10 WWE Stars Who Left And Returned More Badass

4. Umaga

Two Drews
WWE.com

Something of a badass as one half of 3-Minute Warning, Umaga as Jamal excelled in cameos in which he wickedly destroyed those deemed "boring" by boss Eric Bischoff.

Disgusted at the ghastly sight of strategic wrestling holds applied by Shawn Stasiak, Jamal and partner Rosey stormed the ring under Uncle Eric's orders on their July 22, 2002 RAW debut. Most infamously, 3-Minute Warning destroyed a pair of Lesbians - capital L, that is literally how they were introduced to the world - in a disturbing beat-down that begin when Jamal delivered a Superkick right to the breasts.

That wasn't badass, but schadenfreude shock value.

Jamal returned as Umaga in 2006, following a head-turning AJPW stint, in what appeared at first as a completely retrograde "savage" character straight out of the 1990s. The man behind the paint however was so primal in his raw talent that he occupies a rare stratosphere of performers capable of making credible something absurd on the face of it. The man with the cartoonish gimmick carried John Cena, cartoonish repertoire and all, to one of the most visceral, gruesome and believable fights in company history at Royal Rumble 2007.

Cena had to ostensibly kill Umaga via suffocation just to survive, minutes after the monster innovated the awesome spot in which he somehow propelled his gargantuan frame, at warp speed across three announce tables.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!