute monsters in the ring, just made you hate them and you were terrified of them that are the nicest guys
@@wombatgirl997 same, the real life assholes are good guys but the heels are the everyday joe you wanna get a beer with. Interesting how that works out in wrestling sometimes
Owen and Yoko were a great combo of speed plus power
they were the most underrated wrestling team. But the tag roster in 95 was so bad otherwise, that nobody remembers the matches.
To me, Yoko was the Andre of my generation. He was just this massive dude that you couldn't take your eyes off of.
Just like Undertaker he terrified me as a kid. Now as an adult I really appriciate them both. He went way too soon
same. I never went to any WWF/WWE live events because of The Undertaker. Still have only ever gone to one live event and that was in 2018. I still have a bunch of pics of Charlotte, Becky (pre The Man), and Liv among others. Carmella (with MITB case), Naomi, Natalya, Lana, Ruby Riott, and Sarah Logan were in that match, too (Riot Squad was still a thing back then). It was 3v3v3 and it sucked. Loved getting to see Becky and Liv though.
@@gothard5 Bruh, get a girlfriend, lol
This was a great Biography Jim Cornette was awesome with Yokozuna
Don't forget Master Fuji
@@andrewjolley143 and Fuji also
Reviews of these A&E biographies have been amazing.
It's honestly still hard to believe all the Samoans are related, Probably the best wrestling dynasty
There's more than one royal family...
@@huskerfanman
Adrenaline in my soul
I wish von erichs are still in the main stream.
@Kingston
Yeah because not a lot of people watch MLW
Samoa Joe isn't related to them. Which should've been used as a storyline.
Jim is the best promoter ever! It's the first time where I actually pay attention to the advertisements!! 😂
When he went to the WWF as Kokina in September 1992, he weighed 400 lbs. When he became Yokozuna, he was 505.
That's over 100 lbs in two months.
How is that even possible?
@@iamcasihartthey said he was dipping fried food in mayo. That’s how
@@TonyDanza4Lyfeor more like they were fibbing about his weight like they like to do lol
I got to see one of Yoko's very last matches in the uk in a local hockey rink about a week before he passed
He was massive in person , never seen a human so huge
Yeah his weight took off near his death there’s footage of him in the UK just days before his death and it’s mind blowing I have no idea how he could walk much less wrestle
I loved yoko and Owen Hart! My favorite tag team!.....maybe to 3, but his business with taker was all time classic
when Jim and Mr fuji managed him and then paired Yokozuna with Owen hart it was incredible. sad that both left this world too soon. Yokozuna had issues. we all got them
Yoko's ability to fly out of the ring under control, at that size, was always impressive to me.
I still remember Stone Cold talking about how Yoko slammed him and he shitted his pants and still had to finish the match
The story with WCW has always been that Hogan supposedly kept trying to bring him in so that he could get the job back from King Of The Ring.
Thanks, I don't have to repeat - I heard the same thing, Hogan wanted Yoko in just to get his win back.
Who would he be in WCW I wonder cause he wouldn't be Yoko.
Like he did with Warrior
@@cujosephwalker9707 maybe he would've shocked the world in WCW 😂
@@cujosephwalker9707 kokina
People complain about that 93 Rumble spot all the time and they don't get the context
1: Yoko was kicking the shit out of Savage for like 4-6 minutes straight and that spot was to show that Savage was running half conscious on blind instinct and your instincts say when the guy falls down, go to the top rope, hit your finisher and try for a pin. Savage tried pinning Yoko because he was so out of it after being squashed for 5+ minutes.
and
2: Made Yoko look like a powerhouse that could bench press a guy from the mat and over the top rope.
Savage was known as a meticulous planner of his matches, so I can easily believe it was his idea to do that stuff.
I agree with Brian. Greg Valentine seems like a really cool guy
I'd love to hammer some beers with Greg the hammer
Yeah, even as a kid I was mortified to see Hulk Hogan steal from Bret right in front of an entire stadium of people.
I remember the tag team of earthquake and typhoon. The big guys were entertaining as heck back then.
I know this is almost a year later-but darkside just did a show on one of them
I still remember the angle where Yoko broke his leg and you just heard him screaming over and over again.
If Yoko and the Headshrinkers had worked out (weights and cardio) they would've been Invincible.
