Jim Ross discussed Umaga’s legacy during a recent edition of Grilling JR.
Here is what he had to say:
Jim Ross on Umaga’s legacy: “He was a player. Umaga was the prototype that in a different era would’ve been a perfect NFL nose tackle. He had amazing athleticism for a guy that big. He was a super heavyweight that had light heavyweight feet. Just was so athletic and good-hearted. I just loved being around him – he was just a big kid and a good dude. Like you said, he left us way too early. It shows you that sometimes when we develop bad habits, no matter what they may be – it could be overreating, it could be smoking, it could be drinking, it could be pill-popping, or whatever it may be – at some point in time, if you don’t curtail it to some degree, it’s gonna catch up with you. It was just a sad, sad time when he passed. What a unique guy and a hell of a talent. He’s the kind of talent that a guy like Bobby Heenan or Jim Cornette or Paul Heyman – if they had him under their wing, and I’m not knocking Armando Estrada – that’s where Umaga was one step away from getting that guy and becoming extraordinary as that coveted monster heel in wrestling. A real good guy and he deserves a look back and memories. He didn’t have a long run, but he had a damn good run.
On the idea behind 3-Minute Warning: “`The 3 Minute Warning was a shock deal. And the irony of it was that they started getting over as babyfaces because people knew they were gonna see some shit go down. You can’t screw too many things up in the short times they were out there. They were just so big and mobile. They could make a Samoan drop look like it was absolute murder. All that was based on the shock principle, and luckily, we had some talents also in that era that could wrestle really well and do long matches if necessary. The show got to be heavy on talk, heavy on skits, and heavy on vignettes. Quite frankly, those guys were a pick part of the era. We saw that Eckie [Umaga] was gonna be a star without a doubt. He just had the attitude, and he had the physical and mental makeup. I love Rosey and god bless his soul – he was almost too nice a guy to be a heel. He just didn’t have that mean streak. His brother, Roman [Reigns], has got a mean streak. Roman did play defensive tackle in college at Georgia Tech. For Rosey, it was always gonna be wrestling. But we knew Eckie was gonna be special.”
On creating the Umaga character: “He had proven in meetings and conversations that he’d matured and settled down, and he still had those amazing physical gifts. He had everything we’ve talked about – we saw great potential and just get his head where you want it or where he needs it to be is what you’re looking for. It’s all a mental thing at this point. Physically, he had everything you could ever want for a monster heel. So, I think that’s where that was. We could see that of the two guys – Rosey and Eckie – that Eckie was a star. Young, big, mobile, and believable. You just have to keep him under control and have him make good decisions when he’s not in the ring. Even when he’s in the ring – don’t take any necessary chances that might hurt somebody. So, that was the situation. If you saw the young Umaga, you just said, ‘God damn.’ Vince and I talked about this. I said, ‘Goddamn, your dad would’ve loved this guy because he would’ve been a great opponent for Bruno [Sammartino].’ He’s one of those monster heels that Bruno could’ve gotten multiple main events out of in the Garden. He was perfect. It was just a matter of can we get him mentally in the right frame of mind?”
On Umaga’s match with John Cena at Royal Rumble 2007: “It was a good finish. Very creative. It checked all the boxes. It gave Umaga the proverbial out that seems to be prevalent when booking a match of this nature. You’ve gotta somehow protect the asset all the while the asset is losing. And that’s easily done. That could be facilitated, and in this case, it was facilitated by using the ring rope. The hold itself – the STFU – is devastating enough, but then when you wrap the ring rope around the guy’s neck and all that good stuff, it adds a little bit of drama and uniqueness to it. It protected Umaga to a good degree. That’s part of the announcers too. The announcers have to point out that although Cena won, look what it took to get that victory. That was a good deal. And the reason he got that big push is you want to get him ready for your top babyface, and in that era, the top babyface was John Cena. WWE did a good job setting the table for that match, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was a Pat Patterson thing. It was a high-profile match and big event, and it was so unique that it worked.”
(h/y – 411 Wrestling)
