10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (4 Oct)
3. Sgt. Slaughter Pitched Yokozuna's Sumo Gimmick
Bruce Prichard, speaking via his podcast, says he was one of the WWF lieutenants who spotted Yokozuna working the indy scene and encouraged Vince McMahon to give him a go. As the roster was thin and larger-than-life stars weren't exactly rife in 1992-93, the boss didn't need much encouraging. Yoko was signed and instantly given a Samoan gimmick along with The Headshrinkers.
Enter Sgt. Slaughter.
It was he who overheard the creative nucleus talking about how badly they wanted their new hire to have a unique gimmick, and it was Sarge who piped up to suggest a sumo character. McMahon loved it immediately, and Yokozuna was born. To keep things simple, he was separated from his Samoan cousins.
Knowing he'd have to go further if fans were going to buy into the Japanese elements of Yoko's persona, McMahon also put the necessarily taciturn superheavyweight with Mr. Fuji as manager. That decision was more important and calculated than some fans might think...