Umaga was incredible, it was great working alongside him

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Matt Hardy Discusses Umaga and praises the late star’s talent.

From 2001 to 2003, Edward Fatu was an original employee of WWE. Later, he worked for WWE from 2001-2003. He returned to the company in 2005 as the Umaga character. “The Samoan Bulldozer” went on an impressive undefeated streak, and he memorably defeated Ric Flair in one of his first pay-per-view matches. Umaga won the WWE Intercontinental Championship later and then feuded with John Cena, the WWE Champion. Umaga was eventually released by WWE in June 2009, apparently due to a second violation of their wellness policy. He died in December 2011 at 36 years old.

Talking on his behalf Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Matt was asked to share his thoughts on working with Umaga, as he and co-host Jon Alba were talking about Jeff Hardy’s feud with him in 2008. Matt said they were all close friends, Jeff was especially close to him. He recalled how Umaga used to go to Jeff’s house and ride on his racetrack. Matt agreed with Umaga’s belief that Umaga would have been a major draw if Umaga was healthy. He called Umaga a great guy.

“I mean, he was great. He and Jeff had the same circle friends and were good friends. I mean, they loved working together, he would come to Jeff’s house,” Matt said. “I remember, we got some great pictures of my dad, and Umaga, and Jeff together when he was there, he actually wanted to come to Jeff’s house and ride his racetrack, you know, it’s pretty pretty famously known that Jeff has a motocross track on his land, and Umaga would come there and ride motorcycles with Jeff, which is so crazy to think about.

“But he was a great guy, a real sweetheart, but also a legitimate badass as well. He was a man who could kick your arse if he had the nerve to. But he was an amazing worker, he was so good for his size, and I really do feel like he could have been a a massive draw in pro wrestling, and a massive top guy if he would have been able to keep everything between the lines and stay healthy.”

Matt continued to emphasize Umaga’s remarkable athleticism and that he enjoyed working with him. He praised the powerhouse’s abilities and noted that it was a pleasure to share the ring with him. The veteran also stated that he thinks people now look back and appreciate Umaga’s talent.

“He was incredible. I mean, we loved working with him because on house shows too, he would know how to do an entertaining match where you’d be smart and work smart,” Hardy said. “So that was super enjoyable. And then like, man, if you were having a pay-per-view or whatever, he’d go, like he was huge. He was strong and could move.

“I mean, I think now people look back on him and realize how much they they miss Umaga and the amazing things he…he was so quick and so explosive, especially for a guy of his size and his strength. It was great to work with him. It was always a pleasure just to see his name.

Rikishi stated previously that Umaga should be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. You can see his comments. here.

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RELATED: Rikishi On Umaga Playing Football: ‘He Couldn’t Run In Cleats, So He Played Football Barefoot’

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