If Solo isn't careful he will get bigger. He has his dad's early build.
And Yokozuna is his middle name.
I always believed Yoko was a Japanese Somu dude. Then I heard Yoko speak English clearly about 10 years ago in a RUclips video. Things you believe when you're a kid.
He spoke English in the WWF a couple times, when he turned face at the end of 95 he cuts a promo on Cornette in English, and does a pretty decent job. Made me wonder why they never let him talk.
Don’t forget that Mr Fuji is really Hawaiian 😂😂
@@ActionJacksonForever ain't no way
@@uc95nu51 look it up lol
Sorry really ffs lol @@ActionJacksonForever
I don't care what anyone says. Yokozuna was truly the best big man in the business. No disrespect to Andre. Yoko was the best.
Those Samoans are built different. I agree. I loved Yoko growing up. His belly to belly suplex was insane.
As I kid I thought Yokozuna was really Japanese 😂 I didn't find out he was Samoan until he died 😂
Asia-Pacific islanders have shared heritage, A lot of Japanese people immigrated to Hawaii. If you look closely you will see a lot of Hawaiians with Japanese sounding names.
@@TihetrisWeathersby My mom is from 60s Hawaii and growing up she never said "Rock, Paper, Scissors" she said "Junk And Po" which was like a local Hawaiian derivative of the Japanese "Janken Pon". Tons of Japanese influence in Hawaii.
@Anto Skum
Yes definitely, It's a big part of the culture
@guyincognito6582 Also the first ever non-Japanese sumo wrestler reached yokozuna in 1993, Akebono (real name: Chadwick Rowan from Hawai'i).
Same here!!
Cornette for honorary Uce
"Bundy"-Jim Cornette's Ernie Ladd voice. ahaha
I always like coming back to a clip where Jim talks about Yoko. You can tell how much love he had for him and how much he misses him.
WWF sent Yokozuna and Vader to Durham to lose weight right smack dab in the middle of BBQ, sweet tea, and Bojangles country, and they didn't lose any weight. Go figure...
Yoko is still one of my top guys ever from classic WWF.
At the time in sumo in Japan , the Samoans were having a huge run. It actually fit.
Self destruction he should have accepted the help. By all accounts he was loved backstage and a fan favorite.
I remember Yoko and Vader going at it in the 1996 Royal Rumble match which led to Shawn eliminating both from behind. Seeing Yoko in that match always makes me sad.
Yokozuna will always be this once in a lifetime anomaly in wrestling for me. As a kid, I cheered for good guys and booed bad guys. He was as evil as it got for me. But then you grow up and you see wrestling for what it is and you appreciate it in 100 new ways. And then I realize Yokozuna was just this big guy who was a tremendous actor. But also extremely agile for a man of his size. Truly fascinating guy in that he wasn’t a real sumo, but had the agility of one.
That part of the WWF considering bringing him in as Kokina Maximus was really interesting. I didn’t know that. I would have never guessed that Slaughter was the reason Yokozuna came to be.
I do honestly wonder how enthusiastic Jim was about having to manage Yokozuna at first.
I remember as a kid watching him and actually thinking he was a Sumo Wrestler from Japan during the Hart Hogan fiasco
I totally forgot about Jimmy Delray being Jimmy Backlund ! I hadn't thought about that in years ! But Corny brought up a good fact here about him managing both of them . And both to success . I loved The Heavenly Bodies . Yoko was incredible too . By far the biggest Samoan out of the clan . He was Afa and Sika combined ! And that is saying something !!!!!!
Just watched it and one thing Sika you do not have to apologize it was in no way your fault you let no one down. God bless
You mentioned Buddy Rogers I would like to see it as well but it seems like his career was cut short. I believe Bob Backlund would be a very inspirational about being disciplined in living a long life.
When he first appeared I thought Vince was feeding him up too make him as big as possible.
It was the best I have watched so far, Yoko was loved and it was very sad throughout. I wish he could have had more years on top his career wasn't long enough.
Vices can get the best of us. 🙏🏾 R.I.P.🕊️
Watching him in the ring was awesome. Being as Big as he was, he should not of been able to do what he could
He was very agile. He had a heck of a superkick and a awesome looking belly to belly suplex.
