10 Times WWE Wrestlers Escaped Booking Hell

Eddie Fatu, a member of the Anoa'i wrestling family, was not always booked in line with his legendary lineage.

Fatu joined WWE alongside his cousin Matt Anoa'i in 1996 for the initial purpose of having them feud with their relative Solofa Fatu. Eddie and Matt portrayed silent gangsters seemingly set up to be foils to Solofa’s “Make A Difference” Fatu gimmick. When this was nixed, the team were sent to the Heartland Wrestling Association to improve.

Upon their return, they were repackaged as Jamal (Eddie) and Rosey (Matt) forming 3-Minute Warning, the muscle for Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff. The cousins served as the consequence for anybody who failed to interest Bischoff in a three-minute time limit.

3MW’s enduring legacy is as the violent component of WWE’s most cringe-worthy LGBTQI+ moments; beating down two women whose “Hot Lesbian Action” failed to amuse Bischoff, and derailing Billy and Chuck’s fake gay wedding. In WWE, the team was aptly short-lived.

Eddie Fatu’s luck changed when he returned as Umaga: a savage, ruthless monster. He gained credibility via a destructive rampage, beating, and sometimes outright squashing, the Raw brand’s best and brightest.