10 Wrestling Gimmicks That Were NOTHING Like The Wrestlers Who Portrayed Them
7. Yokozuna
At Greatest Royal Rumble, Hiroki Sumi - a wrestler so unknown that even WWE.com had to ask who the f*ck he was - trotted down to the ring for a face off with Mark Henry that rapidly resulted in his elimination. Literally ungooglable (he'd competed in various Sumo leagues under the name Hishofuji), Sumi was one of the odder moments during a very odd night. The mystery was solved days later in fittingly ludicrous fashion - Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman wanted Yokozuna at his spectacle.
The Saudi Arabian royal family member was obviously so besotted with the former WWE Champion that he missed the news eighteen years ago of his tragic passing. Sumi was an uncomfortably literal replacement for a gimmick that had clearly lingered that long in the memory.
And all this despite the fact that 'Japanese' monster Yoko was actually portrayed by Samoan Rodney Anoaʻi.
A branch from the same enormous family tree that gave life to The Rock, Roman Reigns, The Usos and countless others, Yoko's heritage was traded out for a sumo wrestler gimmick he was only too happy to indulge in. Life eventually caught up with art as Anoa'i gained mass to such a degree that using him became problematic for WWE. Despite numerous attempts, he never managed to drop enough weight to stage a return after a final appearance with the company saw him tiptoe around the 800lb mark.