BULL BUCHANAN DISCUSSES THE PASSING OF EKI “UMAGA” FATU, THE MOVE UMAGA SAID HE WAS SAVING FOR A WRESTLEMANIA MOMENT, RUMORS OF EKI RETURNING TO WWE, AND MORE By WorldWrestlingInsanity.com
Get ready for the ClubWWI.com audio show that’s never censored. But, if he wanted to…it would be his Right. Yup. It’s time to jump into The Bullpen with the one and only former GHC and WWE Tag Team Champion Bull Buchanan.
Bull returns to ClubWWI.com for a monster 70 minute edition of the Bullpen that features more of the in-depth analysis about the world of wrestling that listeners have come to expect. Among the topics Buchanan and James Guttman discuss are: The Death of Eki “Umaga” Fatu, Umaga Returning to WWE, Personal Memories of Eki, The Three Men Vince McMahon Didn’t Want Roaming Free, ESPN’s Story on Brain Damage and Wrestling, WWF Health Insurance, TNA vs. WWE Monday Night Battle, Why TNA Will Change Wrestling Whether It Fails or Succeeds, The Amazing Story of Big Boss Man’s WWE Hiring, 1987 Hulk Hogan vs. 2009 Hulk Hogan, The Bischoff Factor, WWE on The Moon, WWF Health Insurance Cards, Pre-Vince Payouts, The B2 Gimmick, Long-Term Studies on What Wrestling Does To Its Performers, Chris Benoit, Gary Hart, Truth Commission, Dixie Carter, and tons more. (Full List of Topics available at: http://www..worldwrestlinginsanity.com/am2/publish/newsnotes/bp11.shtml )
ClubWWI.com members know that Bull has shared stories about Eki “Umaga” Fatu in the past. The two worked together in Japan, among other locations, and Buchanan has always spoken highly of him. With the news of Eki’s tragic passing coming last week, many who knew him were left shaken. Buchanan was no exception, as he explains to James Guttman…
“Yup. Good friend. Spent a lot of years in Japan together. You know, here and there and everywhere. Yeah. Tough week. Didn’t really see that coming. I guess nobody really did. Don’t know if you ever do. I was fortunate enough to talk to him before he left for Australia. He was looking forward to doing that. Thought he, well I think he had talked to one of the Japan companies about doing a tour early in the year. I think it was no secret that he was looking to go back to WWE pretty soon. I think he was going to use that to piggy-back in, you know, get back in shape. So, yeah, I mean. Things were looking good. He actually was just talking about his oldest son, who was already being recruited by Georgia Tech, so we were hoping to make some plans where they could come out (to where Bull lives) and hang out. I guess wrestling’s no different than the other parts of life. These things get thrown at us sometimes and we have to keep moving.”
James points out the sudden death of Umaga is different than names like Rick Rude, Test, or Chris Benoit in that many of those stars had most of their in-ring highlights behind them. In the case of Eki, it felt as though the world had only begin to see what he was capable of. JG points to a match he brings up often during ClubWWI.com audios, Umaga vs. John Cena. That match shocked many people and the shocking moments Umaga still had left to make were plentiful. Bull agrees and tells an amazing story about Eki’s work in Japan…
“People who have watched him in WWE, he really had not shown some of the stuff we saw every night over in Japan. Because as talented as he was, he was a smart guy too. He was raised in this business and was very smart in this business. He knew you don’t give everybody everything all at one time. There were a lot of things, just a lot of amazing athletic things he could do, and I asked him, “When you going to pull that out?” He said, “Ah. That’s a WrestleMania Moment.” We were tagging one night in some little town in Japan and me and D-Lo (Brown) were standing outside the ring. He gets knocked down and the guy hits the ropes and before he could come back, Eki had kipped up, hit him with a clothesline, ran and springboarded off the second rope. Now this guy was pushing 320, 330. He springboarded off the second rope and moonsaulted the guy. And me and D-Lo looked and said, “Holy Sh*t!” Are you kidding me? Just an amazing athlete and a real good guy.”
It was that athleticism that lead to some amazing matches with, well, anyone. Buchanan explains…
“If anybody ever gets a chance and cares to look at it, if you look at any of the All Japan stuff he did between 2003 and, I guess, 2005. He had some unbelievable matches with guys like Kawada, Muta…I think had he stayed in Japan, he would have went on to win the Triple Crown. I think had he not passed last week, he would have been WWE Champion. He had that kind of rapport with Vince (McMahon) and the people in charge there.”
Bull shares many stories about his time with Eki from thoughts on his family to stories of his athletic prowess outside wrestling. He also looks at the upcoming TNA vs. WWE showdown, Hulk Hogan in 2009, brain damage and wrestling, Vince McMahon: The Pied Piper, and tons more. It’s one of the most in-depth audios you’ll find anywhere with a man who has won gold around the world. Remember, you can hear over 200 big name wrestling stars on ClubWWI.com and other audio shows hosted by Erik Watts, Paul Roma, and many others former WWE, WCW, and TNA stars.