10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (4 Oct)

3. Sgt. Slaughter Pitched Yokozuna's Sumo Gimmick

Yokozuna fuji
WWE.com

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...

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.