Any list of overweight wrestlers is incomplete without Yokozuna, who, at over 600 pounds, was far and away the heaviest WWE Champion of all time. Portrayed as a former Sumo champion who made the jump to pro wrestling, the dominant star also held the distinction of being the youngest WWE Champion ever, winning the belt from Bret Hart with Mr. Fuji at his side. In truth, Yokozuna's ethnicity was completely fabricated. He wasn't Japanese, he was Samoan - and moreover, he was a member of the legendary Anoa'i wrestling family. He had previously competed in Japan as Great Kokina and in the AWA as Kokina Maximus, but when the surprisingly agile youngster came to WWE, Vince McMahon felt that his girth demanded a very specific character. Hence, Yokozuna (a term used for the highest-ranking Sumo in the world) was created and history was made. The Yokozuna character - one of the most hated heels of the 90s - became so memorable that it overshadowed the truth. It wasn't until years later that most fans learned the real heritage of the man behind the mawashi, and his contributions to wrestling were celebrated alongside those of the rest of his family. In 2012, Yokozuna was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by cousins Rikishi and The Usos.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
