10 Monster Pushes That WWE Totally Wasted
8. Umaga
Released from his first WWE contract in 2003, former 3 Minute Warning brute Jamal returned to the company as Umaga in April 2006. He was repackaged as a bloodthirsty Samoan savage who could only be controlled by his handler, Armando Alejandro Estrada, and he immediately entered a rivalry with the legendary Ric Flair.
After putting Flair away at Backlash, Umaga went on an absolute tear. He was thrust into the spotlight with big wins over Triple H, Shawn Michaels, and then-WWE Champion John Cena. Summer saw him feud with (and defeat) Kane, and with his lengthy undefeated streak coming to a head, he was placed into a WWE Championship program with Cena.
As is so often the case when dominant monsters run into Cena, however, this was the beginning of the end of Umaga’s push. Cena pinned Umaga with a roll-up at New Year’s Revolution, then used a dislodged ring rope to choke him unconscious in a fantastic match at the 2007 Royal Rumble. The monster had been well and truly buried. His top-tier run was over.
There was no need for Cena to slay Umaga, particularly in two consecutive matches. It felt like the Samoan beast was just getting started when his monstrous run came to an end, and that WWE had only reached the tip of the iceberg with what they could do with him. Sadly, it’s likely that the only reason he was ever built-up in the first place was so that Cena could eventually get the rub of defeating him.