Yokozuna death

Rodney Anoa’i was a high school dropout who needed direction and purpose. That’s when Rodney joined the family business in World Wrestling Entertainment. After exploding on to the scene in 1992, the 500 pound giant became “Yokozuna”, and quickly skyrocketed to WWE superstardom as he battled legends Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker and Bret “Hitman” Hart. In the ring, he became the top villain in the industry but outside the ring, Rodney was a lovable family man who always helped his friends. In 2000, the size and stature that made him a star ultimately took his life when he died suddenly at the age of 34. Yokozuna remains one of the greatest “big men” in WWE history, and his legacy lives on through his children, Justin and Keilani, as well as the grandson with his namesake, Rodney.

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Yokozuna (wrestler)

American professional wrestler (1966–2000)

Agatupu Rodney Anoaʻi (October 2, 1966 – October 23, 2000) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he wrestled under the ring nameYokozuna. He was also known for his appearances with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as Great Kokina.

Anoa'i's character was portrayed as a champion sumo wrestler, with his ring name being a reference to the highest rank in professional sumo wrestling in Japan. While Anoaʻi wrestled as a representative of Japan, he was a Samoan American and was billed as hailing from Polynesia. However, he was managed by the Japanese character Mr. Fuji (in reality a Japanese American) who would follow Anoaʻi to the ring with a wooden bucket of salt while waving a Japanese flag.^[3]

In the WWF, Anoaʻi was a two-timeWWF World Heavyweight Champion and two-timeWWF Tag Team Champion (with Owen Hart), as well as the winner of the 1993 Royal Rumble. He was the first wrestler of Samoan descent to hold the WWF World He

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“Banzai!” That was the last word many of WWE’s top Superstars heard when they faced the imposing Yokozuna. Standing 6’4” and weighing nearly 600 pounds, the Japanese sumo wrestler squashed legends like Bret “Hit Man” Hart, The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan on his way to becoming one of the most dominant WWE Champions of all time. Trained by the ferocious Wild Samoans, the behemoth debuted in WWE in 1992 with the sinister Mr. Fuji guiding his career. The pairing was effective from the very beginning — if Yoko’s size didn’t seal the victory, a handful of salt from the meddling Fuji would. Stomping through WWE like a Japanese movie monster, Yokozuna simply dominated. He heaved Randy Savage over the top rope to win the 1993 Royal Rumble Match and then decimated American icon “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan on Raw by crushing him with four Banzai Drops. At WrestleMania IX, the sumo champion overwhelmed Bret “Hit Man” Hart to win the WWE Title. When he lost the championship to Hulk Hogan in an impromptu bout that night, he plowed through the sports-entertainment legend two months later to win it