A&E’s “WWE Superstar Sunday” lineup will feature a new episode of Biography: WWE Legends this Sunday (March 26), centered around WWE Hall of Famer and former WWF Champion Yokozuna. Born into the legendary Anoa’i wrestling family, Yokozuna (real name Agatupu Rodney Anoa’i) made his pro wrestling debut in 1984 after being trained by his uncles, The Wild Samoans. He arrived in the World Wrestling Federation in 1992 and competed in just one untelevised match before Vince McMahon introduced his new persona. Managed by Mr. Fuji, Yokozuna was portrayed as an unstoppable sumo wrestler and his immense size (six-foot-four, 589 pounds) quickly made him one of WWE’s biggest attractions.ย
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In an exclusive sneak peek of the episode, Yokozuna’s contemporaries like Steve Austin, Bret Hart and The Undertaker praise his ability to portray a monster heel that fans could easily root against. He’d go on to main event both WrestleMania IX and WrestleMania X alongside Hart, cheating to beat him to win the WWF title in 1993 before losing to “The Hitman” a year later. He’d later hold the WWF Tag Team Championships twice alongside Bret’s brother, Owen Hart.
“He came along when the WWE desperately needed a monster heel,” Bret says in the clip. “Like a big, giant heel like King Kong Bundy or Abdullah The Butcher. Most fans recognized that not too many guys are going to mess with a guy like Yokozuna. That’s what you could see coming out of him. That was the aura of him.”
The Undertaker, who was a close friend of Yokozuna’s behind the scenes, adds, “When he first came in, he was truly amazing. I had never seen anything like it…Vince (McMahon) knew what he had. He had a rare, killer heel.”
Yokozuna’s last match in WWE took place at the 1996 Survivor Series pay-per-view. He’d be released in May 1998 and would continue to compete until October 1999. He’d pass away at the age of 34 the following year.
A&E’s “WWE Superstar Sunday” begins this Sunday at 6 p.m. ET with a Biography: WWE Legends episode on Charlotte Flair, followed by the Yokozuna episode at 8 p.m. ET. That will be followed by a new episode of WWE Rivals at 10:01 p.m. ET, recapping the rivalry between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.
