WWE Universal Champion, Roman Reigns, has spoken about he represents the legacy of his late, great cousin, Yokozuna.
One of the very first members of the Anoa’i family – which also includes The Rock, The Wild Samoans, The Usos, Rikishi and the late Umaga to name only a few – to find true worldwide fame, the faux Japanese talent was not only one of the greatest big-men in the history of the industry, but an overriding memory of many a childhood.
Now, ‘The Tribal Chief’ has taken to Twitter in order to pay tribute to his fallen bloodline by stating that what he does every week on WWE’s blue brand is to represent the master of the Banzai Drop:
“We don’t represent him by the moves we do in the ring. We represent him by being the very best every week. Generation after generation. #TheBloodline.”
We don’t represent him by the moves we do in the ring. We represent him by being the very best every week. Generation after generation. #TheBloodlinehttps://t.co/5JmDfXSwhq
— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) January 27, 2021
Yokozuna first rose to prominence in his WWF debut on the October 31, 1992, WWF Superstars when he crushed Bill Jordan in less than two minutes. From there, he made very short work of Virgil at that year’s Survivor Series before triumphing at the 1993 Royal Rumble when he last eliminated Randy Savage.
The victory took him to WrestleMania IX where he defeated Bret Hart to capture the WWF Championship, with the aid of Mr. Fuji, before losing it to a rampaging Hulk Hogan seconds later. However, the loss didn’t deter him and at the 1993 King of the Ring, courtesy of a fireball to the face, Yoko once again reigned as the company’s figurehead.
While his early years cemented him as a fearsome heel and top-level talent, it is perhaps his feud with The Undertaker in 1994 that people will remember him best. After nailing ‘The Deadman’ into a coffin at the Royal Rumble only for the entity to appear on the titan tron and then rise from the rear of the screen, the pair finally put an end to their rivalry at Survivor Series 1994 when ‘Taker repaid the favour.
Yokozuna will be the first recipient of WWE’s much anticipated ‘Icons’ documentary on January 31.