Yokozuna’s matches with Bret Hart were classics in my opinion
This was an emotional one for me and I have no idea why. I cried through most of it.
The yokozuna documentary was done great.
Yokos banzai drop is one finisher that legit looked like it could kill someone. I was always terrified for whoever was taking it... WCW era Vaders powerbomb was another one.
The Deadman, Kane, Yoko, Vader, Andre all from
Vincent K McFrankenstein 😂
Late Yoko 92 through early 94 or so is one of the best monster heels ever. The other channel had Vader as well who was also one of the best monster heels ever in that time period as well. Loved them both
Always loved Yokozuna N Vader 2 of my favorite big men / wrestlers ever
As a Canadian.
WMIX is when Hogan turned heel.
I always thought he was Japanese until I got older, so good job all around with this character. I'm glad he's in their Hall of Fame.
Jim's Raycon ad was hilarious 😂
Loved Yoko
I thought Yoko was Japenese for a long time all the way until after his death. Same as I thought Scott Hall was hispanic until I saw his AWA stuff. I thought Hall was spanish since his WCW Diamond Stud days.
Yokozuna worked with Jim duggan in the beginning. That was his first feud
Listening to Jim saying "low latency gaming headphones" while knowing full well he has no idea what that means is hilarious for some reason 😂
Jim was being modest about the Regis show, he was GREAT on that. He put Yoko over, put Mr. Fuji over, sold the event, it was great.
Anytime Hogan showed up, I said "Oh No!" I'm with you Brian...
Dude why do you hate hogan so much, he’s a legend in the sport of professional wrestling
The part. Where. Bruce prichard says. They ordered enough 🍣 sushi and 🍖 meat. For 20 people. And yoko ate it all 😳. He broke the toliet with his ass 🤣
23 secs in and I have to pause to say as soon as I watched the Yoko bio I was like man I can't wait to hear the goat Jimmy speak on it
14:01 I stayed home from school that day. Hahaha. I tried to for the wrestlers. But I remember this
Second Yoko doc I've seen where they make out he passed away in London. When in reality he passed away in Liverpool ,the moat house hotel ....if they smudge over where he passed imagine what else they get wrong
Taking a page out of ron and fez' book with that live read
People talk about the Von Erich's and other wrestling families but the Anoi'i family has to be the most impactful of all time! 3 WWF/E champs, multiple wrestlers over most major organizations, satellite members like Soulman and Naomi ..... True wrestling dynasty!!!
"330 lbs", "small".
"The doctor's scale only goes up to 300."
What an absolute freak of an athlete for his size, could of been a huge star well into the mid 2000s if he could of kept his weight under control.
Jim Cornette has done more good for Ray Jay on a microphone than Ray Jay ever has.
I always wondered how noise isolating worked. Now I know.
Shout out to the BSK crew. Real G's
The jobber they're referencing at 28:15 was Dan Dubiel, and the fact he survived is nothing short a miracle. According to the internet he was 'disrespectful' to Mr. Fuji before the match.
Yokozuna needs to be in the Hall of Fame.... Imo, he was the most SKILLED big wrestler EVER....R.I.P. YOKOZUNA...✌
Yoko was inducted in the Hall of Fame back in 2012. Much deserved IMO.
Loved Yokozuna so much. A true legend that is still missed to this day.
@@MrDCWood Im glad to hear that he was IMMORTALIZED in the history books.🙏✌
“Sumo Sam” was probably on Vince’s short list…..
I looked up the Regis clip and his co-host that day is named Christina Ferrare. Someone tell Jim please. lol
YoKo (as with Andy Kaufman) is one of the best pure heels to ever step foot in a wrestling ring.
YOKO was as good as it gets. A real deal legit as a heart attack type of performer. His loss at MANIA 10 was just booked so terribly (falling off the top rope for no reason)
Yoko is wrestler for all time. One of the very best. The cream of the crop.
Also, remember. E Honda in Street Fighter 2 got big in 1992.
Can't wait for the new Moshpit Jones EP
That shit gonna be 🔥🔥🔥
I remember asking my grandad about the size after he said you'll not see him again I said why he said look at the size of him now he won't be allowed to wrestle. Never saw him wrestle again after that.
Everyone always talks about Yoko as if he was a guy you wanted to be your best man at your wedding.